FAQs
What is the Preserving Local History & Educational Trust?
The Preserving Local History & Educational Trust (Te Pupuri i ngā Hītori o te Rohe Trust) is a charitable organisation established in 2022. Our mission is to preserve New Zealand’s cultural heritage by locating, digitising, and making historical community newspapers freely available online.
What is the Your Stories project?
Your Stories is our flagship project. It aims to digitise every at-risk local newspaper published between 1840 and 2000. By doing so, we protect fragile originals while making the content widely accessible through online platforms such as Recollect and Papers Past.
Why are community newspapers important?
Community newspapers capture everyday history such as local politics, events, milestones, and voices that rarely appear in national records. They provide a unique and irreplaceable view of how New Zealanders lived, worked, and celebrated in their communities.
What newspapers have you digitised so far?
Some of the titles already digitised include the Marlborough Express (1921–1952), the Chatham Islander (1992–2010), the Waimarino Bulletin (1983–1989), the Ruapehu Bulletin (1989–2001), and the Taupō Times (1952–1974). New titles are regularly added as funding and permissions allow. You can check out the full list here.
How is this work funded?
Our projects are supported through grants, donations, partnerships, and in-kind support. Funding is essential to cover scanning, preservation, metadata creation, and ongoing digital access. As a charitable trust, all donations receive a tax rebate.
How can I support the Trust?
There are several ways to help:
Donate via our Givealittle page or by bank transfer.
Partner with us to sponsor digitisation projects.
Share information about rare or missing newspapers you may know of.
Volunteer or contribute expertise in history, archiving, or community outreach.
What are Desiderata lists?
These are lists of missing or hard-to-find newspaper issues we are actively searching for. We publish them by region (e.g., West Auckland) so communities can help locate copies still held in private homes, museums, or local organisations.
Who manages the Trust?
The Trust is led by a volunteer board of trustees with expertise in history, archives, libraries, academia, and community engagement. Our Chairperson is Andy Fenton, and the board includes respected historians and archivists such as Professor Lachy Paterson, Dr Ross Harvey, Anne Jackman and others. You can find out more about the board here.
Where can I read the newspapers once digitised?
Digitised newspapers are made available through our Recollect site and, once fully processed and preserved, through the National Library of New Zealand’s Papers Past platform. You can view these here.