Illustrated London News Collection. New Zealand collection 1842-1902

Illustrated London News Collection. New Zealand collection 1842-1902


The Illustrated News Collection  ia an interesting digitisation project from the University of Waikato Library who have scanned all images and text relating to New Zealand from the Illustrated London News during this period.

The Illustrated London News was a picture newspaper that ran for over 150 years, its first issue appearing on 14 May 1842. The paper was published weekly until 1971 when it became a monthly. It provided a general source of news but its main appeal lay in its use of woodcuts and engravings to enhance the text. Later, photographs were introduced to provide the illustrations. The paper was highly popular and successful and, while it had an emphasis on Britain, world events were covered, especially where Britain was involved or affected. To this end, Britain's imperial interests and the emerging colony of New Zealand received some coverage especially during the period of the New Zealand Wars.

This database produced by the University of Waikato Library includes scanned images of the all the text and illustrations that refer to events in New Zealand during the first sixty years from volume 1 in 1842 to volume 121 in 1902. The entries can be searched by keyword or you can browse in chronological order.

Key topics covered include social, economic and political history. The Senate House Library also has access to the printed copies of the Illustrated London News.