Tag: Wahine

Te Ruahinetanga: World Menopause Day 18 October

Tess

Te ruahinetanga | menopause transitions are highly individualised experiences that are often surrounded by social stigmas. Menopause and peri-menopause symptoms can occur in a wide and diverse range of ways that can affect a persons quality of life in vastly different ways. World Menopause Day is celebrated every year on October 18th to raise awareness and encourage the sharing of experiences and knowledge to help reduce stigma around this natural stage of life. 

We’ve created a reading list that includes a selection of new titles and popular staples, exploring both personal experiences and medical know-how. Browse through our  Te ruahinetanga | Menopause list on Libby, which includes eBooks, eAudiobooks and Magazines on the topic. And since this year’s theme is Cardiovascular Disease don’t miss our upcoming free Heart Health Check at Kilbirnie Library.

For further online information check out the Australasian Menopause Society, who provide access to resources that aim to bridge the gap between healthcare providers and people experiencing menopause, ensuring accurate and evidence-based information is available to the wider community. You can also download their printable infographic poster in both English and te reo Māori. New Zealand Family Planning also provides helpful advice for managing symptoms of menopause, and information on treatments and clinics available across Aotearoa. 

Spread the word, begin a conversation with a loved one or deepen your knowledge through our reading lists to help de-stigmatise te ruahinetanga | menopause today.

Reading List

The M word : everything you need to know about the menopause / Kaye, Philippa

“The menopause does not have to mean the end of your libido, of sex, or of feeling like yourself. The M Word is a complete guide to the perimenopause and menopause, covering everything from symptoms to treatments and lifestyle advice. With a positive and uplifting tone, this book will help you not just survive, but thrive through the menopause.”(Adapted from Catalogue)

Continue reading “Te Ruahinetanga: World Menopause Day 18 October” →

The New Zealand Collection presents: The week in history 5th – 11th April

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This week’s selected topic comes from the Today in History page at nzhistory.net.nz. The New Zealand Collection is located on the second floor of The Central Library. Each week we feature topics in the This Week in History display in the NZ Collection and using available databases and the library collections to illustrate and provide additional information. This week we remember the sinking of the Wahine in Wellington Harbour.

10th April 1968 The Sinking of the Wahine

The Wahine was one of the two ships that maintained a regular service between Wellington and Lyttelton. Each ferry was drive-on and provided sleeping accommodation for the passengers.

Wahine at wharf

Hutt Road Thorndon Quay offramp, railway lines and ferry terminals with the Wahine and one other ferry at the wharf. Winder, Duncan, 1919-1970 :Architectural photographs. Ref: DW-5389-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22775328

On the evening of the 9th April the Wahine set out from Lyttleton on the regular overnight service. There were 123 officers and 610 passengers onboard and a stowaway who was travelling to Wellington to join the crew of the rail ferry Aramoana in Wellington which was not an uncommon unofficial way to travel. The ferry was en route from Lyttelton to Wellington when it fell victim to one of the most ferocious storms in New Zealand’s recorded history. With the loss of 52 lives (a 53rd victim died in 1990 from injuries sustained in the wreck), this was our worst maritime disaster since the loss of the Penguin in 1909.

Wahine 2

Wahine sinking in Wellington Harbour. Further negatives of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1968/1647/14-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22327912

The wreck of the Wahine lay near the harbour entrance for 5 years with the last pieces of the ship being removed in 1973. The salvage work sadly also claimed the life of one of the divers involved in the dangerous underwater cutting work.

Wahine salvage

Hikitia floating crane lifting a portion of the ferry Wahine, Wellington. Negatives of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: 35mm-00036-b-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22467631

The wrecking of the Wahine is often studied and we have some very useful resources here in the New Zealand Collection and library databases. Although online New Zealand newspaper databases do not cover the year of the Wahine sinking, the New Zealand Collection has a Local History Collection that is a collection of newspaper and magazine clippings. The clippings are organised in a searchable database called the Wellington Local History Vertical Files and by asking at the 2nd floor desk using the file names you find you will be rewarded with envelopes full of newspaper clippings. We also have the Evening Post Clippings Collection, 1927 – 1977 and a search of this database will provide a large collection of clippings both about the disaster and the inquiry that followed.

There is an overseas newspaper database that does cover this timeframe and by searching the Times Digital Archive from the mygateway.info library databases I was able to read the report on the Wahine disaster on the front page of The Times newspaper and see pictures on page 12 from the 11th April 1968. Once you have logged into the database with your library card, you can read this here

Our library webpages also have a page about the Wahine disaster which includes a list of the resources available from our library catalogue. One of the resources is an educational kit from Newspapers in Education that has a number of A2 pages featuring some of the newspapers stories from the time of the shipwreck.

A very moving documentary about the Wahine disaster screens at the Museum of Wellington City and Sea every 30 mins and there is a collection of YouTube video showing film footage from the Wahine disaster which can be viewed here.

The Emmanuel Makarios book The Wahine Disaster featured below has been a useful resource for this blog post.

Syndetics book coverThe Wahine disaster : a tragedy remembered / Emmanuel Makarios.
“A study of one of the worst maritime disasters in New Zealand history. Drawing on oral history and archival records it provides a vivid account of the events of 10 April 1968”–Inside cover.