The Hocken Collections hold a comprehensive collection of books, theses, newspapers, and journals relating to New Zealand, the Antarctic, the Pacific and early Australasian history, with particular strengths in travel and exploration, early missionary activity, and Otago/Southland community history.
Our collection focus includes:
See our Research guides for relevant sources and search tips if you are looking for material relating to a specific subject area.
For information on referencing books, theses, newspapers, and journals see the relevant section in this Libguide under 'Referencing Hocken sources'.
Look for books, theses, journals, and newspapers by searching Library Search|Ketu using the simple search or advanced search options
Please talk to desk staff if you cannot locate items relating to your inquiry, or email Researcher Services.
To locate relevant articles in New Zealand journals and newspapers, see the Databases and websites tab.
For a list of newly added published items at the Hocken, see New items.
Access University of Otago quality research outputs, including theses, journal articles, discussion papers, reports, and books via OUR Archive
Search by keyword, title, and/or author/creator
Filter results by research type, publication date, format type, title, author, keyword and access level once you have made a search
Select a Division or School to browse its collections
Please note that some items are not available in full-text via OUR Archive
Hocken’s named collections are personal book collections we have acquired over the years, usually as donations but in some instances as purchases. Our current practice is to add newly received books to our main sequences, but these formed collections illustrate areas of collecting interest and serve as a legacy of a time before electronic cataloguing made searching for material on the same topic a simpler task.
The Collins Collection is named for Dr Roger Collins. It consists of material that was printed in New Zealand on behalf of publishers in the United Kingdom who lacked the capacity to print these books during and after the Second World War.
The Godward Collection was donated by Robert Bruce Godward (1916-1992) who was interested in the history of New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. For over thirty years he collected material relating to the region's history. He was particularly interested in the life and travels of Captain Cook and Edward Gibbon Wakefield.
The Hunter Collection was donated by Ted Hunter (1904-1980) and consists of local and international material chiefly published in the 1930s-1950s focusing on communism, socialism, trade unionism, international relations, economics and politics.
The Lawlor Collection was purchased by the Hocken in 1967. It was created by Pat Lawlor (1893-1979), a New Zealand journalist, novelist, poet, pamphleteer, Catholic publicist and founder of the New Zealand Society of Authors. It chiefly consists of volumes of New Zealand verse from the 1860s-1950s enhanced by newspaper cuttings, reviews and Lawlor's own pencilled notes.
The Williams Collection of early printed Māori was created at the Hocken using A bibliography of printed Māori to 1900 by Herbert W. Williams (1924) to organise the works. Further early Māori works can be found in other sequences. You can learn more about this collection on the Hocken Blog.
Otago news. No. 1, 13 December 1848. Dunedin, N.Z. : s.n.
Rata: New Zealand annual. Wellington N.Z. : H.H. Tombs Ltd., 1931-1933.
