Entry in the 2014 Christchurch City Libraries Photo Hunt by Jane Rodgers.
Quail Island was proclaimed a quarantine station on 11 February 1875. The first leprosy patient was Willa Vallane, who was confined to the island in 1906. A second was admitted in 1908, with a third in 1909. By 1925 there were eight patients in residence (a ninth, George Philips, made an escape after having being certified as cured). In that year the eight patients were relocated from Quail Island to a new “leper colony” on Makogai Island in the Pacific.
Do you have any photographs of Quail Island? If so, feel free to contribute to our collection.
Kete Christchurch is a collection of photographs and stories about Christchurch and Canterbury, past and present. Anyone can join and contribute.
The best part about spring is the end of winter and the days getting longer and warmer. It’s also a time to look after your health, and Christchurch City Libraries has some great health eResources for you to get information on everything from the common cold to yoga. Start with Consumer Health Complete and Health & Wellness Resource Center.
Some things to research may include:
The common cold
These always lurk around into spring – discover what scientists have found so far in their quest for a cure.
Food tribes
Thinking about joining the Paleo gang or doing the plant-based vegan thing? Explore some scientific facts first.
Fighting allergies
Flowers and grasses spring into life and release pollen, which won’t fill you with joy if you suffer from hay fever. Find out the latest information and remedies to help with your allergies.
Getting fit
If you’re starting up your exercise regime again after a winter break, be sure not to injure yourself – get some tips on getting fit.
Woo hoo it’s Spring?! So maybe it’s time to adopt a new health kick. To be honest, fads are really not my thing and the thought of giving up chocolate or – heaven forbid – coffee makes me feel a little faint. There seems to be something for every month and here’s a list for those of you with more willpower.
Dry January or Drynuary is the UK version of Dry July, don’t think it would work here as it BBQ / holiday season. There are many articles on the benefits of abstaining from the demon drink. Check out Consumer Health Complete for information on the benefits like weight loss and better sleep.
Frugal February is perfect remedy to Christmas excesses, spend less and save some cash. If you have indulged too much over the summer, FebFast might be the one for you, another chance to exercise some temperance when it comes to eating and drinking.
March no catchy name or anything but there is Lent so give up something, sugar or alcohol if you couldn’t face Drynuary or FebFast.
Meat free May or No Meat May, plant based diets constantly in the news and what better way to try it out with Meat Free May, it is better for the environment and better for your health. Need some inspiration here is some links to vegetarian cookbooks on OverDrive.
Junk Free June, run by the Cancer Society. You can pick the junk you remove from your diet can be anything from sugar to fast food, fizzy to lollies your call. We all know that too much junk food is bad for you, but check this article How Junk Food Affects Your Health.
Dry July – yes, another quit alcohol month. This is the New Zealand version and personally middle of winter seems like a great month to abstain here is some tips to help you Stay Dry this July. There are other options for July –
Plastic Free July and do your bit for the environment and not use plastic for the whole month.
Beer and Pie July, the idea here is to celebrate our best pies and beers by consuming one of each everyday in July. This one I am pretty sure has no health benefits and the only gain would be a beer and pie gut.
Abstain August Not an official event but abstain from your choice – could be sugar, alcohol, beer and pies (especially if you did beer and pie July).
Steptember – Yes get your fitbit out start moving. Steptember is a fundraising activity supporting those with cerebral palsy. Scientist have collected smartphone data to determine which nationalities walk the most throughout the day check out the article from Health & Wellness Resource Center Which Countries Walk the Most–and the Least?
Blue SeptemberProstate Cancer Foundation’s national awareness campaign. Wear a blue ribbon, dye your hair blue or hold a blue do and raise money or awareness around prostate cancer.
Movember the worldwide annual event to raise awareness of men’s health issues such as prostrate cancer, testicular cancer. Personally I dislike the moustache, they remind me of policemen from the 1980s. Searching Movember on Health & Wellness Resource Center I discovered all sorts of fascinating Movember facts like the world record for moustache length is 12ft 6 inches, and that Movember was dreamed up by four Aussies in a Melbourne pub.
Eating. It’s the most natural thing in the world yet it is becoming increasingly loaded with emotion and so-called science. This can leave the most sensible of us awash in recipes and diet plans.
