From Swan Recipes to Cultural Icons: The Incredible Story of The Listener

The New Zealand Listener has long been more than just a magazine. What began as a simple radio programme guide has grown into a national window on New Zealand’s culture, politics and arts. Edited originally by Oliver Duff and published by the New Zealand Broadcasting Service, the Listener quickly became a source for both serious reporting and lighter features, from investigative stories to quirky advice like Aunt Daisy’s Instructions for Cooking a Swan.

The arts have always had a prominent place in its pages, with notable New Zealand authors including Janet Frame and Maurice Shadbolt contributing their work. Even when the magazine lost its monopoly on radio and television programme guides in 1980, it adapted and thrived, with paid circulation peaking at 375,885 in 1982. Privatised in 1990, The Listener continued under New Zealand Magazines and later Bauer Media Group, only to pause briefly in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Are Media revived it later that year, ensuring its voice would continue.

The Listener’s entire run is now being digitised by the National Library, alongside the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, with early issues from 1939 to 1959 available on PapersPast. Hamilton City Libraries holds most early issues from 28 January 1957 and all issues from 1969 onwards, available to view on Level 3 of the Central Library. Recent editions are accessible online with a library card through Libby from 2021 and PressReader from 2016.

From its beginnings as a programme guide to its place as a cultural touchstone, The Listener has captured the stories, voices and creativity that continue to shape New Zealand life.