Oral histories are an often overlooked but very valuable record for archives, and an equally valuable resource for researchers. In many cases, the recordings are the only record that exists on certain topics, or the individuals involved. Oral histories have been recordedfor several decades in New Zealand and vary in terms of quality and content. For this article, the oral history collection held in the Wairarapa Archive will be analysed as a case study about the quality of the recordings and their value for historical research as demonstrated by their use in the publication, Our New Zealand Home: The USMC in Wairarapa.