Hon Chris Tremain
Minister of Internal Affairs


7 August 2012 Media Statement

Historic headlines are given a second reading

New Zealanders now have online access to a fascinating glimpse of their early history through the pages of the first 21 years of the New Zealand Herald says Internal Affairs Minister, Chris Tremain.

The addition of digitised Herald issues from 1863 to 1884 to the National Library’s website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz will be officially launched in Auckland this evening.

“Papers Past is visited by up to 10,000 New Zealanders every day and is one of the success stories of the National Library’s drive to digitise its priceless collections and make them available to everyone,” said Mr Tremain.

“One of the goals the Government has set this term is for better public services that are enterprising, driven and focused on results. This is a terrific example of the innovation and the accessibility to data that we expect central agencies to deliver on. It’s also a great example of central government working with local government and private enterprise to deliver a result that can enlighten, entertain and educate us all.

“Congratulations to the National Library, Auckland Libraries and APN - the current publishers of the New Zealand Herald - for delivering a freely-available resource for our kids, family historians and academic researchers to use.”

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