Nau mai ki te kawerongo o Ngā Taonga – welcome to our newsletter

Kia ora and welcome to our first newsletter of 2021. We hope you had some pleasant and relaxing times during the holiday break. 

In this issue we show how you can mimic a cinema screening from the past and look at how road safety messages were dramatised in the 1950s. We also share the exciting new Digital Pasifik project and have another DVD giveaway.

Stay Home Cinema

Cinemas worldwide last year were closed or forced to rethink how they operate. While we urge you to support your local cinema whenever possible, under lockdown we started working on the idea of 'stay home cinema' – a DIY playlist mimicking the flow of a historical cinema screening, drawing on our online collections. Have a read and prepare to stand when "God Save the Queen" comes on. 

I te tau kua pahure ake nei, i katia ngā whare pikitia huri noa i te ao, i whakaaro rātou me pēwhea te whakaatu kē. Ahakoa e tika ana kia tautokongia ngā whare pikitia, i te wā noho here i whakaarohia e mātou te āhuatanga o te whare pikitia ki te kāinga , arā, he rārangi-purei māu anō e mahi, ka tikina i ā mātou kohinga ipurangi, e riterite ai ki te āhua o te whakaata kiriata i ngā tau ki muri. Pānuitia, ā, kia rite koe ki te tū i te waiata rā, "God Save the Queen".

Road Safety

If you’re travelling around the country this summer, we hope you do so safely! To quote They Drive with Their Boots Off (1955): ‘for the thousands of drivers who crowd the holiday highways of New Zealand, intelligent attentive driving will win them the most valuable prize of all – a safe journey and a longer life.’ We've collected some of our favourite vintage road safety films – click through to ride the Guinea Pig Highway with us. 

Digital Pasifik

Warm Pacific greetings – Digital Pasifik is now live! Celebrate the rich and diverse cultures of the Pacific via this massive online search tool. Explore, discover and view thousands of items held in museums, libraries, galleries, and collections around the world including Ngā Taonga, Auckland Museum, the National Library and Te Papa. We're very proud to be included as a content partner.

Decimal currency was introduced to New Zealand in 1967 and a large education campaign was run to prepare the public. One of the faces of the campaign was Mr. Dollar, created by Levin's Morrow Productions. 

We have another DVD prize pack to be won – a range of features and documentaries. To be in the draw to win, just watch this 1966 ad and let us know what date Decimal Currency Day was. Email your answer to news@ngataonga.org.nz. The winner will be drawn 4pm on Friday 15 January.

• Our public spaces in the National Library have reopened after the holiday break. More details about access are here.
• We're delighted to be delivering three important initiatives that will preserve critically endangered Mātauranga Māori.
• A reminder to do everything you can to Make Summer Unstoppable.
• We're hiring a number of new staff, though applications close 14 January!

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