Nor'West News: June 25, 2020

4 Thursday June 25 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
NOR’WEST NEWS
News
Fendalton photographer’s historic collection
IMAGES OF the early 1900s
taken from a collection of
fragile photographic glass
plates are now in focus on the
Christchurch City Libraries’
digital heritage site, Canterbury
Stories.
More than 700 images of the
city from the
1000-strong
collection
are online,
with the rest
appearing on
the site over
the next few
Carolyn
Robertson
weeks. It is
the first time
that the images
are accessible to the public.
Early Antigua Boat Sheds
owner Samuel Anstey – believed
to be responsible for the glassplate
negatives – bought the
building on the banks of the
Avon River in the late 1800s,
advertising that he had “70 wellbuilt
boats to choose from” and a
“photographic dark room for the
use of visitors.”
Fendalton-based Anstey, an
English surveyor who arrived
New Zealand in 1882, soon built
up a remarkable photographic
record. Many of those glass plate
negatives remained in the space under
the roof of the boat sheds until
the early 1970s, when Canterbury
DAY OUT: Boating on the Avon River in March 1904.
Public Library librarian RC Lamb
collected the images from the then
owner of the site, WS Dini.
City council head of libraries
and information Carolyn
Robertson says the Anstey Collection
offers a “snapshot of early
Christchurch life, capturing people,
places and riverside poses.”
“Staff are busy digitising these
fragile images, providing a remarkable
portal to Canterbury’s
past,” Ms Robertson said.
“The striking black and white
photos illustrate the early 1900s
in the city, including visiting
theatrical companies, families,
and even the Botanic Gardens,
bridges, river rowers and horse
riding in Hagley Park,” she said.
“They also show the fashions
of the day and early buildings
now long gone, along with home
and work interiors.
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