Christchurch Photo Hunt
Each year Christchurch City Libraries runs the Photo Hunt to gather photographs from across the community, along with the unique stories of their creators.
Photo Hunt 2022's theme was Our Stories – Milestones and Moments
It ran from Saturday 1 October to Monday 31 October
Share your photographs and highlight the key moments in our city's history.
Here in Ōtautahi-Christchurch and Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū-Banks Peninsula we have many stories, from Ngāi Tahu and other iwi, European settlers, Pasifika and people of many ethnic and cultural backgrounds who have made this place home.
Prizes
The 2022 prizes were:
- $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
Photo Hunt Postcards
Pick up a postcard at the library. Collect the set.
Photo Hunt 2021 – People and Place: our stories revealed
Pictures worth a thousand words
Tail of British European Airways Vickers Viscount 701. October 1953. Entry by Barbara Newcombe in the 2020 Christchurch City Libraries Photo Hunt. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. CCL-PH20-245
The winning photograph from the 2020 Photo Hunt was taken by Barbara Newcombe’s father Peter Basire in October, 1953. It shows a British European Airways Vickers Viscount 701 near the hangar at Christchurch Airport - surrounded by admirers.
Another notable find last year came from Ron Cone, who brought in a box of old photos he had taken of everyday life and work around Christchurch.
Some of Mr Cone’s photos show crowds gathered outside the State Theatre, an aerial shot of Papanui High School in the 1960s and the intersection of High Street and Cashel Street in 1967. They’ve now become an important part of the libraries’ digital collection. “Thanks to Mr Cone we now have precious photos of how Christchurch was, and some really interesting colour photos from the 1950s and '60s,” Ms Robertson says.
Mr Cone’s collection of over 80 images are available to view online at Canterbury Stories.
Family snaps slide into Canterbury history
Family slideshow evenings held in a darkened lounge are a fond, nostalgic memory for Christchurch woman Isabel Tweedy.
Her late father Ian Tweedy was a hobby photographer who took thousands of slide photographs in his lifetime, recording family holidays, picnics and tramping trips.
Some of his images from the 1950s, 60s and 70s have been added to Christchurch City Libraries’ archives and after Ms Tweedy sorted through her dad’s collection and realised some would have a wider interest and historic significance. A selection can be seen on the Discovery Wall at Tūranga.
She has sent 28 slides to the libraries’ Photo Hunt
Christchurch Photo Hunt - Behind the Scenes
What is the Christchurch City Library's Photo Hunt? How can you contribute to helping us tell a diverse and inclusive story of Christchurch? In this video, Beaulah takes you behind the scenes to meet Sarah Tester and Sarah Snelling, from our Digital Content and Serials Team, who work to capture the stories of Christchurch for our Digital Heritage Collection.
