Our Treasures: Whangārei Museum launches historic prints for Christmas fundraising

Regatta Day, Onerahi (c1919). Photo / F.G Radcliffe

This Christmas, our treasures become your treasures as we get creative to fund our aspirations in the Whangārei Museum. Launching in time for the holiday season are 14 prints from the Whangārei Museum Collection. They capture the flavour of Northland, they’re historic, and buying one would and should incite warm fuzzies because it’s a huge help towards some exciting projects and keeping our artefacts safe and shown.

In the realm of non-profits, heritage and culture is a really tough environment to secure resourcing for our ongoing purpose, so we took a deep dive into the archives to get inspired by the imagery of our own history.

Notebooks, postcard sets and unframed prints were created with imagery from the Whangārei Museum Collection. Photo / Whangārei Museum

These prints depict the essence of our beautiful region, from its lush landscapes to its vibrant communities, and each one tells a unique story of our shared past. The first eight images in the range combine to create a journey beginning at Heritage Park with a 1946 Whites Aviation aerial view of Glorat, the Clarke Homestead. In it, you’ll note that State Highway 14 is still gravel, and the farm is active - without any sign of the train tracks or museum.

The next point in the journey takes you through the city, across the Hātea River to a view of Victoria Bridge. Well before the fancy canopy, this scene shows a dirt road, horse and buggy and a rowing team moving on the water in front of what would now be the Hundertwasser Art Centre. If you park at Destination Dairy for an ice cream today, look back towards the bridge and see the same sight just a century later.

Whangārei River photographed in 1910. Photo / Ernest de Tourett

Next stop is Onerahi Wharf, with a regatta in full swing with spectators in their finest clothes sitting on the banks of the harbour. Today you’ll see a much shorter wharf, likely with fishers trying for a summer snapper or perhaps the Matakohe Limestone Island Rangers boat docked and waiting.

As we journey towards Whangārei Heads in the collection prints, Reotahi sets a scene familiar with most Northlanders – showing a group sitting beside the water, near a little bach. While the photographer is unknown, the location is certainly too iconic to wonder about – with those huge monochrome boulders on the beach still present today.

Carrying on around the twists of the coast, we reach Castle Rock at Little Munroe Bay, with the sea like glass on this particular day around 1909 when photographer Ernest de Tourett captured the boats by the rocky outcrop.

Taurikura’s Natural Wharf is the next feature, with the iconic lava flow which is still there to this day - although without the dapper gentleman and sailboat photographed there 115 years ago. In the next bay, the print shows Urquharts Bay Wharf captured by Frederick George Radcliffe in 1910 as two well-dressed ladies head towards the boat in their hats. Now known as a great spot to land a kingfish, this wharf is often busy.

The Natural Wharf at Taurikura in 1909. Photo / Ernest de Tourett

Finally, the last of the tour in prints is an image from Smugglers Bay with a large group of beautifully dressed children playing in the shallows. In summer, it can be a struggle for a spot on the sand but the short walk over the hill is part of a 3km loop around the Bream Head Scenic Reserve, so picnic spots are plentiful.

We invite you to explore these printed treasures, perfect for gifting or adorning your own home. Each print is a testament to the artistry and history that define our museum’s collection. Your support will enable us to enhance our exhibits, care for our artefacts, and continue to offer educational programmes that inspire curiosity and learning. Join us in this festive season of giving and gratitude and let the spirit of community and heritage brighten your holidays. Together, we can ensure that the stories of Whangārei’s past continue to be told and cherished.