Family History Month 2025

From Tauranga City Library’s archives

A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection

This month libraries and archives across the motu (country) will be hosting events and displays for Family History Month, including Tauranga, Rotorua and Whakatāne. For those searching online, Pae Korokī has some great resources to add social context and images to family stories.

You can search Pae Korokī by name, street, organisation, iwi and more. It is good to start broad e.g. just the surname, and then add more keywords depending on the results (the how to guides have some good search tips). You can browse through the results, or use the filters to refine your selection.

Some of the collections that will show in your results include:

Tauranga Photo News. Described by a librarian as 'the Instagram of that generation', between 1962 and 1970 Renwood Studios and other contractors would capture local events, celebrations, weddings, arts, theatre and sports events, and people at work for.  

Front cover of Tauranga Photo News No. 17, October 1963.

Although the covers were brightly covered the pages inside were black and white newsprint, now with a slight yellow tinge (print copies are viewable in the reference section at He Puna Manawa - Tauranga City Library). Gatherings of all sizes were shared, including these photos of Tauranga Rovers basketball team celebrating the end-of-season at Mrs M. Scott's Ōtūmoetai home.

Page 58 of Tauranga Photo News No. 17, October 1963.

For those looking for people photographed between February 1969 and September 1979, Tony A'Hern, local editor and photographer, donated a set of Photo News negatives. Logan Publishing Tauranga and Bay of Plenty Photo News Collection Many of these weren't published and don't yet have names in the metadata. If you recognise anyone do let the Heritage & Research Team know.

Audience at Western Music, December 1969.

Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries, Logan Publishing, Tauranga and Bay of Plenty Photo News Collection Photo pn-5558

Gifford-Cross Photographic Collection is another wonderful source of high-quality images of local people, places and events. Donated by the owners of the Bay of Plenty Times in 1992, there is an ongoing project to share online the approximately 140,000 - 180,000 images.

Sometimes family research involves looking through lots of items to find the few that are of your family. The image below is one that there are no names associated with the photograph, but someone might recognise a parent or aunt or uncle or tīpuna.

Children on board Japanese ship, July 1966.

Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo gcc-14892

You might also see relations in our Audio visual  collections. Particularly in footage of city events captured by local film-makers such as Norman Blackie, Roy Pilkington and Jack and Rene Fenn. Maybe someone in your family was on an Orange Festival float or competing in an apple eating contest in the 1960s and 70s, or at the opening of Taurua Marae in Rotoiti (1960)?

Or perhaps you can hear their voice sharing memories in an early 2000s oral history recording, a project by Max Avery,  Jinty Rorke  and others.

The archive collections are a treasure trove, containing all sorts of items and ephemera, including family scrapbooks, like Ms 102, compiled by Annette Tootell, whose mother Gertrude Hunt, was the accompanist for renown singer Te Rangi Pai (Fanny Rose Porter, Poata):

Page 1 from the scrapbook of photographs and copies of newspaper articles about Te Rangi Pai's career as a singer.

Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Ms 102/3

Minute books from local organisations can contain comments from an ancestor, and a snaphot of their interests, hobbies and public service. They may test your manuscript reading skills, but like Papers Past, can quickly go from seemingly dry text to fascinating glimpses of societal values and conversations.

Snippet from the Tauranga Combined Māori Women's Welfare League discussion in November 1972 about possible sponsorship of a contestant for the Tauranga Orange Festival Queen.

Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Ams 35/3/1

If you know of a business a relation was employed by, there may be a relevant collection in the archives, like this record of Miss Bunker receiving a gold watch for 10 years' service at Rainster House.

Page from the Rainster House Album, part of Rainster House papers and photographs, 1945-2005.

Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Ams 308

Maps can help determine old streets that might have since changed name or numbering or even location. Aerial photographs 'maps' allow you to zoom in from above and trace paths previously walked.

Tauranga City Centre from Matapihi Rail Bridge, by Aero Surveys (NZ) Ltd, June 1965.

Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Map 23-136

If you use the 'Zoom to 100%' icon in Pae Korokī (from the tools menu on the left of the image), you will see the detail much clearer and crisper, than just 'zooming' in with your mouse or fingers on the screen.

Tales of the streets and clubs and people, are also told in local history publications, such as the early issues of the Journal of the Tauranga Historical Society.

There is a lot to explore in Pae Korokī to help provide context and detail to your family tree, and maybe one day you can publish it in a book, like local historian Robert Craig Scott, or share as a story in Pae Korokī.

National Library have an online guide for family researchers, and Te Ao Mārama Tauranga Library hosts drop-in genealogy sessions the second Tuesday of the month between 10am and 12noon.

 

Enjoy exploring online, or in person at He Puna Wānanga, the Heritage & Research room in Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Library, discovering and adding colourful leaves and story branches to your family tree.

 

---

 

Written by Kate Charteris, Heritage Specialist at Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries

The Tauranga and Bay of Plenty Photo News

On the last day of June 1962 a new magazine appeared on the shelves of a wide range of stationers, newsagents, bookshops, photographic studios, dairies and general stores in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and other towns throughout the Bay of Plenty. The Tauranga Photo News joined a stable of seven similar regional publications from Gisborne-based Logan Publishing Company. Robert Logan had started with the Gisborne Photo News in June 1954, followed by editions in Whangarei, Rotorua, New Plymouth/Taranaki, Wanganui and Nelson. Initially Bob Logan was processing images from a darkroom in his home, but by 1969 their printing plant in Gisborne put out 60,000 magazines each month.

