The daughter of one of New Zealand’s most prolific photographers is honouring her mother’s contribution to the art world with a special exhibition.
‘Washday at the Pa, A Survey’ is the first of what will be annual exhibitions of Ans Westra’s works in a historic old bank on Wellington’s Courtenay Pl.
Directly below the bank chamber is the vault, which has been the home for Westra's work and archive since her death in 2023.
Westra’s daughter, Lisa van Hulst, told 1News she was an eccentric person, so it was nice to be able to keep part of that personality alive.
"It’s really comforting to have somewhere that we know, part of her spirit still exists," van Hulst said.
'Washday at the Pa, A Survey' is the first of what will be annual exhibitions of Westra’s works. (Source: 1News)
The space, which once housed cash and gold and served as an air raid shelter in 1943, is now filled with treasures – including diaries, cameras, and even Westra’s dining table.
It also contains her contact sheets, van Hulst said – "part of an art form that people don’t experience anymore with digital cameras".
Van Hulst explained the exhibition showcases never-before-seen images and material from her mother’s personal scrapbook.
"All of the images that she took for her notorious and early school journal, Washday at the Pa, I just thought was a really good starting point," van Hulst said.
The journal, first published in 1964 by the Department of Education, described a day in the lives of a rural Māori family, but was seen by some as controversial.
Wellington City Council’s Māori arts and events facilitator, Suzanne Tamaki, explained that the Māori Women’s Welfare League in the 1960s was upset because they felt it showed Māori in a bad light.
All 38,000 copies of the school journal were ordered to be sent to Wellington and destroyed – a decision that led to public and academic discussion in the following decades.
Tamaki explained that, despite the controversy, the photos did provide a small snapshot of 1960s rural New Zealand.
"She’s an incredible photographer and she did capture place and time, and things really were like that for some people."
Westra continued to document daily life across New Zealand and the Pacific over the decades, taking an estimated 320,000 photographs.
"She’s right there, in the middle of it, almost invisible, like she’s just capturing these gorgeous moments," Tamaki said.
Washday at the Pa, A Survey runs until October 5, with a limited number of public tours to see the Ans Westra Vault on offer.
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