Has Dunedin changed since 1941?

In 1941, the Otago Branch of the NZLA put together Dunedin : Notes for Conference Visitors. This booklet starts off:

Not all your time will be spent in conference sessions. Each in your own way will want to enjoy your time in Dunedin, see something of the city and surroundings perhaps, view its architectural features, learn something of its life and institutions, or, possibly, just relax and do nothing.

The challenge was too great …. the local LIANZA Branch has updated the booklet to see what has changed over the last 69 years. Judging by the comment above perhaps nothing!!

The result is The changing face of Dunedin 1941 – 2010. Enjoy.

I see that hand

100 years of the Library Association; 84 terms of office for the President undertaken by 77 people (32 women and 45 men). People doing more that one term have included:

E. Ellen Melville	1926, 1928, and 1943
T.W. Leys	1910 and 1911
J. Barr	1939 and 1945
Desmond B. Black	1960 and 1960-61
Maida J Clark	1962-63 and 1963-64
M.C. Sexton	1968-69 and 1969-70

The most “capped” President is  Ellen Melville. Ellen was a solicitor, an Auckland City Councillor and a pioneer in many areas – the second woman to qualify as a solicitor of the supreme court; the first women to practise law independently; the first women councillor in New Zealand (re-elected at every election from 1913 until she was forced to retire after 33 years of consecutive service owing to illness); the first president of the Auckland Branch of the National Council of Women; and chairman or member of many of the Auckland City Council’s committees.

An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966 concludes: “Ellen was a woman of strong and perhaps conservative opinions, but will always be remembered as one of those people who paved the way for women both in the legal profession and in civic affairs”

The Association is fortunate to have had (and to continue to have) people of this calibre as their President. Check out the photos of the Library Association presidents on our Flickr account and remember that these are people who have put themselves forward to bring the Association to where it is today.

Were you there?

Over the last 100 years the Library Association has held 76 conferences throughout New Zealand, and some combined ones in Australia. Some years a Conference hasn’t been held and there  6 years when only the AGM or a seminar has been arranged .

1910	Dunedin	1958	Invercargill	1985	Dunedin
1911	Auckland	1959	Wellington	1987	Wellington
1912	Wellington	1960	Dunedin	1988	Hamilton/Sydney (FLA/LAA/NZLA)
1926	Dunedin	1962	New Plymouth	1989	Christchurch
1927	Wanganui	1964	Hastings	1990	New Plymouth
1928	Christchurch	1965	Christchurch	1991	Auckland
1930	Auckland	1966	Auckland	1992	Nelson
1935	Timaru	1967	Wellington	1993	Tauranga
1937	Wellington	1968	Dunedin	1994	Wellington
1938	Nelson	1969	Gisborne	1995	Masterton
1939	Palmerston North	1970	Nelson	1996	Queenstown
1940	Wellington	1971	Palmerston North	1997	Wanganui
1941	Dunedin	1972	Rotorua	1998	Dunedin
1945	Wanganui	1973	Invercargill	1999	Auckland
1946	Auckland	1974	Wellington	2000	Christchurch
1947	Christchurch	1975	Auckland	2001	Rotorua
1948	Napier	1976	Christchurch	2002	Wellington
1949	Dunedin	1977	Wanganui	2003	Napier
1950	Wellington	1978	Hamilton	2004	Auckland
1951	Palmerston North	1979	Dunedin	2005	Christchurch
1952	Timaru	1980	Lower Hutt	2006	Wellington
1953	Auckland	1981	Christchurch (NZLA/LAA)	2007	Rotorua
1954	Nelson	1982	Auckland	2008	Auckland
1955	Wanganui	1983	Palmerston North	2009	Christchurch
1956	Christchurch	1984	Brisbane (LAA/NZLA)	2010	Dunedin
1957	Rotorua

The first Conference was held in Dunedin, the jubilee conference was held in Dunedin (1960), and now the Centennial Conference is to be held in Dunedin. And how many Conferences have you attended in the intervening years?