To add to the dilemma of what to eat as adults, we are now increasingly concentrating on what to feed our children. Now in “my day” (yes I know that sounds dreadful but I can’t think of any other way to put it) we blended up a bit of pumpkin, threw in some cheese ( if we had any), pureed apple or banana and that was that. Did this lead to lack of vitamins, macro-nutrients, poor eating habits and an addiction to sugar? I really don’t know… My children seem reasonably healthy, but with the addition of twins to our family I am aware that there is much discussion, and a certain amount of anxiety amongst new parents when faced with the endless opinions and debate around food.
So here are some new titles that will either help or hinder the feeding process!
Michele Olivier describes herself as a complete control freak and I have to agree with her. The book emanates from a blog she created when feeding her daughter Ellie and is full of organic, fresh, tasty meals. She suggests all you “need is a couple of hours each month and a passion to give your baby the best”. Good luck with that.
This book is very attractive with colour pictures accompanying each recipe and plenty of interesting ideas for first food. I struggled a bit with the cost factor of strawberry and goat cheese spread, simple poached salmon (I can’t even afford this for the adults in my family let alone the children) and tomato fennel soup, but that aside there are some good ideas in here for all the family.
For those of you who are serious about this baby feeding business! Packed full of ideas including the blindingly obvious “… don’t pressure him to eat past the point at which he feels full” or “limit unhealthy foods and snacks” to in-depth information and charts for average daily energy requirements in the first year of life, recommendations for the required amount of vitamin D, and how to cope with fussy eaters. There are no pretty pictures in this book!
Now that we are educated on how to feed our children we can turn our attention to the family pet with the Pet Cookbook: Easy everyday recipes for happy healthy pets. Treat them to watermelon pupsicles, a tasty salmon log, pupcakes, chicken scramble (apparently chickens love this even though they are eating their own) and a super smoothy. Heck, use these recipes yourself – they look great!
Tomorrow, 21 June, is the winter solstice. The shortest day. The point at which the southern hemisphere of our little blue planet, with its jaunty, tilted axis, reaches “peak gloom”. The weather will continue to grow colder from this point*, hardening into winter, but the days themselves and potential daylight hours will increase. And not a moment too soon.
The connection between sunshine and emotions is not limited to this Motown album from 1974.
If you’ve been feeling down recently, the lack of sunshine may have something to do with it. According the MetService, sunshine hours in Christchurch this June are well below average. I don’t mind a bit of cold myself but the lack of blue sky and sunlight is rather dampening to the spirit.
Short of leaving town, or literally heading for the hills what can we all do to feel better? Our friends at All Right? have a lot of great suggestions but here are some of my own:
Make the most of what we’ve got – I just ran outside and stood in the sunshine for about 20 seconds before the sun went away again. Make hay (and Vitamin D) while the sun shines, and all. If you’re in the position to be able to go for a walk or be outside for a bit during the all too brief appearances the sun is making then do. But take a brolly because it will probably start raining again…
Get out and socialise – It can be tempting to stay indoors and hibernate but sometimes forcing yourself to be social is worth the effort. At the library there are options for crafting with company or book groups, or our Matariki Whānau Fun Day on Saturday at Ōrauwhata: Bishopdale Library and Community Centre might be the ticket. Or make the most of the darkness by lighting it up on the winter solstice night light bike ride through Hagley Park. Alternatively, you could organise your own Matariki shared dinner with friends and whānau – whip up a batch of soup and hang out together moaning about how rubbish the weather is!
Now that I mention it… SOUP – I firmly believe a hearty soup can have healing and mood-altering properties. When combined with a comfy pair of slippers and a good book, soup is a veritable panacea for whatever ails you. Also, leeks and potatoes are inexpensive at the moment and if you make them into a soup you can say you’ve made vichyssoise which sounds really fancy.
Wear bright clothing or something that makes you feel happy – It’s tempting to match the sombre grey of the sky with your outfits but don’t! Go the other way instead with vibrant warm colours or really anything that makes you feel great: jewellery, a flower in your hair, an eye-catching pair of socks, anything that brings a smile.
Be nice to people – Acts of kindness or generosity are actually mood-lifters for both the recipient and the giver. I’m trying to dish out more compliments (rather than just think them in my head). The All Right crew have some cute compliment gifs that might come in handy for this.
