New Zealand’s literary heritage online

With the advent of the Internet it became possible to publish and read books online. While some commentators concluded that it would herald the end of the printed book, this has certainly not been the case so far. You just don’t curl up cosily with a computer screen!

Nevertheless, the online environment has provided at least one great outcome and that is the wider public availability of rare and historical texts. A striking example is the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre hosted by Victoria University in Wellington. It contains a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials. The site is continuously expanded and includes images, full text books, manuscripts and journals.

             Click here to connect to the NZETC

For instance the site includes the full text of ‘The great journey: an expedition to explore the interior of the Middle Island, New Zealand, 1846-8′ by Thomas Brunner, as well as a fascinating collection of 19th century New Zealand novels, such as ‘Utu: A Story of Love, Hate and Revenge’ by Tua-O-RangiMargaret Bullock’ (published in 1894) and ‘Amongst the Maoris: A Book of Adventure’ by Emilia Marryat Norris (published in 1874). Also of considerable interest are the books on New Zealand history, in particular the large number of works on World War I and II, including the official histories of several battalions.

The web site currently has 2600 texts available and receives over 10,000 online visitors a day! Well worth a look,

Sylvia