Tauranga Photo News, No. 1, 30 June 1962, Cover
Courtesy of Tauranga Library, Nga Wahi Rangahau

The company used a single photographer-cum-editor based in each town or city, whose role was to gather and photograph the local news, assembling photographs, captions and storylines into a magazine published every fourth Saturday. The first issue of the Tauranga edition was compiled by staff from Gisborne with the assistance of local photographers, while the newly appointed editor Tony A’Hern and his wife June, newly arrived in town, were settling in. One of those local photographers was Adrian Orr, whose Renwood Studio on Cameron Road was used as the magazine’s temporary address, and who most likely provided photographic and logistical support at least for the first few issues.

Tauranga Photo News, No. 1, 30 June 1962, page 1
Courtesy of Tauranga Library, Nga Wahi Rangahau

Their stated intention was to provide a balanced pictorial record each month of the local news at work and at play, with “25 percent to social life” and the remainder covering “general and feature topics, sport, scenic views, children’s affairs, etc.” A “willing band of boys” was recruited to distribute copies of the magazine to at least 32 outlets throughout Tauranga and the Mount, and other means were used to deliver them to towns as far-flung as Waihi in the north to Whakatāne and Nukuhou in the south-east. Each issue had full colour front and back cover photographs, but black-and-white half-tone print images were used through the rest of the 68 pages. The first issue sold out within a few days, and set the tone for a very successful run, following in the footsteps of its siblings in the Logan Publishing stable.

Bay of Plenty Photo News, No. 53, 15 October 1966, Cover
Courtesy of Tauranga Library, Nga Wahi Rangahau

In October 1966, with issue number 53, the monthly became the Bay of Plenty Photo News, better reflecting its area of coverage. It also gained a new cover and had substantially more pages, but the increase in size apparently did not prove to be economically viable and it was reduced to 68 pages after a couple of years. In a typical issue there were around 270 black-and-white photographs, of which 80 to 90 per cent were taken by Tony and June A’Hern, and the remainder by other named local photographers or studios.

Oropi School Calf Club Day in Bay of Plenty Photo News, No. 91, 13 Dec 1969, p. 32

(Right) Unpublished image: “Donald Wright, who gained several prizes,” scanned from original 35mm-format negative, Courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Logan Publishing, Tauranga and Bay of Plenty Photo News Collection, Image pn-5285

A partial collection of the A’Herns' negative archives that were donated some years ago to the Tauranga Library have recently been digitized and are in the process of being made available online via that institution’s new digital platform Pae Koroki. Tauranga City Library also holds ten bound volumes of the 100 issues of the Photo News which can be browsed in their Research Room/Nga Wahi Rangahau. It is worth mentioning that between a third and half of the photographs taken did not make the final cut, and many are now appearing in public for the first time since they were taken fifty years ago.

The final issue of the Bay of Plenty Photo News, No. 100, 19 September 1970
Courtesy of Tauranga Library, Nga Wahi Rangahau

On 19 September 1970 the last issue (No. 100) of the Bay of Plenty Photo News was published. With increases in production and printing costs and magazine sales providing the sole source of income, it had become unviable. Over the previous eight years they had published 40,000 photographs and produced a significant photographic record of life in the Bay of Plenty. The Gisborne Photo News and other regional issues lasted a few years longer before they too succumbed. In partnership with local associates, Tony and June A’Hern started up the Bay of Plenty News, a weekly newspaper which became the Bay of Plenty News Mirror, published daily from 1974 as the Bay of Plenty Mirror. Tony was still working as a photographer in Tauranga as late as 1978.

Bay of Plenty News, No. 22, 3 February 1971
Courtesy of Tauranga Library, Nga Wahi Rangahau

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful  to staff of the Tauranga City Library in Nga Wahi Rangahau who have given freely of their time and expertise in ferreting out the details of this publication, and have given kind permission for the images to be used. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of John Logan, son of the founder of the firm Logan Publishing, who graciously provided vital background information on the magazine’s formation and operation.

Memorial Park Fountain

Fountain, Memorial Park, Tauranga
Photograph by Allan Scott, Postcard published by Dow Productions (No. 122)
Collection of Justine Neal

All self respecting parks of any size should have a fountain or a water display of some sort and Memorial Park is no exception. Gleaming white in the summer sun with clear blue water the fountain takes pride of place along the foreshore of the park. The idea was initiated by the Tauranga Jaycees and construction of the fountain began in 1962. It was built by voluntary labour of the Tauranga’s Jaycee members, who worked 5000 hours on the project and gave up their leisure hours over 27 weekends.

The Tauranga Photo News of 2 February 1963 reported that "Before a huge crowd assembled in Memorial Park, the Mayor Mr. Mitchell, switched on the new fountain for the first time. A great asset to the park, the fountain has already attracted thousands of spectators, especially after dark when its constantly changing colours and varying patterns of play can be seen to the best advantage. An almost limitless combination of effects is provided by 12 jet formations and 8 different light changes."

In 1987 repairs were carried out on the fountain and in 2009 the fountain was upgraded with a new, more efficient lighting system. The old system, which was installed with the fountain in the 1960s, was facing a $7000 bill for repairs and maintenance, and was also costing $5000 per year to run. The new system cost $15,000 to install, but will only cost about $250 to run. It will be a better display and will make a great photo at night too.

Tauranga Photo News. 2 Feb, 1963
Tauranga City Council Weekly News bulletin. Nov 2, 2009.