*If you’ve ever wondered why the weather doesn’t start to warm up after winter solstice it’s because of the time it takes to change the temperature of the large bodies of water that make up most of the surface of our planet. Seas and oceans warm throughout summer and are slow to cool – like giant hot water bottles keeping us warm through the night/autumn. It’s only when they’ve lost their heat that we’ll start to really feel winter’s bite.
A guest post from Sara Epperson, Chairperson, Public Health Association, Canterbury/West Coast Branch
“The way we make change is changing.”
Marisa Franco, Director of #Not1More Deportation
Someone from the antivivisection society sat next to a food resilience activist, and an environmental campaigner was chatting animatedly with a cervical health promoter. The workshop had barely begun, and already we were tapping in to one another, one of the many takeaways from the ‘Reinventing Advocacy in the 21st Century’ workshop.
In April 2018, the New Zealand Drug Foundation partnered with the Public Health Association of New Zealand (Canterbury/West Coast Branch) to bring a NetChange advocacy workshop to Ōtautahi. Participants had the opportunity to learn from the research and expertise at NetChange about the strategies of today’s most successful advocacy campaigns and the ways we can apply them to our causes. Later, we used a campaign grid to make concrete plans and workshop these together, sharing our own tips and experiences with one another.
The workshop participants were eager to share what they’d learnt, and to start perusing the reading list. We thought we’d share it with you — something to think about whether you’re new to organising, just around the corner from a big movement — or both. For a start, the Networked Change Report and the brand-new ‘Blueprints for Change’ guides.
On competition in the nonprofit sector, see: “Effects of Nonprofit Competition on Charitable Donations,” by Bijetri Bose, Department of Economics, University of Washington, Seattle.
eResources Discovery Search (eDS) provides you with access to most of Christchurch City Libraries’ eResource collection, articles, eBooks, journals, photographs, Kete (our community repository) and more, through a single simultaneous search at a single access point.
Search for:
Our selectors spot plenty of new and interesting titles as part of their work. Here are some titles that took the fancy of tweeting selector Chris:
In this visual ode to all things bookish, readers will get lost in page after page of beautiful contemporary art, photography, and illustrations depicting the pleasures of books. https://t.co/MRbLyHNhds ^CH pic.twitter.com/ySeIuDvAx1
— ChChCityLibraries (@ChristchurchLib) April 6, 2018
Amy Schmittauer is the Vlog Boss. As a new media triple threat — YouTuber, keynote speaker and author — she coaches people to go after what they want in life and leverage online video to make it happen. https://t.co/J9LzVoABCM ^CH pic.twitter.com/nDjCLiaZLs
— ChChCityLibraries (@ChristchurchLib) April 6, 2018
Discover the exceptional new creations, destined for eminent clients and collectors, from one of the world’s most prestigious jewelers – Cartier https://t.co/ntWQyu9cLL ^CH pic.twitter.com/0e9sSwuTzw
Explore Ireland's Anglo-Norman fortresses, medieval towers, fortified houses and the neo-Gothic piles of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. https://t.co/ox2wlqfZeL ^CH pic.twitter.com/kMPTIgcxFd
Breakfast treats, chutneys, marinades, shampoos, bath products, massage cream, toothpaste, pet food, air fresheners, pest deterrents, furniture polish and so much more. 707 products you can make yourself to save money and the Earth. https://t.co/Pu1fhz3jy0 ^CH pic.twitter.com/O2fktiUxaK
Many new mums will experience the "baby blues", but postpartum depression is a more severe long-lasting form of depression. When you are emotionally drowning how do you survive? How do you recover and start to enjoy mothering? https://t.co/QUu4TgQwNu ^CH pic.twitter.com/fZL7Q8BJ7A
Kara exposes the world of sex trafficking. Using his background in finance & economics he provides a business analysis of modern slavery. More importantly Kara identifies measures that would target sex trafficking and help abolish it, once and for all. https://t.co/fmRhu8z4f4 ^CH pic.twitter.com/5WkITJDmVG
Imagine being alongside one of the greatest bands in the history of rock & touring the world. Peter didn't have to imagine: for more than a decade, he lived a life that other people can only dream of as he worked with Queen as head of their road crew. https://t.co/uFaCFx7NrU ^CH pic.twitter.com/iDtVRIYu1h
