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Image: Children being vaccinated against polio, Newtown School, Wellington (https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23186041). Collection: Alexander Turnbull Library. Ref: 1/2-040570-F. Image cropped.

Polio epidemic

Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a highly contagious infection caused by a virus, called the poliovirus. Complications from polio depend on which part of the body...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

Image: 00 4362 Rarotongo Cookinseln - Foöklore (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:00_4362_Rarotongo_Cookinseln_-_Fo%C3%B6klore.jpg) by W. Bulach on Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en). Image cropped.

Senior Primary (Years 5 - 8)

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a country in the Pacific Ocean made up of 15 different islands. Rarotonga is the largest of the 15 islands. The capital Avarua is found o...

Entry last updated: 19/08/25

Image: In remembrance of the Tangiwai disaster, 60 years ago on 24 December 1953 (https://digitalnz.org/records/32965579/in-remembrance-of-the-tangiwai-disaster-60-years-ago-on-24-december-1953) by [unknown] on DigitalNZ. Collection: Archives New Zealand. CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). Image cropped.

Tangiwai disaster 1953

Tangiwai is the site of the worst railway disaster in New Zealand’s history. It happened on Christmas Eve 1953 when the Wellington to Auckland night express ...

Entry last updated: 27/11/24

Image: Cook's Landing At The Mouth Of The Turanganui River (https://collection.tairawhitimuseum.org.nz/objects/4073/cooks-landing-at-the-mouth-of-the-turanganui-river) by F F C Huddleston. Collection: Tairāwhiti Museum. Ref: 1955.1134. Image use (https://tairawhitimuseum.org.nz/collections/image-use/). Image cropped.

Events of the East Coast

Regional Resources

Māori lived on the East Coast for a long time before the arrival of European settlers, traders, whalers, and missionaries. The region is well known for the a...

Entry last updated: 14/05/24

Image: WW1 soldier Allan McMillan writing at a desk at Oatlands Park, Surrey, England (http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/Object/900353) by [unknown]. Collection: Te Papa. Ref: O.031467. No known copyright. Image cropped.

World War One (primary sources)

People who lived during World War One and soon after left behind lots of diaries, photos, letters, manuscripts, and other such documents that recorded event...

Entry last updated: 14/04/26

Here are some sources you could look at if you'd like to find out about individual people or groups of people from Southland.

Entry last updated: 14/05/24

Image: Military Service, World War II; artillery; 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun (https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/19871) by Eric Wood. Collection: Upper Hutt City Library Heritage Collections. CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Image cropped.

Junior Primary (Years 1 - 4)

World War Two (junior)

World War Two (WWII or WW2), also called the Second World War, took place between 1939 and 1945. It is called a world war because most countries were involve...

Entry last updated: 14/04/26

Image: Old whaling station closed in 1964 - panoramio (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_whaling_station_closed_in_1964_-_panoramio.jpg) by DB Thats-Me on Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en). Image cropped.

Places of Marlborough

Regional Resources

There are many places that are significant to Marlborough, known as Te Tauihu-o-te-Waka in te reo Māori.

Entry last updated: 14/05/24

Image: Doctor looking in the microscope (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Doctor_looking_in_the_microscope.jpg) by Nenad Stojkovic on Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en), Image cropped.

Epidemics & pandemics

Epidemics are infectious diseases that spread quickly in a large area or country, causing widespread illness and sometimes death. When an epidemic is out of ...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25