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The ‘‘old Maori’’ depicted in this card is Hori Kerei Taiaroa, Paramount Chief of Ngai Tahu.
The ‘‘old Maori’’ depicted in this card is Hori Kerei Taiaroa, Paramount Chief of Ngai Tahu.
The Tudor-style bath house in Rotorua which opened in 1908. Postcards from the collection of Leo...
The Tudor-style bath house in Rotorua which opened in 1908. Postcards from the collection of Leo Haks.
Ben Lomond looms above Queenstown, offering views of the Remarkables, Cecil Peak and Walter Peak.
Ben Lomond looms above Queenstown, offering views of the Remarkables, Cecil Peak and Walter Peak.
The Pink and White Terraces (at Lake Rotomahana) were  destroyed in the Tarawera eruption of 1886.
The Pink and White Terraces (at Lake Rotomahana) were destroyed in the Tarawera eruption of 1886.
A Risso’s dolphin, Pelorus Jack first appeared in 1888 and for 24 years accompanied boats through...
A Risso’s dolphin, Pelorus Jack first appeared in 1888 and for 24 years accompanied boats through the outer Marlborough Sounds.
Alexander Hatrick’s floating hotel on  the Wanganui River in 1904.
Alexander Hatrick’s floating hotel on the Wanganui River in 1904.
The introduction of refrigerated transport in 1882 opened up an export market for beef, butter...
The introduction of refrigerated transport in 1882 opened up an export market for beef, butter and cheese in Britain.
A 1913 advertisement  for migrants from Britain  to relocate to New Zealand.
A 1913 advertisement for migrants from Britain to relocate to New Zealand.
Pocket novelty postcards concealed a concertina of images  — in this case, 12 views of Oamaru.
Pocket novelty postcards concealed a concertina of images — in this case, 12 views of Oamaru.

More than pretty pictures, a collection of postcards provides an intriguing insight into a formative period in New Zealand's history, writes Shane Gilchrist.

Having collected items of artistic and cultural significance all of his life, Leo Haks wondered what visual material would catch his eye when he moved to New Zealand in 2008.

It wasn't long before he began to unearth material that offered a window into his new home.

Haks began collecting early New Zealand postcards. Although good examples of early New Zealand photographs were hard to find, many images had been reproduced as postcards.

These early cards were readily available and depicted New Zealand's relatively recent development, which had paralleled the development of photography.

The result, Post Marks: the way we were - early New Zealand postcards, 1897-1922, reveals the pioneer roots of New Zealand culture, the importance society placed on industry and infrastructure and the rapidly changing shape of our landscapes.

It includes reproductions of more than 500 postcards, many rare, but all of which offer an intriguing insight into a formative period in New Zealand's history.

There are mementos of where people lived and worked, where they went on holiday, what they could buy, who they should vote for and what they could laugh at.

Haks, who had previously published books relating to several of his collections, including one on early Indonesian postcards, presents mainly photography-based postcards in a 25-year period that is regarded as the boom time for Kiwi postcard production.

The postcards on display are notable in that they feature everyday subjects, such as livestock, sport, transport, mining, exploration and land development, as well as more unusual topics, including a referendum on prohibition in April 1919, aviation, Antarctic exploration, road accidents and taxidermy.

The coverage of Maori and their lives in the book is, by necessity, confined to interpretations by Western photographers.

Publishers and buyers preferred posed, formal portraits and, according to Haks and co-authors Colleen Dallimore and Alan Jackson, there were no Maori photographers at work in the postcard field before 1922.

One example, titled ‘‘Sunshine and shower, Maori life, Rotorua'' suggests an artistic attempt to depict Maori women assuming the traditional Pakeha role of model housewife and mother, epitomised in an image of a healthy, happy - and European-looking - young Maori woman with her babies.

Such a rendering confirms the pictorial record of New Zealand through postcards was not always historically accurate.

Early postcards were printed in Germany or Austria, where workers had to rely on their own limited interpretations of what the postcard publisher had written, leading to typographical and other errors. Some postcards were published by commercially or politically motivated clients.

For example, in 1913, on behalf of the Government, the New Zealand High Commissioner's office in London advertised for migrants from Britain, France and elsewhere to relocate to New Zealand and contribute to its development.

One particular postcard was not only a request for domestic servants; it aimed to correct the imbalance of the sexes in colonial New Zealand by securing women to become wives as well as workers.

Other postcards in the same series aimed to attract potential farmers or industrialists by targeting skills and capital. Cultural activities were also promoted, but most of the images advertised a lifestyle that was far superior to the reality for most migrants.

Sometimes it was not so much what was shown or said on postcards, but rather what was not. Hundreds of cards dealt with the subject of World War 1. These depicted people leaving for war, going into battle, recuperating on hospital ships, fundraising at home and more.

Meanwhile, the postcards which were sent home by the soldiers were subject to rigid censorship. Words were blacked out if considered negative, and if a sentence was deemed ‘‘anti-war'', the card would be destroyed.

This intervention may have made the war effort seem to those at home less horrific than it was in reality.

There are many others that offer a window into more peaceful times.

One depicts a Risso's dolphin, Pelorus Jack, which first appeared in 1888 and for 24 years accompanied boats through the outer Marlborough Sounds, riding their bow wave for eight kilometres to and from Nelson.

Despite its name, Pelorus Jack was usually seen between Cape Francis and Collinet Point near French Pass, but did not frequent Pelorus Sound.

Approximately four metres long (its gender was never determined), Pelorus Jack is thought to have been the first sea creature to be protected by law (in 1904) and was last seen in April 1912.

Post Marks, by Leo Haks, Colleen Dallimore & Alan Jackson, is published by Kowhai Media ($69.99)

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