March over the Rimutakas – excerpt from article in issue 104
by Leo Haks and Alan Jackson Military training took place in semi-permanent reinforcement training camps around New Zealand such as Trentham, Featherston and Tauherenikau. Of these Trentham was the main camp. By 1918 it could hold 4,500 men in huts and 2,000 more in tents. Featherston camp could hold 4,500 men in huts and 3,000 […]
Tanner Bros Ltd. Postcards – excerpt from article in issue 103
by Diane McKoy Early sales probably depended on Frank Tanner alone, and, because of the poor roads and rail systems at the time, a lot would have been done by mail, sending samples etc., as shown on the 1905 card, and also, later, many cards were sent advertising Special Offers. Once the company was established […]
Review of the previous 99 Issues – excerpt from article in issue 100
Issue 1 was dated October 1983. “The editorial policy of this publication is to print what we believe will advance the hobby and entertain our readers. Belonging is one thing . . . taking part is what it is all about”
Burton Bros in Tonga – excerpt from article in issue 99
by Alan Kilpatrick. See below. A Burton Bros image 2707 of Nukualofa, the capital of Tonga. A wooden building is being constructed; the Royal Palace was constructed in 1867, so it is probably the Faiva Tokaikolo Church, immediately adjacent to the Palace. In June-August 1884 Alfred Burton made two separate trips from Auckland to […]
NZ Comic Cards – excerpt from article in issue 98
by Gary Davies. Ercildoune Frederick Hiscocks drew this card depicting the New Zealand rugby team’s win over Britain played at Wellington in 1904.The caption says it all! Hiscocks was a leading cartoonist who published books of cartoons and caricatures about prohibition and politicians. He worked for various New Zealand papers and also drew for […]
Pre-Raphaelites and NZ Postcards – excerpt from article in Issue 97
by William Main. I had purchased a reproduction of a well known Pre- Raphaelite painting by Sir John Millais called Bubbles, and this card in my collection was eventually joined by others. I came across a real photo re-creation of Bubbles by the Kaikoura photographer Weidner. This was a very cleverly staged study […]
Hokitika Floods of 1914 – excerpt from article in Issue 96
by Shirley Bone. This group of private Real Photo postcards shows the effects of the sea erosion on those buildings that back onto the sea in Revell St, Hokitika, in November 1914. The photos were taken by Ben Thiem, a Hokitika photographer who ran “The Thiem Studio.” The story is told through the […]
Closing the Gap – excerpt from article in Issue 95
by Diane McKoy. Living and working conditions on the last span of the North Island Main Trunk Line between Taihape and Taumarunui During the depression of the 1880s and 1890s railway construction in the North Island was progressing slowly and by the turn of the century there were ten separate sections of line […]
Penny Marvels: New Zealand Postcards in 1911 – article from Issue 94
by Alan Jackson. Imagine you lived in Christchurch in the year 1911. Then, 80,000 people lived in Christchurch, 102,000 in Auckland, 70,000 in Wellington and 64,000 in Dunedin; the population of the whole country was just 1 million, 44% in the South Island and 56% in the North Island. Plain Post Office postcards, […]
Wanganui Generic Comic Postcards – excerpt from article in Issue 93
by Bruce Isted. Of all picture postcard categories, the comic themed card is the most widely collected. They range from satire to the rich belly laughs evoked by the traditional card. Often having double-meanings or witty sayings accompanied by clever designs. It is amazing that the humour of yesterday is still crisp today. […]