Cookies-and-Cream Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries, Hot Fudge Cheesecake Parfait, Apple Crumb Cheesecake Pie, Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Brownies – "If it doesn't have cheesecake in it, it should" is the baking motto that Jocelyn Brubaker lives by. https://t.co/p5zpxMozQS ^CH pic.twitter.com/FbWLNrHKUM
— ChChCityLibraries (@ChristchurchLib) March 9, 2018
Clinical psychologist Meg Jay takes us into the world of the supernormal: those who soar to unexpected heights after childhood adversity. They have overcome the trauma in their childhoods to go on and become successful adults. https://t.co/VGlxvBHaAq ^CH pic.twitter.com/YRtJwb7pgD
— ChChCityLibraries (@ChristchurchLib) March 6, 2018
A complete introduction to the psychology and science of perfume, with instructions on using and layering scent, and making your own perfumed sprays, oils, and bath and body products. https://t.co/uotrc7QDZC ^CH pic.twitter.com/F99hK5ipsp
— ChChCityLibraries (@ChristchurchLib) March 3, 2018
Addresses several types of cyber crimes, ranging from child pornography and solicitation to cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and sexting, giving parents the necessary information they need to protect their children in cyberspace. https://t.co/9xPDGI4MS6 ^CH pic.twitter.com/w2a4UbeZ2i
A patient’s quarters at the Avon Pine Sanitorium at Wainoni on the New Brighton Road. [22 Apr. 1904]. File Reference CCL PhotoCD 17, IMG0045.The Avon Pine Sanitorium was established in 1904 on Professor Alexander William Bickerton‘s (1842-1929) land at Wainoni Park for fee-paying tubercular patients who were treated by the open-air method. It was formally opened by Sir Joseph Ward (1856-1930), then Minister of Public Health, and was under the charge of Dr. Cecil Greenwood (b. 1860/1861).
Do you have any photographs of Wainoni Park and its surrounding area? If so, feel free to contribute to our collection.
Kete Christchurch is a collection of photographs and stories about Christchurch and Canterbury, past and present. Anyone can join and contribute.
Sometimes in libraries we think about poo. Not necessarily because we want to but because our public toilets sometimes get blocked, sometimes books get Suspicious Stains on them, and sometimes we wonder how many royal toddler toilet training picture books there are…
And if you really think about it poo is quite important, and you certainly can’t escape it. So, I’ve been poking around a few of our resources to see what I can find about poo and sewage and other stinky things like that.
Searching on our catalogue the keyword ‘poo’ and the Official Subject Heading (we librarians do enjoy a good subject heading) ‘feces‘ finds a lot of children’s books – not unsuprisingly, but it also brings up entries from Access Video – an eResource featuring lots of fascinating documentaries – about sanitation in the developing world.
Sanitation has an interesting history in Christchurch. We’re all familiar with more recent issues in this area, which has been carefully documented by CEISMIC, however there’s a long history to explore.
If you’ve ever wondered what the poo of our native wildlife looks like, then DigitalNZ is the website you need! Searching for ‘poo’ brings up a lot of helpful visuals to assist you in identifying that mystery turd, plus a positive plethora of poo-related media articles, research papers and videos.
I also had a look on Papers Past for poo related content. However the 19th century and first half of the 20th century were more conservative eras so ‘poo’ and ‘excrement’ don’t bring up a huge amounts of hits – although there is definitely content for those with an interest in public health. I’ve also found out about pakapoo – a Chinese lottery game brought to New Zealand by gold miners – and The Mikado.
Do you have any #codebrown stories you’d like to share? [Ed: we welcome the use of euphemisms for the benefit of those with delicate sensibilities]
Christchurch City Libraries blog hosts a series of regular podcasts from specialist human rights radio show Speak up – Kōrerotia. This show is created by Sally Carlton.
Voices for euthanasia and assisted dying
– Maryan Street (President, End-of-Life Choice Society NZ): Overview
– Andrew Butler (Litigation Partner, Russell McVeagh): Legal arguments
– Matt Vickers (husband of campaigner Lecretia Seales): Personal story
Christchurch City Libraries blog hosts a series of regular podcasts from specialist human rights radio show Speak up – Kōrerotia. This show is created by 
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 