Te Awamutu Museum’s digitisation project of the Te Awamutu Courier has added in publications between 1936 and 1950.
The programme started in December 2020 after the Museum successfully applied to the Collaborative Digitisation Programme for 2020-21 that is run by the National Library of New Zealand – Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and NZ Microfilm Services.
Museum director Anne Blyth says the papers were sent away in December 2020 where the team at NZ Microfilm Services in Auckland captured every page of every edition from the 14 years. Each page is then added to the microfilm that is sent away to National Library in Wellington to be added page by page to Paperspast. It is a long process taking over a year to complete.”
The process is now finally completed and these years of the Te Awamutu Courier are more readily available on the website where they can be searched via word text.
Paperspast is a national database that delivers digitised, bull-text New Zealand and Pacific newspapers, magazines, journals and books, which are all accessible online at papers www.past.natlib.govt.nz
“It is an incredibly handy tool for study and research on this nationally significant platform, the website allows people to have access to information at their fingertips from the comfort of their own home.”
“Paper archives can deteriorate over time and become illegible, having the Courier digitised, it helps with the long-term preservation of the original archives, meaning they can stay safely in storage while their material is accessed in more a user-friendly digital format.”
The Te Awamutu Courier publications from 1936 to 1950 join the 1911-1936 editions of the Waipā Post that are already available online on Paperspast. The Te Awamutu Courier editor Dean Taylor, who is also the Chairman of the Te Awamutu Museum trust, says it is fantastic to have four decades of the Te Awamutu’s longest running newspaper online.
“We take it for granted that we can go online and find anything we want, but the process of getting the valuable information from early newspapers onto Paperspast is time consuming and expensive,” Dean says.
“We are grateful to museum staff and the Collaborative Digitisation Programme for making it possible,” he says.
The Te Awamutu Museum is the oldest museum in the Waikato region with an extensive collection of 18,351 items that span centuries and includes taonga Māori and social history artefacts.
JAN 13th 2022
Image: Waipā museums and heritage director Anne Blyth and Te Awamutu Courier editor and Museum Trust Board chairman Dean Taylor check news from the 1940’s in an early edition of the local newspaper.
(excerpt from the Te Awamutu Courier publication from Thursday, January 13, 2022)
The Te Awamutu Museum is going the extra mile for their visitors by completing a Qualmark COVID Clean Approved assessment.
The COVID Clean Approved self-assessment tool has been developed by Qualmark exclusively for its licence holders. The assessment offers information and checklists complied by Qualmark, derived from the New Zealand Government’s COVID-19 guidelines, to help businesses adhere to these protocols. By completing the COVID Clean Approved assessment, places like the Te Awamutu Museum can demonstrate to visitors and staff that they have an awareness of COVID-19 government guidelines. Additionally, COVID Clean Approved is formally recognised by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
What does this mean for our visitors? It means visitors can be assured the Museum has created, and will maintain, a high level of safety so they can enjoy all that the Museum has to offer – educational programmes, exhibition galleries, research facilities, events and public programmes.
The Museum recognises some people may have hesitation on visiting venues during the pandemic, this Qualmark COVID Clean Approved badge is another way to show we are part of a wider group of visitor operators in the Waikato creating a high standard of safety.
JAN 2022
In consideration for our community, the Waipā District has moved into ‘orange’ as part of the new COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights).
What does this mean for our visitors? Waipā District Council has decided that proof of vaccination will be a condition of entry to any council-managed facilities. From Monday 13th December Te Awamutu Museum will require people to show their ‘My Vaccine Pass’ when they visit.
This has been put in place with consideration for the on-going health and safety of our visitors, staff, and community. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we all adjust to these new circumstances.
We happy to be open today after a long time, however, we do have some restrictions if you’re planning on visiting us.
For your safety we’ve activated a few procedures for all Museum goers and staff. These are;
- A maximum of 10 people will be allowed in the museum at a maximum of 30 minutes inside the facility.
- There will also be restrictions in place on the number of people allowed in each gallery.
- Staff will be regularly sanitising any commonly used surfaces.
- There will be no events or public programmes while in level 3: step2, and no children interactive available including puzzles and toys.
- Do ask at our front desk for Museum activity trails, keep an eye on our Facebook for digital takeaway programmes.
Before entering the building, please make sure you are wearing a face mask, you have sanitised your hands and used the contact tracing app.
If you have cold or flu symptoms and are feeling unwell please do not enter the Museum.
We appreciate your help and understanding at this time.
The Te Awamutu Museum is going Batty!
Due to changing Covid levels, visitors may be a bit wary to attend events at places like the Museum. The Te Awamutu Museum has made a call to change their Tui & Tama’s Annual Halloween Party from an afternoon indoor event to a week-long Bat Trail.
“Covid is really making it difficult for families to enjoy Museum events and public programmes as we limit our visitor numbers in level 2. However, we decided a week long event, during Museum opening times, would be a better option for our locals,” said Anne Blyth, Director of Museums and Heritage.
The call came after the recent Covid briefings where it was announced Hamilton and then parts of the Waikato including the Waipā District would be in Alert Level 3 for a while. “Covid has taken a bit of fun out of the holidays for families so we thought we’d give our locals a safer option. Rather than high visitor numbers on one afternoon, families can choose their day and time to take the Tui & Tama Great Bat Trail!”
As long as we are in Alert Level 2 visitors are welcome from Saturday 23rd through to Saturday 30th October 2021 to participate in the bat trail. The Museum is open Monday to Friday from 10am – 4pm and open Saturdays and Labour Day from 10am – 2pm. You can also take advantage of the exhibitions on show – Puāwai by Oriwa Morgan-Ward and Rahapa Te Hauata display. There are also lots of virtual activities to pick up, take home and make so remember to check out the Museum website and Facebook.
The Museum takes visitor safety seriously with contract tracing, a limit on visitors and sanitise stations set up. If you’re looking for kids activities for free or with a small cost, get to the Te Awamutu Museum.
Te Awamutu Museum, 135 Roche Street, Te Awamutu. Phone 07 872 0085. Email: museum@waipadc.govt.nz Website: www.tamuseum.org.nz Facebook: @TeAwamutuMuseum
