Wonderland

WONDERLAND
Peter Alsop
Potton & Burton

REVIEWED BY JIM SULLIVAN

Whites Aviation (their apostrophe is long gone) were not the only firm taking aerial photos, but they were the biggest and their collection is now in the Alexander Turnbull Library, ready to be mined for gems by historians.

Once ubiquitous, found in farm homesteads, board rooms and offices, the Whites Aviation hand-coloured aerial shots were especially important in the tourism industry and the New Zealand of mountains, lakes and sandy beaches dominates in this selection by Peter Alsop who has already published widely in the fields of advertising and tourism publicity.

The photos are grouped geographically, and Otago and Southland get generous space. Queenstown, Arrowtown, the lakes and mountains dominate, but there are unexpected treasures like the old Alexandra bridge and Waitati from the air 60 years ago.

What makes the shots intriguing is that they are all hand-coloured by a team of “colouring girls” and one of them, Grace Rawson, tells her own story.

One of the best shots, and a Leo White favourite, is a 1951 view of the Taieri Pet over Middlemarch. Grace recalls Leo White bringing back a clump of Otago tussock to ensure the colours were accurate.

My own favourite, with lashings of gold paint to show the autumn colours, is an old cottage at Lake Hayes in 1954. A shingle road and not a car in sight. There is an intriguing 1955 shot of Grace and Lorraine Sutton colouring a gigantic mural of Gore and the Hokonuis destined for H & J Smith’s Gore shop. (It is now at the Eastern Southland Gallery).

White’s own story is told, and his “Mr Aviation” nickname was well earned. Though not a pilot, his contribution to flying, was immense. His history of aviation, Wingspread, and his magazine White’s Aviation are standard sources for researchers.

His pilots and photographers were also a band of pioneers. Clyde “Snow” Stewart took the well-known, hand-coloured shot of the Japanese surrendering at Bougainville and photography buffs will drool over the dozen bits of gear he took on his flights.

Urban views, country towns and farm homesteads all deserve a look in and more books will undoubtedly follow.

Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer

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