Sir George Grey Special Collections, AWNS-19360506-45-4

Do you have any family members who had/have wedding anniversaries, or died between 1934 and 1970? If so, have you checked The New Zealand Herald anniversaries and death notices 1939 – 1970 [microform] : index & transcriptions slips? You may just locate information that you have previously missed.

The names index was extracted from more than 22,000 handwritten transcriptions of death and anniversary notices. The second part of this resource contains the microfiched transcription slips.

The transcription slips contain the full text and date of the notice as it appeared in the newspaper. Usually the names of the people involved are included as well as a date and place. Sometimes there is even a reference to another source of information that may be followed up on later.

Often five or more people are named in an anniversary transcription slip. All of these names have been included in the index. There are over 100,000 individuals indexed, of which about 62,000 names are those of couples married. There may be more transcription slips connected to a marriage, for example when there is a notice for a couple’s silver wedding anniversary as well as one for their golden wedding anniversary.

The microfiche includes a guide on how to use the resource, including a key to abbreviations used in the transcriptions and the principles the compilers followed when putting the names of people in alphabetical order.

Have a look … You never know what (or who) you might find!

The 1995 edition of the index and transcription slips is held at the Central Auckland Research Centre; the South Auckland Research Centre and the West Auckland Research Centre hold a 2004 edition (updated with minor amendments).
Lynn (South Auckland Research Centre)

Prudery and prurience – resources held in the Central Auckland Research Centre


Ref: Current display in the Central Auckland Research Centre

The Research Centre has several resources regarding Truth including a microfiche copy of Rebecca Lancashire’s 1986 thesis “Prudery and prurience” which compares images of women in NZ Truth in 1935 with the “cult of domesticity”.

A second microfiche resource is the “Divorce information extracted from NZ Truth newspaper” between 1946-1966. A common reason for divorce at that time was adultery, and co-respondents are named in this record. Other reasons for divorce included desertion; living apart for seven years; or a spouse being convicted of murder.


Ref:  AWNS-19250716-52-6, "I've been married fifteen years, so I think I've well earned a divorce.", 1925, Sir George Grey Special  Collections

The collection holds three books featuring Truth – Redmer Yska’s 2010 history “The Rise and Fall of the People’s Paper”; and Lesley Verry’s 1985 “Seven Days a Week” history of Independent Newspapers Ltd.

The third book is Truth’s 1950 Cookery Book with “600 Specially Selected Prize Recipes” including those for invalids, diabetics and the health conscious.

The newspaper collection has all copies of Truth published between December 2007-2013 and local history articles in these issues have been included in Auckland Libraries digital resource Index Auckland.

Lastly, Papers Past has digitised NZ Truth from 7 July 1906-22 December 1930 and these are also available to view on Auckland Libraries digital library.

Leanne