Three Selected Items
These items were chosen by Glenview team member, Lis. She shares her thoughts on a selection of images from our Heritage Collections Online.
Hamiltonians in 2022 can easily be forgiven for thinking this photo of roadworks was taken recently, but the colour and machinery all indicate an earlier date. The photo was taken in 1960, the road being carved out is part of Cobham Drive near Palmerston Street.
Perhaps one of the most profound ANZAC parades was the 1940 ANZAC parade. The Waikato Times article highlighted the prominence of that day: “It is a quarter of a century after the landing, it is the first wartime Anzac Day, and it is the Anzac Day in New Zealand’s Centennial Year.” Those marching behind the Highland Band were the 6th (Hamilton) Company comprised of returned soldiers of the First World War. The procession began at Ward Street, heading in the direction of Memorial Park where the principal service of the day was to take place.
I’ll admit I hadn’t a clue about who HCM Norris was when I first saw this photo, the most striking thing being that he was walking around smoking a pipe. When this photograph was taken Hensleigh Carthew Marryat Norris was working in a legal partnership alongside A. G. Ward (a returned wartime intelligence officer) though Norris was described as the ‘brains behind the business.’ Though an important aspect in Norris’ life, he is perhaps best known for his historical literary works Armed Settlers (1956) and Settlers in Depression (1964) which are key secondary sources concerning Hamilton’s history from 1864-1894. Hamilton Libraries holds several copies of both these works and a collection of his personal research papers. Learn more about Mr Norris on Te Ara.
Explore more images like these on our Heritage Collections Online. Don’t forget you can share your thoughts and memories in the comments below each item!