Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The history of Wellington anniversary day and a case for celebrating Palmerston North anniversary separatedly.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The earliest that Pākehā women arrived in Palmerston North was believed to be in 1866, when some travelled through totara forest from Foxton. Although Louisa Snelson has been recognised as the third Pākehā women in Palmerston North in 1873, a group of Scandinavian women came before her. This article tells the immigration story of these earliest Scandanavian settlers. It also includes the stories of Lydia Burr née Hoskins, Matilda Perrin née Montgomery, Louisa Snelson, Sarah Linton née Kibblewhite and Harriette Cole née Durrant.

Manawatū Standard article about the 1981 Springboks tour and the role protesters played in the anti-our movement. The Springboks vs All Blacks game on 1 August 1981 in Palmerston North was marred by protest, conflict between rugby supporters, anti-tour protesters and the police. Thousands of people demonstrated, clashing with rugby supporters in several locations. National anti-tour protest groups Hart and Mast organised local protest marchers. The showgrounds were barricaded with large containers and fences topped with barbed wire to keep out opposition to the game.

The game was attended by more than 20,000 spectators. It was a close game, won by the visitors 31-19.

Many felt the game should not have gone ahead. A week earlier, the game in Hamilton had been stopped by protesters marching on the rugby field. Police wanted no repeat of a stopped game. Those opposed to the tour included activist Penny Poutu, local councillors, local All Black Bob Burgess, and unionist Roger Middlemass.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Stephen Berg recalls the tensions in Palmerston North between rugby supporters and anti- Springbok tour protesters, July and August 1981.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. The Māori Battalion trains at the Palmerston North showgrounds in 1940. Abridged from original article, 22 April 2006.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. The Māori Battalion trains at the Palmerston North showgrounds in 1940.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The story of the dog Tiger, a great dane, mascot of the Māori Battalion during World War 2. Tiger was the companion dog of Captain Harding Waipuke Leaf (Ngā Puhi). Tiger stayed in New Zealand when Captain Leaf departed for service overseas. Sadly he died in Crete in 1941.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The Hokowhitu Transit camp was a temporary housing initiative by council and government 1945-1959. Post World World 2, the government was challenged with a housing crises nationwide as soldiers returned from service abroad. The camp houses were made up from former army huts, surplus after the war. These were established on the site later occupied by Teachers' College. It was a community, a social housing response to meet the shortage of suitable housing for young families.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Life story of Helen Urquhart, later Helen Zander (1905-1994). Born in Scotland, Helen was one of about 4500 British domestic servants who were sponsored free passage to travel to New Zealand in the 1920s.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Special "Regent Street" London made street lights celebrated both the Palmerston North centennial and Christmas in 1970. The lights were hung in Broadway Avenue, Rangitikei Street and in the streets around Te Marae o Hine/The Square. The lights were displayed each festive season until 1975.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The oldest part of Terrace End Cemetery is called Public Reserve Number 1 and dates back to 1875. There are only a handful of headstones and plaques in this large flat area of the cemetery. It is believed that up to 2000 people are interred here. Most are unidentified people who could not afford a marked plot and includes the remains of stillborn babies, infants and children.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. The collection of shops and houses between St Mary's Church and number 89 Ruahine Street holds special memories for many citizens. In the 1950s and 1960s, there has been a dairy, a cakeshop, a coffee shop, a haberdashery, a butcher and a hairdresser on this block opposite the hospital.
Christopher's Hairstylists, owned by "Mr Christopher" Paskins occupied number 89 Ruahine Street for many years. Today, Georgies Wigs and Hair Design lease the front shop space, whilst the back is a residential home.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. This article marks the 10th anniversary of Palmerston North Library's heritage archive going digital. It started in 2008 with the launch of Pataka Ipurangi/Manawatū Memory Online, a project to digitise photos held in the Ian Matheson Community archives. By 2016 the technology had become outdated and was replaced with the interactive Manawatū Heritage website. A much wider range of materials was able to be added. The website now includes maps, plans, photo albums, film and oral history interviews. The site can be accessed from all over the world on a digital device for finding, downloading and sharing most of the content.

The library's Heritage team encourages contributions of local history material from the public and also welcomes additional information about material already published on Manawatū Heritage.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. Background stories of some of the graves at the historic Terrace End cemetery on Napier Road. One of the oldest remaining headstones is that of Meritini Te Panau, who died in 1888. She was the wife of Kerei Te Panau (died 1908, age 103), a prominent Rangitāne kaumatua. Also buried here are Palmerston North's first mayor and his wife, George and Louisa Snelson.

The Napier Road cemetery is the burial grounds for almost 10,000 people. The land for the cemetery was gifted by Rangitāne in 1875. A new cemetery in Kelvin Grove was opened in 1927 and the older cemetery has been closed for many years. However the descendants of those buried at the Terrace End cemetery can be buried with their relatives if there is room.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. Local history enthusiast Graeme Liggins shares an album of historical images of buses used in and around Palmerston North and the Manawatū. The photos date from the 1950s and 1960s, a time when not every family owned a car and many people were dependant on the bus service.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. A snapshot of life in Palmerston North in December 1953. The city was looking forward to a visit from the new Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Local History Week and History Month this year is inspired by the whakatuakī (proverb) "Whatungarongaro te tangata toitū te whenua".
Fifty local history organisations and enthusiasts responded to the City Library's Heritage team invitation to contribute to a rich programe of historic whenua (land) related events and activities. More than 80 activities will be held during March. This article outlines a programme that highlights the history of the Manawatū and Palmerston North. Talks, tours and workshops are mostly free to attend. The popular programme, co-ordinated by the Palmerston North City Library, has been held annually since 2008.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. History of the A-MU-C-UM (pronounded "A Musuem" or "Amuse-um"), a collection of mechanical and static museum displays. When publicly displayed, it attracted large crowds in the 1970's and was reported to be one of the best attractions of its type in New Zealand.
Dating back to 1928, Erland McKay Patterson's hobby was building miniature mechanical clowns. The collection of miniature circus objects, fairytale figures and animated scenes grew to thousands. It was displayed around the city and on special occasions, including the 1971 centenary celebrations. It was housed for many years at 280 Church Street (now Centrepoint Theatre) until 1974, when the building was sold. Finding a new home for the large collection was a problem, and it disappeared from public view.
In 2012, A-MU-C-UM was acquired by the Feilding Rotary Club. After many hours of voluntary restoration work, the historic collection was again on public display at the Feilding Christmas cave.

