New Zealand Room

The  New Zealand Room on the first floor of the Whangārei Central Library contains a research collection of New Zealand material for present and future generations of Whangārei library users. While few of the items held here are particularly rare, the intention of the collection is to make available a substantial historical collection about the whole of New Zealand from the time of the earliest European explorers and settlers to the present, to complement both the Māori Room and the more intensive collection in the Northland Room.

As well as collecting material on national and regional history, the New Zealand Room collection seeks to reflect the cultural, environmental, political and social heritage of the nation.  Material in all formats is included – books, magazines, audio-visual, graphic etc. 

The core research collection of books and magazines is not available for loan, but many biographies, some slighter works or duplicate copies are available for loan, as well as all fiction and audio-visual material.

The collections can be helpful when researching:

  • Family history - Covering histories from the early whaling days, the goldfields of both North and South Islands and the railway and maritime heritage of New Zealand.
  • Social science -  About the changing position of women in society, the history of trade unions, schools and education, crime and policing.  
  • Art - An almost complete run of Art New Zealand magazine; there are exhibition catalogues and books about all aspects of art in New Zealand and artist interviews on video.
  • Maps - A complete set of New Zealand topographic maps 260 has been recently updated.  A selection of New Zealand hydrographic maps is also available.

Historical Government document collection

  • Index to Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives (AJHR) – 1923 to 1938

  • Appendix to the Journal of New Zealand – 1861 to 1948

  • Index to Appendices to the Journals – 1854 - 1913

  • New Zealand Census – 1911 to 2006

  • New Zealand official yearbooks 1895 to 2010

  

 

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