Get ready to cast your mind back in time and learn about generations of famous and infamous Aucklanders, discover the stories of our oldest places and spaces, touch on our best-kept secrets and celebrate our heritage.
Visit heritagefestival.co.nz for the full festival programme, updated daily, and confirm your place.
Some events are already fully subscribed. Most are free. A small number carry ticket prices.
Auckland Heritage Festival, with events to attend in person and online, is brought to the region by Auckland Council and proudly presented by Ryman Healthcare.
Here is a taste of what’s coming up in week two of the festival:
An Auckland icon: Chief Post Office online virtual tour
Get an in-depth look at the life of this 100-year-old, heritage category 1 listed building: past, present and future. In a virtual tour, explore the building’s early use as the Chief Post Office then fast-forward through time to its current use as home of the Britomart Transport Centre and City Rail Link works. Hear what it was like to work as a telegraph technician in the early years and more recently how the building was lifted mere millimeters to allow for the construction of twin CRL tunnels beneath it. After the video, join experts for a live Q&A session. A link will be given to those who sign up in advance.
Presented by: City Rail Link
Uncover the secrets of play in a Victorian house
The Buckland children lived in a time when they were expected to be seen and not heard. Playing and acting out over-heard adult conversations was a way for the Victorian child to try and make sense of the often-upsetting events happening around them, such as a parent getting sick or the death of a sibling.
Presented by: Highwic and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Imagine boiling carrots for two hours; recommended in an 1865 cookbook.
The Food for Thought exhibition recognises the role food plays in family, belonging and culture. Join us for stories of Auckland life from kitchen table to restaurant banquet. Looking at what we eat, where, why and how.
This exhibition features Auckland Libraries’ Heritage Collections, with cookbooks from the 18th century, Mrs Beaton and Edmonds.
Presented by: Auckland Libraries
Old slides and new songs about Auckland and New Zealand's distant past
Chris Priestley and the Unsung Heroes including Peter Elliot, Cameron Bennett, Nigel Gavin and Sonia Wilson will bring you an evening of old images and new songs about Auckland and New Zealand's heritage.
Songs about colourful characters from our distant past plus images of Auckland from the 1850s to the early 1900s. Old newspaper articles will introduce you to each character transporting you back to our great grandparents' time and before. Snacks with a colonial twist will be served.
Presented by: Village Music
The medium is the message: television now and then
Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of Shortland Street Studios, the site of the first television broadcast. In addition, enjoy an exhibition presented by Gus Fisher Gallery celebrating 60 years of television in Aotearoa.
Navigating the choppy waters of news bulletins, television talent shows and much-loved soap operas, the exhibition reviews broadcasting from this heritage building from the 1960s to the present day. See exclusive archival footage and ephemera paired with contemporary artistic responses.
Presented by: Gus Fisher Gallery
Behind the scenes tour of TVNZ's former home
Discover the site of the first official public television broadcast in Aotearoa in this special guided tour, as we celebrate sixty years of TV in the building where it all began.
With a Neo-Romanesque facade and Art Deco interiors, view the spectacular architecture first hand, listen to fascinating stories about the building's television history and journey down through the corridors into Studio One, once the biggest broadcasting studio in the country.
Presented by: Gus Fisher Gallery
