Industrial New Zealand: Images from the Fairfax Archives
Employed on Measures of Safety, 1931
gelatin silver print, 145 x 150mm
Webb’s is pleased to present this comprehensive suite of photographs from the Fairfax Media archives. Founded in 1841, the Fairfax group owned several Australian newspapers including the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age. The selection of images in this sale come from the New Zealand archives where Fairfax managed many New Zealand publications including The Dominion Post, Sunday Star Times, Christchurch Press and Southland Times. This is the very first time that photographs from this archive have been made available for sale.
Dating back to the golden age of photojournalism (1930 – 1950), when newspapers first started to incorporate photographs alongside text to tell a story, the sale comprises of images that cover significant topics in New Zealand’s history. Highlights in the sale include compelling capture of the Hawkes Bay earthquake of 1931 that lead to Napier being rebuilt as the art deco city we now know; significant construction projects such as the Manapouri and Aviemore Dams which contributed to a new modern age and transformed our economy, and depictions of New Zealand cities through the decades.
These images offer a unique and intriguing glimpse into a time before the current digital age, where the immediacy of information and imagery continues to increase in both volume and speed. This archive is especially pertinent at a time when many iconic printed publications are forced to close their production.