Women bathers in the surf at Anawhata. West Auckland Research Centre. J.T. Diamond Collection, JTD-03K-01751-G.

The Waitākere Ranges Local Board is seeking original research for a new heritage conference focused on West Auckland’s history, calledNew Stories of the Old West.

The one-day conference will take place Sunday 2 October, 9am – 5pm at Titirangi War Memorial Hall, South Titirangi Road, Titirangi. It will be part of the larger, region-wide Auckland Heritage Festival, which runs from 24 September to 9 October 2016.

There will be keynote presentations to the whole conference as well as shorter break-out workshops.

We invite genealogists, historians, authors, academics or anyone who has done original research about the history of West Auckland to submit their work to be considered for inclusion in the day’s programme.

We also invite those with fascinating oral histories or with unique life experiences related to the history of West Auckland to submit their stories.

How to apply

Please fill out this form to be considered. Submissions close Friday 22 July. Or phone the local board on 09 813 9150 for a hardcopy to be sent to you. 

Research can be about anywhere in West Auckland and can be a work in progress. You don’t have to have completed the research by the time of the conference.

Most papers/presentations will be given within workshops with each presentation being about 20-30 minutes long, including questions. Some keynote presentations/papers will be selected from those submitted to be presented to the whole conference. These generally will be 30-40 minutes long including questions.

At the conclusion of the conference, the local board will publish the conference papers.