Christchurch Railway Station Inspires Latest Turnbull Library Exhibition
by Department Of Internal Affairs · SCOOPA stunning photographic exhibition showing travel-related moments from New Zealand history is a journey worth taking at Te Puna the National Library in Wellington.
Broken River Train / Dreams of Travel is open in Te Puna Foundation Gallery on the ground floor at the library until 15 August, with free entry.
The new exhibition features a beautifully curated selection of photographs from the Alexander Turnbull Library collections, with the signature image by Steffano Webb of Christchurch Railway Station in about 1906.
“In Webb’s photograph there is a platform sign which piqued my curiosity, saying Broken River Train,” says exhibition curator Peter Ireland.
“As it turned out, the Broken River Train provided a temporary terminus during the construction of the midland railway line in Canterbury, allowing for travel to and from the Christchurch International Exhibition of 1906 to 1907.
“The exhibition title combines those words in the photograph with the invitation to use the collections to explore the reaches of the world and the imagination.”
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to see photographs of a man crossing the Whanganui River on a tightrope in the 1860s, and the first pile being driven on the Dublin Street bridge in the river city, a Ford car crossing a makeshift bridge on the first road trip from Wellington to Auckland in 1912, an early 20th century panorama of Bluff, Prime Minister Peter Fraser and his entourage on the Great Sphinx of Giza in 1941, children at the Olympic Pool in Naenae in the 1950s, and a number of captivating snapshots of subjects in familiar European destinations, and more.
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Central to the exhibition is a selection from the more than 1,000 holiday pictures taken by William Williams during the leisurely trip to Europe he made with his wife Lydia between 1925 and 1927.
Other photographers provide key imagery, including Leo White, official war photographers Thomas Frederick Scales and George Kaye, and American adventurer Melvin Vaniman. Photographs by Max Oettli (the only living photographer represented in the exhibition), John Pascoe and Edgar Williams also feature.
“The photographs in the exhibition range freely across time and photographers. Their selection is a result of my exploring the extensive Turnbull collections over a long period and being transported by them,” says Peter, who has held his position for more than four decades.
Broken River Train is an invitation for lovers of photography, passionate collection adventurers, and those who just want to experience a delightful trip back through our travel history.