Journalist Tina White's weekly "Memory Lane" article in the Manawatū Standard. Warren and Virginia Warbrick share their love and understanding of Palmerston North, its present and its past with a wider audience. Their work includes city council cultural projects. Warren is a maker and performer of ngā tāonga pūoro - traditional Māori musical instruments.
In 2017, the couple discovered that the direct global opposite location to Palmerston North is St Martin de Valdeiglesias, a town in Spain. They followed up this discovery with a visit to the town.
The Warbricks continue to work on history projects and tell Rangitane 's past in music, artworks and performance, creating new interest and reaching a wide audience.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. European refugees displaced during World War 2 started arriving at a camp in Pahiatua in 1949. They stayed for 6 weeks to prepare for life elsewhere in New Zealand. The success of this scheme is believed to have been mixed as many arrivals were traumatised by their wartime experiences. Official and personal records are scarce. Descendants of the displaced persons have set up a project called Untold Stories to discover more about the experiences of these immigrants in Pahīatua.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The founding of Manawatū Gay Rights Association (MaGRA) in 1977 occurred during a period of time when queer (LGBTQIA+) experiences were mostly absent from the media and mocked by many in the community. Whilst a lot of progress has been made over the past 50 years changing laws and attitudes to protect sexual orientation as a human right, individuals lives and experiences are rarely recorded. Manawatū Lesbian and Gay Rights Association (MaLGRA) in 2024 is embarking on an oral history project to record the history and experiences of Manawatū's Rainbow community.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Te Manawa Museum's collection of 67 historic recipe books (1874-1978) provide an insight into the cookery knowledge within families. Details of domestic life and long forgotten food fashions can be gleaned from these mostly handwritten books.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Palmerston North City Council has grappled with the problem of discouraging motorists from using roads around Te Marae o Hine/The Square as a thoroughfare route. A number of roading and traffic flow proposals have been considered and tried since the 1960's. Included amongst the ideas tried was a one way traffic system around Te Marae o Hine/The Square, which proved not to be popular. It was abandoned in 1970.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. Speakers at a meeting held in Palmerston North 17 June 1985 showed it was possible to build widespread support for the Homosexual Law Reform Bill. The meeting was attended by 300 local people, from a wide range of groups. The meeting showed that additional support from groups outside the existing gay groups and organisations could help win over enough support in Parliament for the bill to pass.

MP Fran Wilde was the sponsor of the bill and heard from members of the Manawatū Gay Rights Association (MGRA) how a mass action campaign in support of the bill could be organised and succesfully carried out. A much bigger nationwide campaign followed.

The Homosexual Law Reform Act, decriminalising homosexual acts between consenting males aged 16 and over, came into effect 8 August 1986.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The story of "The Birth of Palmerston North", a publication that celebrated the city's past 100 years in 1971. I.R. (Ian) Matheson, Palmerston North's first city archivist, was commissioned by the Evening Standard to research and compile the text. The supplement includes significant information about the city's Rangitanē history and its European settlement.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. History of Christmas time at Palmerston North Chief Post Office from 1906 to 1988. Many people, including schoolchildren, were employed at the Post Office at Christmas time as the demand for all services was at its highest. Handling and delivering Christmas mail and parcels required a lot of extra staff. The telephone exchange handled Christmas toll calls, all had to be manually connected. The telegraph office dealt with additional telegrams, for Christmas and for summer weddings.
Palmerston North Chief Post Office was a place important to the city's economy and the employment of its citizens.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. History of New Zealand's School Dental service, started 100 years ago. Before the days of fluoridation and regular treatment, dental health was poor. Children had decaying and infected teeth, which was recognised as having adverse effects on health, nutrition and learning. From the 1920s, school dental clinics treated children whilst they were at school. Local people relate dread and pain when called to the school dental clinic.

The management of the service devolved to area health boards in the 1980s and 1990s.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The new cheese factory at Tiakitāhuna, officially the Empire Cheese Factory, was declared open on August 31 1909. It was marked with a banquet in the cooling room. The advisory board consisted of strong personalities, creating debate and disagreement from its beginnings.

The first annual general meeting was dominated with members insulting each other and fiery debate. It was followed a few days later with further arguments at the factory, resulting in court action.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. The history of the Manawatū Standard, also known as the Manawatū Evening Standard for many years. Founded by Alexander McMinn in 1880, it started as a one page morning paper. From its earliest days, the paper has seen changes in ownership, management, equipment and technology.

Adrian Broad, General Manager 1987-1996, oversaw the major shift to computer technology. He believes that the region can be proud of the contribution the daily newspaper has made over the past 143 years.

Local historians weekly "Back Issues" article in the Manawatū Standard. For Local History week this year, the city celebrates its 150th anniversary, 50 years after the 1971 centennial celebrations. A programme of events, talks and activities are being coordinated by the Palmerston North City Library to mark this historic milestone.