The New Zealand Collection Presents: This Week in History 3rd – 9th May

For generations of New Zealanders ‘The School Journals’ have been part of our literacy journey. I have vivid memories of my class each being handed a journal and taking turns reading a paragraph out loud. I would run my finger along the words as others read so I would be ready for my turn. There was always such excitement when the teacher announced “turn to the play on page 12” and then we would all be anxiously waiting and hoping to get a part to read.

School Journal 1975

The stories talked about New Zealand places and people, the poems evoked New Zealand scenery and experiences and sometimes the stories and poems had art work by children. 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’s topic;

9 May 1907 The First School Journal published

In May 1907 New Zealand pupils were for the first time able to read a schoolbook published in their own country. The quarterly School Journal was initiated by Inspector-General of Schools George Hogben as a free publication containing information on history, geography and civics. This was a cheaper option than publishing several separate textbooks. Until 1939, when a School Publications Branch was formed, the School Journal was the Department of Education’s sole publication for children.

Wellington Central Library holds a collection of New Zealand School Journals in our Magazine Stack dating back to the 1907 bound copy.

Journals 1907

The School Journal was published by Learning Media for the Ministry of Education from 1993 until 2013, when it moved to a private publisher, Lift Education. Believed to be the longest-running serial publication for children in the world, the Journal continues to provide seven- to 13-year-olds with reading material that is relevant to their lives. Around 750,000 copies of the School Journal are published annually in four parts.

They can also now be read online here at the Ministry of Education’s TKI website.

Margaret Mahy’s first book, A Lion in the Meadow, was published in 1969 but this story was first published in a New Zealand School Journal. We hold a copy of this journal in our rare books collection A lion in the meadow, and other stories and poems / [stories by Margaret Mahy ; pictures by Jill McDonald].. We also have a recent edition of this early reader classic in our children’s collection.

Syndetics book coverA lion in the meadow / Margaret Mahy ; illustrated by Jenny Williams.
“A new Early Reader edition of this classic story from the hugely popular and award-winning Margaret Mahy When the little boy tells his mother he has seen a big, roaring, yellow, whiskery lion in the meadow, she decides to make up a story for him too and gives him a matchbox with a tiny dragon inside.” (Syndetics summary)

To celebrate the School Journal 100 year anniversary in 2007 Learning Media published the beautiful ‘A Nest of Singing Birds’, a browse of this book is sure to evoke memories of classroom and childhood.

Syndetics book coverA nest of singing birds : 100 years of the New Zealand school journal / [by Gregory O’Brien]
“A NEST OF SINGING BIRDS: 100 YEARS OF THE NEW ZEALAND SCHOOL JOURNAL by Gregory O’Brien celebrates, in lively words and gorgeous images, the publication that over the last hundred years has shaped New Zealanders – and the luminaries of New Zealand arts and letters who have featured in it.” (Syndetics summary)

Many of New Zealand’s foremost authors and illustrators have had their work published in the School Journal over the past century. They include Rita Angus, James K. Baxter, Alistair Campbell, Russell Clark, Jack Lasenby and E. Mervyn Taylor.

Here are some examples of what these artists and writers have gone on to produce or had written about them.

Syndetics book coverMāori boy : a memoir of childhood / Witi Ihimaera.
“This is the first volume of Witi Ihimaera’s enthralling memoir, packed with stories from the formative years of this much-loved writer. Witi Ihimaera is a consummate storyteller – one critic calling him one of our ‘finest and most memorable’. Some of his best stories, however, are about his own life. This honest, stirring work tells of the family and community into which Ihimaera was born, of his early life in rural New Zealand, of family secrets, of facing anguish and challenges, and of laughter and love. As Ihimaera recounts the myths that formed his early imagination, he also reveals the experiences from real life that wriggled into his fiction. Alive with an inventive, stimulating narrative and vividly portrayed relatives, this memoir is engrossing, entertaining and moving, but, more than this, it is also a vital record of what it means to grow up Maori.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverChappy
“A literary milestone: Patricia Grace’sfirst novel in ten years. Uprooted from his privileged European life and sent to New Zealand to sort himself out, twenty-one-year-old Daniel pieces together the history of his Maori family. As his relatives revisit their past, Daniel learns of a remarkable love story between his Maori grandmother Oriwia and his Japanese grandfather Chappy. The more Daniel hears about his deceased grandfather, the more intriguing – and elusive – Chappy becomes. In this touching portrayal of family life, acclaimed writer Patricia Grace explores racial intolerance, cross-cultural conflicts and the universal desire to belong. Spanning several decades and several continents and set against the backdrop of a changing New Zealand, Chappy is a compelling story of enduring love.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverRita Angus : life & vision / edited by William McAloon & Jill Trevelyan.
“This exquisite full-colour catalogue explores the life and work of Rita Angus (1908#150;70), one of New Zealand’s best-loved artists and her legacy of art in New Zealand. It features magnificent reproductions of every artwork in the exhibition, from iconic landscapes and portraits like Cass and Rutu to work never before seen in public. Includes essays from well-known writers, critics, and art historians.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverBaxter basics / James K. Baxter.
“In 1954 James K Baxter became a teacher and began writing poems for children. Here for the first time in one volume are the Baxter Basics – a New Zealand classic. BAXTER BASICS were originally published in 1979 as six poems in separate booklets: Rain, I’m a Tree, The Tree House, The Seagull, The Ships and The Firemen. They remain some of the finest examples of children’s poetry produced in this country. With their delightful original illustrations by the celebrated Lynley Dodd, Judith Trevelyan, Dawn Johnston and Ernest Papps this volume is a must have for kiwi kids and adults alike.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverJames K. Baxter : poems / by James K. Baxter ; selected and introduced by Sam Hunt.
“Including 50 poems by revered New Zealand poet and social activist James K. Baxter, this unique and accessibly sized collection offers an insider’s view of the man and his work from his longtime friend and fellow poet Sam Hunt. With a range of familiar and lesser-known poems dating from 1945 to 1972, and a substantial essay by Hunt, this compilation offers a fresh and very personal look at the work of an extraordinarily influential poet.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book coverNga tau ki muri = Our future / Ans Westra.
“This timely and visionary new book includes 137 Westra photographs of the New Zealand landscape, with text contributions from Hone Tuwhare, Russel Norman, Brian Turner, David Eggleton and David Lange, who wrote a short piece for Ans as part of an unreaslied book project in 1987. Well known for her iconic black and white documentation of Maori culture, Ans Westra is also known for her colour works, which show concern for New Zealand’s destiny, “an island exploited by various waves of settlement”. Shot with Ans’ trusty Rolleiflex camera, the sometimes damning images in Our Future have been made over the last 20 years. “The purpose of the book is to give a directive to the country, an awareness of things changed and lost within its short history. If we don’t plan for the long term and keep taking stop-gap measures, we leave very little behind. Instead of becoming like the rest of the world, this beautiful place should become a shining example of hope for survival in a newly balanced environment. Ans Westra.” (Syndetics summary)