Selwyn Libraries has a small team of heritage professionals, including a Local History Librarian, who are based at Te Ara Ātea but work across the district. The team is responsible for overseeing the delivery of much of the Selwyn Strategic Heritage Plan 2023-2027. The vision of this plan is ‘Uniquely Waikirikiri Selwyn: Sharing our rich heritage and celebrating our District’s identity’.
The Heritage team works closely with local history groups to ensure they are supported in managing their collections and sharing their stories, as well as offering guidance on Selwyn history and heritage to our wider community. The team manage a number of public resources and services:
Selwyn Heritage Collection
While Selwyn Libraries does not collect heritage material, we are responsible for the care and preservation of the Selwyn Heritage Collection, a small legacy collection of historical photographs and papers, which is available for research and viewable on request.
We also have a small reference collection of Selwyn historical books and pamphlets which is held at Te Ara Ātea. In many cases we also have borrowing copies of these publications.
Kā Kōrero o Waikirikiri Selwyn Stories
Kā Kōrero o Waikirikiri Selwyn Stories is our digital hub for the rich, unique, and authentic heritage stories of the Waikirikiri Selwyn district. With a focus on storytelling, this website comprises an accessible collection of articles, narratives, oral histories and digitised material relating to the district. Content is contributed by the community for the community, and therefore representative and reflective of the many voices of Waikirikiri Selwyn.
You can browse Kā Kōrero o Waikirikiri Selwyn Stories and contribute your own stories here.
Township Trails
Township Trails Selwyn offers a growing collection of self-guided heritage walking tours around the district via a free downloadable app. It is a great way to discover and engage with place-based heritage in Waikirikiri Selwyn and can be downloaded for free from Google Play or Apple Store or you can view them online here.
Heritage Exhibitions
Spread throughout Te Ara Ātea in Rolleston are a series of museum-style display cases, developed by our Heritage and Content team, which contain some amazing stories about Waikirikiri Selwyn. These cases feature taonga on loan from local heritage groups, museums, and individuals, as well as regional and national collections.
You’ll find the heritage exhibitions in the community lounge (Café) area on the ground floor, and upstairs on Level 1.
Public Programmes and Events
Selwyn Libraries offer a range of special heritage programmes each season. Check the current What’s On guide to find out what is on offer, or visit our Events and Programmes page (search ‘heritage’ in the calendar search bar).
Local History Drop-in Sessions
In addition to special programmes, the Heritage team runs regular drop-in sessions at each Selwyn Libraries site. They can offer research and digitisation advice and support, advice on caring for your photographs, papers and other taonga at home, oral history, and using our scanners to copy your old photos.
Find out more here.
Family History
If you're keen to uncover your family story, there are a number of resources available through our libraries, which can help. If your family lived in Selwyn, you might like to check out the local history publications we have at Te Ara Ātea, as well as our digital heritage site, Kā Kōrero o Waikirikiri Selwyn Stories.
Or, you can access global family history databases MyHeritage and Ancestry Library Editions for free with your Selwyn Libraries membership. These give you access to a wide range of records from British, Australian, European and American sources, such as census and immigration records, birth and marriage registers, military service, etc.
Please note that you will need to be in one of our branches and connected to our WiFi to access MyHeritage and Ancestry. Find out more on our eResources menu page, here.
Get in touch
If you have a heritage-related query or need some help with your research, feel free to call in to one of our local history drop-in sessions, or get in touch with the Heritage and Content team via email.
Email: heritage@selwyn.govt.nz