One picture is worth a thousand words: Christchurch photo hunt begins

Do you have a box of old photos at the top of the wardrobe or under the bed?

Do you think no-one would be interested in your old photos? Think again.

Christchurch City Libraries is running the annual Christchurch photo hunt during October - and wants your snaps.

The popular event is part of the Christchurch Heritage Festival from October 9 to 25.

Take your photos into your local library and they will scan and return them or you can upload photos to discoverywall.nz.

Crowds gather at Christchurch Airport to view the Vickers Viscount that flew here in the London...
Crowds gather at Christchurch Airport to view the Vickers Viscount that flew here in the London-Christchurch Air Race. Photo: Supplied
The winning photograph from last year’s 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 hanger at Christchurch Airport – surrounded by admirers.

“We really liked how this particular photograph combines being artistic with telling a great story about the crowds inspecting the planes following the London-Christchurch Air Race,” says city council head of libraries Carolyn Robertson.

“The image captures an event very much of its time and the great excitement of Christchurch being the final destination of the race.

“The air race is a well-known event but it wasn’t well represented in the digital heritage collection so this image, along with the 12 others contributed as part of this collection, provide the public with an insight into this historic event.”

Movie-goers queue for a ticket outside the State Cinema in Colombo St. If you have historic...
Movie-goers queue for a ticket outside the State Cinema in Colombo St. If you have historic photos of Christchurch take them to your local library and have them scanned for the Discovery Wall. Photo: Supplied
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 and Cashel Sts 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.

Photo Hunt 2021 is open to enter online until October 31.