What happened to Newton East?
Find out how the inhabitants of one of Auckland's oldest suburbs have been brought back to life by the creators of the children's book "Barkell and Mr Arkell".
When Lynnie Howcroft started researching the history of her neighbourhood she uncovered a whole cast of characters and stories whose contribution to early Auckland is a distant memory if not completely forgotten.
The story in the book is based around Daniel Arkell, a bottler who took a shot at the Auckland mayoralty in 1901 and the various people he meets with his dog Barkell.
Lynnie is joined by co-creator Elianna Gabriel, a secondary school teacher who immediately saw the potential in couching an important piece of local history in a story for children. The authors discuss the motivation behind this as not only an engaging way to present this story but also to inspire and provide the tools for young people to go about their own research. Rounding out the discussion are graphic artist and illustrator S'Wee H'ng and Jade Oskar Harvey.
Recorded live at the Auckland Central Library on 17 July 2019.
Image credit: courtesy of authors
Music credits: "Missing" - Scott Holmes; "Oceans Eight" - Nathans Haines & Chris Cox
