Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries

In this episode, we talk with Sue Bradford about her work on the Auckland Unemployed Workers Rights Centre (AUWRC) archive. Sue reflects on the experience of sorting through long‑held boxes of papers, magazines, minute books, photographs, and posters. This work was supported by the 2025 John Stacpoole Scholarship, awarded by the Auckland Libraries Heritage Trust. https://www.alht.org.nz/blog/post/160688/aucklands-unemployed-fightback-history-public-talk/ You can read Sue Bradford's written reflections on the project here: https://heritageetal.blogspot.com/2026/05/auckland-unemployed-workers-rights-centre-archive.html The archive will shortly be accessioned by Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection.

On Thursday 26 June 2025, Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero | Central City Library presented The Kotuku Quintet in a special concert: From Mozart to Matariki The programme was based on a Mozart piano concerto and drew on inspiration from the celebration of Matariki in a brand new work by pianist and composer Louise Webster. Piano concerto no. 13 in C, KV 415 W.A. Mozart Allegro ; Andante ; Rondeau: Allegro Mozart’s Piano concerto in C KV 415 was written in Vienna in 1782, one of three composed for sale to the Viennese public by advance subscription. A major selling point was that they were composed not only for concert use but also for performance at home, as the wind parts were not structurally important and could easily be dispensed with. The concerto is in three movements. The opening Allegro has a march-like theme, the Andante is lyrical and operatic in character, and the work ends with a Rondeau finale, where jovial sections alternate with a pair of pathos-laden Adagios. Phantasy for Piano Quartet in F# minor Frank Bridge The Phantasy for Piano Quartet was written in 1910, and is one of Bridge s most characterful early works, showing the influence of Brahms and French Romanticisim. All the musical ideas spring from the passionate opening flourish. There are three main sections. The first, Andante con moto , flows with Gallic grace, rather like a Barcarolle. A scherzo, Allegro vivace , follows, with a contrasting song song-like trio section that looks back to the opening ideas. A short recitative recitative-like passage then leads back to a reprise of the opening themes. The music moves into an impassioned climax before dying away to what Benjamin Britten described as a short coda which suggests the deep red afterglow of a sunset Lastly the feature piece - The paths of the sisters (2025) Louise Webster This work was commissioned by Ngā Pātaka Korero o Tamaki Makaurau for the celebration of Matariki. The title of the work 'following the paths of the sisters' refers to the Matariki constellation, welcoming the growth of the year to come. The stars are known as Matariki in Aotearoa and the Pleiades (the seven sisters) in the North. In many cultures the stars are viewed as a group of sisters, often accompanied by other family members. "While writing this work I thought of my for-bears, travelling by sea in 1839 from Caithness in the North of Scotland to Aotearoa, following the Matariki stars which remained a constant while all else changed" Louise Webster - composer. The Kotuku Quintet are: Simon Ansell (violin), John Seager (violin), Judith Gust (viola), Sally-Anne Brown (cello), and Louise Webster (piano).

Alison is joined in the studio by author Michael Bennett, to discuss his novel Carved in Blood, the third instalment in the gripping Hana Westerman series. Carved in Blood is published by Simon & Schuster and can be borrowed from Bestie collection displays in all Auckland Council libraries or requested from the Auckland Libraries catalogue https://bit.ly/3H48jtm This interview was recorded for Auckland Council Libraries' We Read Auckland festival of Auckland's readers and writers, celebrated 1 - 31 August 2025. Visit aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/WeReadAKL for more details.

On Saturday 28 June in celebration of Matariki and as part of our Tāmaki Untold series, Auckland Libraries hosted a conversation between Roimata Smail, author of ‘Understanding Te Tiriti’ and Avril Bell, author of ‘Becoming Tangata Tiriti’. The two authors discussed the meaning of Te Tiriti and how we can work on better honouring this foundational document. The rich conversation and exploration of ideas, offer listeners a conversational glimpse into the detail of the books' content. Listen in to the conversation here and follow the links below for access to further reading. Understanding Te Tirit - Roimata Smail https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=13e92daf-1efc-5609-8139-601169f69151&entityType=FormatGroup Becoming Tangata Tiriti - Avril Bell https://discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/search/card?id=c360b902-8e03-563a-933e-9b559553871b&entityType=FormatGroup Follow Auckland Libraries for regular Tāmaki Untold conversations and other Heritage and Research events. www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz Interview host: Annette Keogh for Auckland Libraries Public Engagement. Image supplied: Emily Chalk Photography

