Akaroa Museum

Dr Salene Schloffel-Armstrong was a visiting researcher to the Museum last year. This blog post for Bioprotection Aotearoa introduces the thrust of her research, and is appreciative of our staff(!):

Tracing narratives of pestiness and weediness into the past | Bioprotection Aotearoa Throughout my life, I have always been interested in history. In my previous work researching public services in Aotearoa, I focused on interrogating the processes and practices that occurred in...

We were sad to hear that Donald J. McKay, originally from Le Bons Bay, passed away in Christchurch this week. Don was an important photographer, documenting the people of Bank Peninsula and chronicling life here and in the wider region during the 1950s-60s.

In 2017 Don gifted his negatives from this period to the Museum, a quantity of c.40,000 frames! With the passage of time these pictures have gained great historical value, aided by his exemplary record-keeping. But his photographs are more than records: sometimes humorous, always a warm observer, they convey a deep interest in people and their lives at that moment. Click!

Don has lived in Christchurch since the early ‘60s where he rebooted his career as a medical photographer, but he continued to do commercial work, later including video also.

For the Museum, it is hard to look past the rich legacy of his photographs which feature in exhibitions and the recent book A Rural Life in Black and White. On a personal level he was very easy-going, friendly, helpful, unfailingly polite, and extremely modest about his photographs becoming somewhat embarrassed in the face of praise.

Our deepest sympathy to Denyse, Judith, Elizabeth, Stuart, Patricia, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The Akaroa wharf photograph competition closes 31 Jan.
Prizes to the value of $2,750:
• Open competition professional – first prize $750, second prize $250
• Open competition amateur – first prize $750, second prize $250
• Junior competition (school-age contestants) – first prize $350, second prize $150
• People’s Choice prize – $250

Information and entries: https://akaroa.com/akaroa-wharf-photo-competition-2025/