Finders keepers: the making of a collection
The Friends of the Turnbull Library supports the work of the Alexander Turnbull Library, and promotes public interest in the Library’s collections.
Date: Wednesday, 23 October, 2019
Time: 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Cost: Free event. You don't need to book. Koha from non-members is appreciated.
Location: Taiwhanga Kahau — Auditorium (lower ground floor), Corner Molesworth and Aitken Streets, Wellington. Entrance on Aitken Street.
Dame Fiona Kidman and the Turnbull collections
Dame Fiona Kidman is a literary star and a much-loved author of many award-winning novels. She has been using Turnbull resources — and also contributing to them — for nearly fifty years. She says her books such as the historical novels 'The Captive Wife', 'The Infinite Air' and 'This Mortal Boy' would have been impossible without access to the Turnbull’s amazing collections.
Fiona was both secretary and chair of many organisations, including PEN (NZ) — now the NZ Society of Authors including PEN; and the NZ Book Council; as well as producer of RNZ's 'Writing' programme for 7 years. Over the years she accumulated a large body of personal correspondence and recordings from literary luminaries, including Dame Ngaio Marsh, Frank Sargeson, Janet Frame, Denis Glover and others, as well as artists, educators and politicians. She describes herself as a hoarder, but this significant body of correspondence, tapes and personal manuscripts has all found its way to the Turnbull.
Fiona will talk about some of the material she has gathered over her life.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.6% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.8% Critical thinking
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29.8% Resilience and adaptability
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2.8% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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