Christchurch City Libraries has held a Photo Hunt in October since 2008. It aims to gather photographs, digital and physical, from across the community and to encourage people to share their photographs and stories of Canterbury.
This year’s theme was Building Place – evolving communities, which aligned with the Christchurch Heritage Festival. In total, we had 600 entries submitted and these are available to view on the Discovery Wall website. The images can also be found on the Discovery Wall in Tūranga as well as on the Mobile Discovery Wall.
The winning images were selected by Digital Curation Librarian, Sarah Snelling, Library Web Team Leader, Donna Robertson, Community Stories Liaison, Simon Daisley, and Electronic Resources Librarian, Sarah Harper. They decided on an overall winner along with winners and highly commended for the categories of People and Places. They also selected highly commended collections.
The prizes are:
• $100 Riverside Market vouchers for the overall winner
• $50 Riverside Market vouchers for the People category winner
• $50 Riverside Market vouchers for the Places category winner
Overall winner: Brent Piebenga atop the Lancaster Park Lights
This photograph is not only well composed but it imparts a sense of vulnerability. Although Brent is the subject of the photograph, he still appears small in comparison to the lights of Lancaster Park and his surroundings. Brent wears no safety harness and as such, the photograph offers an insight into the standards of personal safety on work sites in the 1990s. Yet despite the obvious danger of the situation, Brent appears calm and relaxed. The photograph not only captures the surrounding suburb of Waltham but also a structure which no longer exists.
People category winner: Horizin
This is a well composed photograph which captures the warmth of the relationship between the band members. After reflecting on this, our gaze is drawn to the two men at the front who are looking to their left. The serious expression of one of them causes the viewer to wonder what had caught their attention.
Places category winner: Tree fort in the Redzone
This photograph is a powerful reminder of what existed before the earthquakes yet still endures in a new context. The tree in which the fort was built was once part of a private property, therefore, you think of the child who the fort was originally built for. Were they upset at being forced to leave their tree fort behind? Once it was their own personal hideout, but with the demolition of houses in the red zone, it is now accessible to anyone. What was once private is now being shared. Although haunting, there is a happy element. Another child is now standing at its base, symbolising a new chapter in the life of the tree fort.
Highly commended: People
Neighbourhood kids of Holcombe Place
This photograph captures an era when children didn’t have digital devices and instead spent their free time playing outside. It demonstrates how families in neighbourhoods were more connected. Children could come and go from each other’s houses and backyards. For those who lived this experience, it reminds us of that magic time between the end of school and tea time.
The Shamrocks performing at Copper Cat coffee house
A photograph which evokes the nostalgia of a time when coffee houses were both a place to socialise and listen to music. Coffee houses were important to the culture of the time and it is great to have an interior of one that also shows the fashion and hairstyles.
Crowded fabric department at Millers
This photograph is a snapshot of a very busy moment at what was once an anchor store for the central city. It harks back to the days when most people’s clothes were home-made and therefore a visit to the fabric department was essential. The combination of people and patterns makes this an eye-catching shot. Not only are we given an insight into the fashion of the era but also what materials were popular and their prices.
Wheelchair rugby training session
This photograph is a well composed action shot which captures the intensity and movement of the training. It also builds on our collection in an area that isn’t well represented.
NZ Club Rugby is hard!
This is a visceral photograph which captures the intensity of the ruck and allows the viewer to feel as if they also involved in the action. The discomfort and physically competitive nature of the ruck is accented by the realisation that eight players are crammed together. The expressions of each player reveals attitudes of passion and commitment.
Highly Commended: Places
Transporting Akaroa Lighthouse into town
This photograph shows the challenge of relocating such a large structure along narrow, rural roads. It’s one thing to see a house get carted away, but a lighthouse is next level. The size of the structure is made even more evident when the viewer notices the figure sitting atop the section in the middle of the convoy.
Beauty of diversity
This photograph is a study of solidarity in solitude. Three individuals are all enjoying a morning at New Brighton beach in different ways. It is tranquil and full of promise.
Avonside Girls' High School drill display
The synchronisation of the figures in this photograph, coupled with the black and white colour scheme, imparts a hypnotic effect. The photograph shows the discipline and conformity which was once a feature of schooling during this era. The severity of the symmetry is augmented by the imposing building in the background.
Back gardens Aranui, Hampshire Street and Eureka Streets
This photograph captures life in Aranui in the 1970s. There are plenty of photos taken in front of people’s houses. This, however, is different in that it is an outlook which shows the prosaic day-to-day-ness of basic backyards. The composition of the repeating and complimentary lines at right angles of the shed, washing line, fences and rooflines of the houses is quite striking.
Opening the Hornby BMX track
This photograph is a snapshot of a location which will hold happy memories for many people. It not only captures the fashion style of the early 1980s, but also an era when BMX was extremely popular. Although a site of recreation for children, piles of debris can be seen in the background.
Highly Commended: Collections
Christchurch Gasworks
This collection of 30 photographs of the Gasworks adds greatly to our record of it during its operation. Particularly wonderful are the colour images of the working gasworks from the 1960s but the earlier images from the 1910s are also fantastic.
Loading bulk pitch tank wagon at Christchurch Gasworks
A colour photograph of a location which we mostly only have black and white photographs of.
Christchurch Gasworks inside horizontal retort house
This photograph captures the intensity of working inside the retort house at the Christchurch gasworks in the early twentieth century. The work is surrounded by smoke, steam, heat, and dirt. We are reminded of the lack of health and safety standards which were common during this period.
Staff Pick - Winner
First Holy Communion
Christchurch Photo Hunt isn't just for the public. Each year we encourage staff across Christchurch City Libraries and the wider Christchurch City Council to enter their photographs. Staff selected this photograph as the winning staff entry for 2025.
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