The Auckland History Initiative at the University of Auckland presented 3 research topics by its Summer Scholarship students on 21 August 2026
Jonathan and Mary Mason, Ben Mander, Star Jackson, Kasia O'Meara and Eemeritus Professor Linda Bryder 21 August 2026, Remuera Heritage.
Emeritus Professor of History Linda Bryder introduced Star Jackson, Kasia O’Meara and Ben Mander to talk about their Summer School research.
Star talked about Turning the pages: the history and social importance of the Auckland Public Library, from its start as the Auckland Mechanics Institute, the building it shared with the Auckland Art Gallery and the Old Colonists’ Museum and then its move to a new building on Lorne Street in 1971-72. The Auckland Public Library has a long and rich history of community connection and civic participation. This research will explore the years of World War Two and the immediate postwar era, which are believed to have strengthened Aucklanders’ recognition of the library’s importance in public life.
Kasia O'Meara AHI Summer Scholarship speaker
Emeritus Professor Linda Bryder
Kasia O’Meara spoke about Angels Only Lent: Memorialisation of Infant Mortality in Auckland, 1860-1910.
New Zealand’s infant mortality rate was between one in eight and one in sixteen Pākehā babies dying before their first birthday before 1910, and the infant mortality rate for Māori babies, which was unrecorded until 1930 due to racism, was undoubtedly much higher. She also covered approaches by different cemeteries in Auckland where many babies up to the age of 12 months are in unmarked graves.
Ben Mander spoke about his research on Quarrelling Councils: Experiments in Early Auckland’s Local Government, 1851-1856.
Voter turnout for Auckland’s 2025 local body elections indicated that interest in local governance is at an all-time low. The region received the lowest voter turnout in the country of only 29.3%. This was not always the case, and in the 1850s, local government was one of the town’s most pressing issues: still a very relevant topis in 2026!
You can read the full research findings on the Auckland History Initiative website here – https://ahi.auckland.ac.nz/
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