Local History Week 2010
Monday 1 - Sunday 7 November 2010
The City Library and Archives are now planning their 3rd annual Local History Week and are interested to hear from anybody in the community who has either something to offer, or thoughts on what they would like to see included in the programme. If you have ideas please contact Lesley by 5pm Friday 6 August at archives@pncc.govt.nz or phone 06 351 4100
The focus of the week long festival is on making local history accessible, and to highlight the rich history of Palmerston North and Manawatu.
One of the features of Local History Week 2008 was a behind the scenes tour of the Regent Theatre, with Charles Forbes. Previous years have included lunchtime talks, guided walks and a number of special events, which last year included an evening of old films 1901-1959, from the New Zealand Film Archives' collection.
History of Palmerston North and Surrounding Areas
The town of Palmerston had its official beginning on October 3, 1866, based on a plan created by the government surveyor, J T Stewart. Palmerston was created in the North Island region named Te Ahu-a-Turanga by the Rangitane people who, along with other Maori, had lived in the area for many hundreds of years.
From a starting population of nine surveyors and with the addition of the word North to distinguish it from a South Island town of the same name, Palmerston North has grown to the vibrant city of 75,000 people it is today.
Local History at the Palmerston North City Library
The local history collections in the Palmerston North City Library and Ian Matheson City Archives have many resources, both published and unpublished, for anyone looking to find out more about the history of the region. Whether you are looking for details of your grandparents' wedding in Palmerston North; to learn more about your family history; information for a study project on a subject such as the Clock Tower in the Square; or simply want to learn more about the Manawatu region and its peoples, we can help.
Starting Your Research
The Palmerston North City Library has professional librarians and archivists who are happy to assist and guide you with your research:
Palmerston North History - Timeline
Do you know when the first motorcar came to Palmerston North? Or that the settlement used to be called simply Palmerston without the word North? For these dates and many more events you can explore the timeline of City History through the link above. It lists many of the major events and people from the history of Palmerston North from before the founding of the settlement to present day.
The first car arrived in August 1902 and for the first addition of the word North to the settlement's name have a look in 1871 when the population of our fair 'City' was only 25 people!
2007 saw the beginning of a digitisation project to improve access to some of our historical resources. As a part of this project the City Library and Archives have brought together a number of resources depicting the history of the Clock Tower in the Square.
The Clock Tower has been a landmark in the Square since it was donated to Palmerston North by Arthur Hopwood in 1955. Materials gathered here include newspaper articles, photographs, plans and City Council correspondence, as well as a timeline.
Microfilmed Newspapers
The Library holds over 50,000 issues of local newspapers on microfilm and microfiche from as early as 1877. The collections listed below are generally continuous but may be missing some issues, particularly before 1900. The newspapers include:
- Manawatu Evening Standard (daily: 1883 - present)
- Manawatu Daily Times (daily: 1877 - 1963)
- Tribune (weekly: 1964 - present)
- Guardian (weekly: 1972 - 1984, 2002 - present)
To view these newspapers, ask at the New Zealand and Pacific Islands Zone on the 2nd floor. If you need copies of microfilmed newspapers, or other microform materials, we offer the following services for a small fee:
- printing
- scan and email
- scan and burn to CD-ROM
Newspaper Index
The library has an index to the Manawatu Standard – this index covers births, deaths, marriages and articles of local historical interest. The index is in two parts:
- c1883 - c1992 is indexed on card and available in the New Zealand and Pacific Islands Zone
- 1992 - present is indexed on an electronic newspaper index that is available online
Please note, the card index is in the process of being computerised so in time all entries will be electronically searchable. However, this project will not be completed for a year or so. Also, while coverage for births, deaths and marriages from the current decade is complete, many recent newspapers have not yet been indexed for local history articles.
Newspaper Tutorial
The following is a brief tutorial on how to use the newspaper index and an example of the information that may be found within it:
| To find information on George Matthew SNELSON – a founding father of Palmerston North and one of the early Mayors of our city - check the index cards under SNELSON. The index has a number of cards headed SNELSON, George Matthew which list a total of 13 articles. |
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| To read abouth Mayor SNELSON's funeral look at the fourth entry on the example card above that reads “Account of funeral, 4-11-01, 3(1)” This means there is an account of the funeral for Mr Snelson in the Manawatu Evening Standard issue from the 4th November 1901 on page 3 in the first column. |
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- Having found an article in the Manawatu Evening Standard, the same date or close to it could be checked in the Manawatu Daily Times (before 1963) – Palmerston North’s other local newspaper in earlier days. This paper may contain additional coverage of the same event.
Cemeteries and Crematorium Database
If you are looking for a person who has been buried or cremated locally, then you may find useful the Palmerston North City Council Cemeteries and Crematoria Database which is available to search online. The database includes records for the following cemeteries:
- Kelvin Grove
- Terrace End
- Ashhurst
- Pahiatua District
Entries may include such useful information as plot location, age at death, occupation and funeral director.
