Ping pong at Warner’s Hotel 1902

As a piece of architecture, “Warner’s” is an ornament to Cathedral Square, a handsome addition to the city, and one of the finest hotels in New Zealand …  One of these is the waiting room for gentlemen guests, and is furnished with roller desks each supplied with a movable electric light; and each guest has during his stay the control of the key of a desk. In the northern end of the buildings, and completely cut off from the private portions of the establishment, are the public and private bars, fitted with handsome cedar fittings and bevelled plate glass mirrors. …  At the back, and separated by a splendid system of lavatories, is the fine billiard room, fitted with two exhibition tables.

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District], NZETC

Search our catalogue for more information on Warner’s Hotel.

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We have digitised a rather splendid 1902 publication Tourists’ guide to Canterbury.

I will share some of the interesting ads and pictures from it in a series of posts – there’s lots of information about local businesses and places in 1902.

The owl that fell from the sky : stories of a museum curator – New Zealand e-book month

Natural history museums contain many thousands of zoological specimens and each has a tale to tell – often involving extraordinary people, daring explorations, unquenchable scientific curiosity, and strange coincidences. This perfectly presented book, with its engaging pictures, is rich in stories and unveils many secrets.

Read about: the fate of a tortoise given as a gift by Captain Cook; the epic international voyage of the biggest known moa egg; the admiration induced by an ape from the jungles of Borneo; the barn owl of mysterious origins; the unfortunate fate of an angry young elephant; the quest to discover how a New Zealand heron turned up in a Florence museum; the strange arrival of an Australian banjo frog and many other mind-boggling mysteries.

You can read The owl that fell from the sky as an e-book from our Overdrive collection.

The owl that fell from the sky is also available as a paper book.