Explore space, time, and technology in science fiction through indigenous lenses with award-winning author Dr Gina Cole (Black Ice Matter; Na Viro) and writer, critic and producer, Dan Taipua. Dr. Gina Cole is an award-winning author of Fijian, Scottish and Welsh descent. Her collection Black Ice Matter won the Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book Fiction in 2017. Her science fiction fantasy novel Na Viro (Huia, 2022) is a work of Pasifikafuturism following sisters wayfinding through sea and space. Awarded the 2023 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency in 2023, she is currently working on the second book in her Turukawa Trilogy. Dan Taipua (Waikato-Tainui) is a writer and critic working in Tāmaki Makaurau. His interests cross through art history, popular culture and Te Ao Māori with a particular focus on futurism and imagined worlds. In 2015, Dan Taipua and Sophie Wilson produced the documentary Aotearoa Futurism for RNZ Music, interviewing Māori and Pasifika artists whose works explore the boundaries of technology and time. This work has inspired further study of indigenous futurisms by scholars and creators alike and continues to shape Taipua's own critical practice. This talk is in association with our sci-fi exhibition 'Other Worlds' and the 'Tāmaki Untold' series. Exhibition is open from 19 February to 2 August 2025 in the Heritage Gallery, Level 2, Central City Library / Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero. Explore selected works by Dr Gina Cole and Dan Taipua along with some of the books, authors and works mentioned in this episode – all available either at Auckland Council Libraries or online. Na Viro by Gina Cole. Huia Publishers, 2022 Wayfinding Pasifikafuturism : an indigenous science fiction vision of the ocean in space : a thesis by Gina Cole. Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand, 2020 https://mro.massey.ac.nz/items/21b05630-28b2-4d93-85e9-f7156be8f0d9 Aotearoa Futurism Part One: Space Maori and Astronesians - podcast by Dan Taipua and Sophie Wilson, RNZ Music, 2015 https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/201782605/aotearoa-futurism-part-one Aotearoa Futurism Part Two: South Pacific Futurists podcast by Dan Taipua and Sophie Wilson, RNZ Music, 2015 Remains to be Told: Dark Tales from Aotearoa edited by Lee Murray. Clan Destine Press, 2023 Walking the Stars: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction edited by Grace Dillon Star Waka by Robert Sullivan Auckland University Press, 1999 The Routledge Book of CoFuturisms edited by Taryne Jade Taylor, Isiah Lavender III, Grace L. Dillon and Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay. 1st edition, 2023. Full text available via Open Access with Taylor and Francis under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND. How To Loiter in a Turf War by Coco Solid. Penguin Random House NZ, 2022 Island Time: South Pacific Futurism From a Contemporary Aotearoa Perspective by Jessica “Coco” Hansell published in The Funambulist, Issue 24: Futurisms, 2019 Navigator by Che Fu (Music CD) Sony, 2001 Lisa Reihana: Emissaries by Lisa Reihana. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2017 Goddess Muscle by Dr Karlo Mila Huia Publishers, 2020 Waerea by Mokotron (Music LP). Stebbing Recording Studio, 2024 Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman. Hachette Australia, 2017 How Māui Defied the Goddess of Death by Peter Gossage. 3rd edition, Puffin Books, 2012 You Are Here by Peata Larkin and Whiti Hereaka. Massey University Press, 2025

This clip is drawn from an oral history with Suzanne Chan On as part of the From Guangdong to Aotearoa Collection. In this snippet Suzanne talks about activities seen and unseen. She describes shops, gambling and opium dens in the Greys Avenue neighbourhood. See the exhibition: Lost Neighbourhoods of Central Auckland on Level 2 of the Central City Library April - May 2025 Suzanne Chan On, oral history, 2014, interviewer Sue Gee, From Guangdong to Aotearoa Collection, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, OH-1133-003 Image: Accompany material from OH-1133-003.

In this episode of Other Worlds, we explore some of the most iconic works of dystopian and utopian literature and the value of reading these works within the science fiction genre. Joining Sue Berman to discuss this theme is Other Worlds exhibition curator Renee Orr. We talk about Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World', Margaret Atwood’s 'The Handmaid's Tale', the utopian vision of Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 'Herland' and the 1970s classic, Marge Piercy’s 'Woman on the Edge of Time'. Visit the onsite exhibition and join us in a series of events and activations: www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Other-Worlds-exhibition For recommended reads visit: www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Other-Worlds-reads Books mentioned in the podcast: Aldous Huxley, with illustrations by Leonard Rosoman. Brave new world. London: Folio Society, 1971. Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood’s end. London: Pan Books, 1961. Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Herland. New York: Pantheon Books, 1979. Margaret Atwood. The handmaid’s tale. London: Jonathan Cape, 1986. Marge Piercy. Woman on the edge of time. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/tracks/space-harmony/ Image from Aldous Huxley, with illustrations by Leonard Rosoman. Brave new world. London: Folio Society, 1971. Produced by Sue Berman and JL.

In this episode of Other Worlds, we explore how the mysterious red planet has fascinated writers and scientists for centuries. Mars has inspired many different narratives, including Martian invasions, philosophical reflections on life beyond Earth, visions of terraforming and colonisation. Joining Sue Berman to discuss the works of H.G. Wells to modern depictions of a colonised Mars in Kim Stanley Robinson’s 'Green Mars' and many more great reads, is Other Worlds exhibition curator Renee Orr. Visit the onsite exhibition and join us in a series of events and activations: www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Other-Worlds-exhibition For recommended reads visit: www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Other-Worlds-reads Books mentioned in the podcast: H. G. Wells. The war of the worlds. London: William Heinemann, 1898. LP booklet. Jeff Wayne’s musical version of 'The war of the worlds', 1978. Cover illustration by Mike Trim. On loan from a private collection. Louis Pope Gratacap. The certainty of a future life in Mars: being the posthumous papers of Bradford Torrey Dodd. New York: Brentano's, 1903. Louis Charbonneau. Corpus earthling. New York: Zenith Books, 1960. Robert A. Heinlein; The rolling Stones. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952. Kim Stanley Robinson. Green Mars. New York: A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 1988. Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/tracks/space-harmony/ Image from cover; Louis Charbonneau. Corpus earthling. New York: Zenith Books, 1960. Produced by Sue Berman and JL.