Four decades of Wellington’s beloved Capital Times weekly newspaper have now been digitised, preserving the newspaper’s history for future generations.
Capital Times began publication in 1982, emerging out of an earlier weekly newspaper called Capital Visitor, which dated back to 1975. The new format focused on hospitality and entertainment to appeal to a more localised readership.
In the 1990s, under the ownership of John Bristed and managing editor, Alison Franks, the publication began to extensively cover the local arts scene and local news and politics. The newspaper had a succession of editors including David Cohen (1987-1988) and Steve Braunius (1988-1989).
Wellington City Libraries have retained hard-copies as part of their periodical ‘stack’ collection, and it was these that formed the basis of the online collection. A total of 1377 issues were uploaded, with over 25,000 individual scanned pages each being precisely rotated, cropped and digitally edited, with colour correction and photo enhancements applied too.
Wellington City Libraries History Specialist, Gábor Tóth says following the successful project to digitise City Voice on Wellington City Recollect in 2022, this was another significant project for himself and other heritage staff, who fitted this in around their normal day-to-day tasks – but was equally rewarding.
“It was a real labour of love for our team, taking over two years to scan and get each copy looking like they’ve just come off the printing press, but we think Wellingtonians will really appreciate it.”
“There were so many highlights from scanning this collection, with photographs and reviews of restaurants which have long-since disappeared but are still fondly remembered, and extensive reviews of art, theatre, music and film.
“There was also a weekly page of ‘pap’ shots taken at arts events and exhibition openings. Individuals would generally be named so thousands of Wellingtonians will now be able to go down memory lane and find their younger selves in print.”
Two other Wellington-based publications dating back to the 1980s will also be added to Recollect this week: W5 (a short-lived ‘city magazine’ published in 1984 which featured long-form interviews and articles), and Agenda, a free glossy magazine which ran from 1985 through to 1989.
Mayor, Andrew Little says this project provides an invaluable time capsule of the events, issues and fashions that shaped generations.
“The Capital Times was Wellington’s go-to for culture, events and local issues through an alternative lens for four decades. This collection will evoke fond memories from those who lived through that era, especially the many who appeared in the social scene pictures that reveal the fashions and shifts in society, culture and Wellington’s growth,” he said.
All the collections go live today, and issues can be viewed by visiting wellington.recollect.co.nz and clicking on the blue ‘Collections’ button.
