AHI Summer Research Scholarships
Research Articles
Women Emerging from the Auckland Political Scene: Introducing Mere Newton and Mary Dreaver
by Brooke Stevenson*
Auckland’s female political history has been more vibrant and diverse than one might assume. After trail blazers such as Elizabeth Yates and Ellen Melville, we see the emergence of women who become experts in mastering the art of networking and public speaking, bringing their own feminine approach and experiences into local and national level politics.
After the Trial Mall: Queen Street’s Stagnated Development
by Nancy Mitchelson*
In August of 1979, things were still looking hopeful for a proposed pedestrian mall in Queen Street, following the carnival-like, week-long trial in May. Furthermore, the closing off of the Wellesley/Victoria street block was approved by the ACC policy and finance committee.
“Yours Disgustedly”: Public Reactions to the Queen Street Mall Project
by Nancy Mitchelson*
Deep in the Auckland City Council archives, direct democracy of a bygone era has been wholly preserved in fountain pen and typewriter ink. This takes the form of copious amounts of letters to the mayor and planning committee, reacting to one of the most controversial and, dare I say, tantalising issues of the time: the pedestrianisation of Queen Street.
“Go to a Poetry Reading and Get Hit by a Bus”: The Queen Street Mall Trial, May 1979
By Nancy Mitchelson*
It was first week of the 1979 May school holidays and Auckland’s main thoroughfare was to be closed for a trial pedestrian mall. A trial was initially approved due to pressure from the Tramways union, whose trolley bus drivers wanted to ensure public safety if a permanent mall was to be given the green light.
The Mall Gets Stalled: A Planning Timeline of the Queen Street Pedestrian Mall
By Nancy Mitchelson*
The concept of closing part of Queen Street to cars and creating a pedestrian oasis in the middle of Auckland’s own ‘Golden Mile,’ is not a novel one. In fact, this idea has existed in some form since at least 1968, when Mayor Sir Dove-Myer Robinson made it the cornerstone of his mayoral campaign platform.
Stopping the Rot: The Central Area Plan, Sir Dove Myer Robinson, and searching for the purpose of Central Auckland in the 1970s
by Nancy Mitchelson*
It was the 1970s, and Auckland’s central area was facing a crisis of purpose. This crisis had been brewing for some time, born out of the growth of the motor car, a rapidly expanding motorway network, and developing state housing in an emerging suburbia.
Resilience
By Nicolas Jones*
The Māori Community Centre, set up in 1947, was an important component in the reestablishment of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s community identity. During a period of significant upheaval and devastation for Ngāti Whātua, the Centre provided space for a temporary Marae and supported the process of rebuilding within the hapū.
Māori Bards in the Community Centre
by Nicolas Jones*
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Māori Community Centre was at the heart of popular culture and nightlife leisure amongst Māori living in Auckland. Whether it was because of factors such as State encouragement in the wake of the Hunn Report (1961), economic opportunities, or the appeal of adventure in the city, Auckland’s Māori population grew at a remarkably fast rate in the post-war period.
Auckland’s Māori Community Centre: 1947-1970
by Nicolas Jones*
For more than 50 years, the Māori Community Centre has stood as an iconic feature of Auckland’s urban landscape and an integral pan-tribal space for city-dwellers. While eventually demolished in 2002, for those that attended and benefitted from its many programmes and facilities, the Centre’s legacy is an important narrative in the history of Tāmaki Makaurau.
The Limits to Progress: The Auckland Harbour Bridge, 1959-1969
by Nathan McLeay*
In the eyes of many Aucklanders, the bridge, Auckland’s soaring highway in the sky stood as proud testament to the city’s progress and to the vision and tenacity of its officials. Not only was the bridge a sign of how far Auckland had come, but also where Auckland was going.
‘Portal to a Brighter Day’: Narratives of Progress and the Opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge
by Nathan McLeay*
From 1955 to 1959, Aucklanders watched as a bridge gradually began to take shape across their harbour. The Waitematā, beautiful and usually so serene, was transformed into a stage for one of the largest and most complex construction projects in New Zealand’s history.
From Distant Dream to Reality: The Fight for the Auckland Harbour Bridge, 1926-1951
by Nathan McLeay*
From the mid-1920s, the distant dream of a bridge spanning the Waitematā began to draw rapidly closer to realisation. Public interest in a bridge was formalised in 1926 with the establishment of the Auckland Harbour Bridge Association.