Papers Past turns 21: Panel discussion — Christchurch

This year marks the 21st anniversary of the initial release of Papers Past. It is regarded as a go-to site for researchers, genealogists, students, and all with an interest in our history. The range of uses and impact the website has had on research in New Zealand is vast.

Paul Diamond (Ngāti Hauā, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) was appointed as Curator, Māori at the Alexander Turnbull Library in 2011. He is the author of three books (A Fire in Your Belly, Huia 2003; Makereti: taking Māori to the World, Random House NZ 2007; and Savaged to Suit: Māori and Cartooning in New Zealand, Fraser Books 2018), and has also worked as an oral historian and broadcaster. In 2017 Paul was awarded Creative New Zealand's Berlin Writer's Residency to complete a book about Charles Mackay, a mayor of Whanganui who was killed in the 1929 May Day riots in Berlin. Downfall: the destruction of Charles Mackay will be published in November by Massey University Press, and made extensive use of Papers Past.

Martin Fisher is a Senior Lecturer at Kā Waimaero (Office of Treaty Partnerships/Ngāi Tahu Centre) at the University of Canterbury. He was born in Hungary and grew up in Canada and New Zealand. Martin has a BA (Hons) from the University of Otago, a MA from McGill University, and a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington, all in history. Before joining the University of Canterbury in 2014, he worked in the Treaty of Waitangi claims process first as a contract researcher for the Office of Treaty Settlements and the Crown Forestry Rental Trust and then as a research analyst/inquiry facilitator at the Waitangi Tribunal.

The Press editor Kamala Hayman has been a journalist for more than three decades working in NZ and the UK. She joined The Press in 2003 initially as a reporter. She was chief reporter, and then digital editor through the devastating 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, before becoming editor in 2018, guiding The Press's coverage of the 2019 terror attack. Kamala was also executive producer of Stuff’s globally successful Black Hands podcast on the Bain family murders and award-winning White Silence podcast on the Mt Erebus tragedy. Under her editorship The Press was twice named Newspaper of the Year (2018 and 2021).

Lydia Mearns ia a Historical Researcher at Underground Overground Archaeology Ltd. She has more than seven years’ experience working in the field of archaeology in Canterbury, New Zealand. Lydia studied at the University of Canterbury in 2011-2014 where she obtained a BA majoring in History and Classical Studies, and BA Hons in History, before joining Underground Overground Archaeology Ltd in early 2015. Since then she has been involved with numerous projects around New Zealand and especially within Christchurch and its immediate surrounds. Lydia prepares historical narratives for archaeological assessments and reports for sites which focus on Māori and colonial settlement and occupation.

Katie Pickles is Professor of History at the University of Canterbury. She is a past president of the New Zealand Historical Association and the Canterbury Historical Association and has served as UC's Associate Dean Postgraduate, Associate Dean of Arts Research and Head of History. Her current research examines heroism, intersectional identities, decolonisation and Christchurch's cultural heritage. Katie has edited six books and has written over 150 journal articles, book chapters, book reviews and popular articles. She is the author of Christchurch Ruptures (2016), Female Imperialism and National Identity: Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (2002) and Transnational Outrage: The Death and Commemoration of Edith Cavell (2007). Her new monograph, Heroines in *History: A Thousand Faces (2022), was completed as part of a recent Royal Society Te Apārangi James Cook Research Fellowship. Katie is currently writing a new biography of Kate Sheppard, endorsed by a Tessa Malcolm Bequest.