In the spotlight: Papers Past – National Library of New Zealand

Posted on 18 January 2013 by Ting

The Papers Past website contains more than two million pages of digitised New Zealand newspapers and periodicals. The collection covers the years 1839 to 1945 and includes 77 publications from all regions of New Zealand. DigitalNZ harvests and points to items from these publications, which means more than 24 million pieces of content from Papers Past on our API. 

We have found many Newspapers items about the upcoming Wellington Anniversary on Monday. The first Wellington Anniversary was published on the New Zealand Gazette (The earliest newspaper in New Zealand) and Wellington Spectator, in 1841. It is truly amazing that after 173 years, we can still read about the beginning of Wellington clearly through digital preservation projects like Papers Past.

Many articles record all the fine details of all the activities of the day. Here are a few of our favourites:

Column of newspaper text with the headline 'Anniversary Fete'.

ANNIVERSARY FETE. (New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, 27 January 1844).

Newspaper column with the text Anniversary day.

ANNIVERSARY DAY. (Wellington Independent, 22 January 1863).

The Earee divorce case in 1903 has also been made into a Set: Earee divorce. But it’s not just news that our Set makers find attractive. Here is a Set of illustrations one Set maker put together: Pictures from 17 December.


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