Photos reveal a slice of Kiwi life through the ages

Whites Aviation, Queenstown, 1950s. Purchased 1999 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds, Te Papa.

If your country is as beautiful as New Zealand is, why not show it off? New book New Zealand Photography Collected features 400 breathtaking pictures from the national collection at Te Papa.

Athol McCredie - who has been working as curator at Te Papa since 2001 - compiled the photos he found best captured the spirit of the country.

Image 1 of 12: Whites Aviation, Queenstown, 1950s. Purchased 1999 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds, Te Papa.

The vast collection of photos is separated into seven chapters each with a different focus, including portraits, places and events.

The book, available from next weekend, coincides with the largest photographic exhibition Te Papa has hosted.

"The photographs have been chosen for their depth, richness and resonance. In a world saturated with images, we are used to the quick flick - or the quick click - but these withstand repeated and prolonged viewings," says McCredie.

"Their power is lasting because they sustain multiple meanings and interpretations - which is exactly why they are in a museum collection."

The book was more than a year in the making and McCredie had to sift through about 320,000 items when picking the right photos.

Te Papa Press publisher Claire Murdoch said McCredie had written a fresh and compelling narrative to accompany the images.

"From 19th-century portraits to family snapshots, dramatic landscapes and modern art photography, New Zealand Photography Collected explores them all," she says.

"This new work is completely different from any previous book on New Zealand photography."

New Zealand Photography Collected comes out November 15 and retails at $99.99, but you can pre-order a copy on Amazon.