Audrey, back row, fourth from right, on one of the many bus tours she enjoyed around New Zealand
There is a certain poetry to this simple shot of bathers enjoying the shallows of Cockle Bay in the early 1950s.
-
bgmkh]n\mbhg :ngmb^ :n]k^r A fr chnkg^r mh k^mkZ\^ a^k lm^il My Auntie Audrey passed away in 2002, but a few years before she died, Auntie gave me three White Ash wooden cigar boxes and the shoebox that her trusty Mervyn Adams arch supports came in. The cigar boxes themselves are works of art from the Royal Cigarworks of Smit & Ten Hove in Holland, with gold tape holding the joinery firmly in place and bold, heat-branded logos on the top. Auntie wasn’t a cigar smoker and I suspect my Dad (Auntie’s little brother) supplied her the boxes back in the 1950s, when he was the owner of the tobacconist’s in Wellesley Street, Auckland – just above the legendary Civic and Wintergarden cinemas. Auntie had taken those boxes and filled them with something far more precious than rolled tobacco: inside were all her black and white negatives, carefully wrapped in foil pockets she made from the lining of the cigar boxes, each labelled as to its contents. These boxes, which were very clearly organised and packed with love and care, contain my Auntie’s lifetime of photographs. Auntie didn’t give them to me knowing she was soon to pass. We shared a love of photography and seeing that I was the professional photographer in the family, she figured I might find them interesting and someday be able to do something with them. I grabbed the opportunity to look after them. I was fascinated with them, realising they were 120mm, medium format negatives that could potentially yield great prints. Auntie had photo albums with all the prints in an order that made sense to her, but she also knew the negatives
.
were the all important celluloid record of the original moment she pressed the shutter button, and she entrusted them to me. For the next decade, however, they sat safely in a dark, dry closet at my house, waiting. Back when Auntie was 21, her parents gave her a Voigtlander Bessa camera – a beautiful example of German precision (in fact, the camera company still exists to this day, producing some of the best optics and cameras you could hope to own). I don’t know whether my grandparents knew just how good the camera they were buying their only daughter was, but I do remember that my Dad, Ernie, always said that their father believed it was a false economy to buy anything but the best. I also inherited the Voigtlander, with its original cardboard box and leather carry case. Although I was sad at her passing, these little pieces of Auntie offered some solace, and in a way, mean she’s still here. For me, the word Auntie carries more aroha than usual. My grandparents had died before I came along, and Auntie Audrey filled the roles of favourite Aunt and surrogate Granny. My childhood memories are full of visits to Auntie’s bach in Mizpah Road,
M:;E> 0 <HGM>GML
Bethells Beach
Oriental Bay
Mt Maunganui
Sandy Bay
*-
+1
--
/)
Hahei Beach
Rangitukia Beach
Moeraki
Waihau Bay
Opunake Beach
*1
Waihi Beach
,+
-1
/-
*)
++
,-
Hickory Bay
+-
Blackhead
-)
Kaiteriteri
.+
Hicks Bay
.1
Island Bay
/1
Arid Cove
0)
Te Kaha
Orokawa Bay
Papatea Bay
Tauranga Bay
0-
1/
*))
Bucklands Beach
**-
Waikanae Beach
Opoutere Beach
Te Arai Point
Cannibal Bay
0/
2)
Taupo Bay
*)+
Port Waikato
**/
Curio Bay **
1)
2+
*)/
**1
Howick Beach
1-
Punakaiki
2/
Okiwi Bay
**)
Opononi
*++
hingZd^ [^Z\a Lhnma MZkZgZdb
Opunake is the biggest coastal town in South Taranaki, but it was relatively isolated until 1891 when a jetty was constructed on the northwest headland of Opunake Beach. It was hoped the jetty would make Opunake the main port of Taranaki and when it was destroyed by stormy seas, a second wharf was built (its remains can be seen today, and in Auntieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photo). The heavy seas that regularly pound the coast made mooring difficult and the wharf was closed in the 1920s. Opunake means the prow of a canoe. It is the place where the canoe touches the beach.
++
If you look closely, you can see the swimming pool remains in use in the playground at the centre of the images. Auntieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shot was taken in 1959.
+,
The time-consuming drive over Banks Pennisula and the walk through a few fields is overshadowed by the grandeur of the view.
+0
hihghgb ahdbZg`Z
The Hokianga is one of New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most spectacular harbours and contains many beaches, including Opononi. Opo, The Friendly Dolphin, made Opononi famous in the summer of 1955-56 when it played with locals and the tourists who visited the area in their thousands just to get a glimpse. There was hit song written for her and the New Zealand Government even passed a law to protect Opo. A statue in Opononi commemorates Opoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit and there is still a very strong dolphin theme around the town.
*++
Auntie Audrey took her photographs while on a coach tour Easter 1955, just 8 months before Opo the Friendly Dolphin would make her mark.
*+,