Memories of Musical Lives: Music and Dance in Personal Music Collections from Australia and New Zealand

Music-lovers from Australia and New Zealand have collected and bound sheet music and handwritten music since the earliest years of settlement. In these nine essays, the authors discuss music and dance collections found in libraries, historic houses, archives and homes, explaining what these cherished artefacts reveal about the owners, their emotional life and their musical practice. Beautifully illustrated, and with suggestions for how these collections might be further explored or disseminated, this is a landmark book in the history of music in private life.

Clare Gleeson – Chapter Five – Those who played and bound: bound volumes of piano music as an indicator of social change.

Published by Lyrebird Press, University of Melbourne, 2022.

Cuttings from the Onslow Garden

An overview of the horticultural societies operating in the Onslow area from the early twentieth century, with profiles of some of their members.  The Onslow Historian, 49/1-4, 2019

Meet me at Begg’s: the story of Charles Begg & Co, music and appliance manufacturers and retailers, 1861-1970

“Meet me at Begg’s is a big enjoyable read”.  Manawatu Herald

Published by Ngaio Press, Wellington, this in-depth history examines the rise and fall of a fascinating business and its impact on the social history of New Zealand.  From piano manufacturing, music publishing, concert promotion and musical retailing through to gramophones and radios, Begg’s meant music to many generations of New Zealanders.