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William James Harding Collection

2024

A singular insight into a period of settlement in the Whanganui-Rangitikei region

Harding’s studio portraits, street and landscapes provide a detailed picture of Whanganui society from the 1850s to the 1880s, documenting in rich detail the growth of the settlement during a formative time in the history of Aotearoa.

The more than 6,500 photographs are a rich and unique source of information relating to Māori and Pākehā individuals of the Whanganui-Rangitikei population, and the growth of the settlement during a period of significant conflict and rapid expansion, characteristic of early settler colonialism in New Zealand towns.

What is unique about his approach to photography is his dedication to a faithful depiction of his subjects.

Archive Location

Alexander Turnbull Library with Whanganui Regional Museum and Alexander Heritage & Research Library

Whanganui iwi tents and waka on the river foreshore, Whanganui town, circa 1880s. Harding studio proof print, Alexander Heritage & Research Library | Te Rerenga Mai o te Kāuru

Whanganui iwi tents and waka on the river foreshore, Whanganui town, circa 1880s. Harding studio proof print, Alexander Heritage & Research Library | Te Rerenga Mai o te Kāuru.

Lieutenant Herman with his ventriloquist dummy. Quarter-plate collodion silver glass negative. Photograph: William Harding, ca.1877. Ref. ¼-006818-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, William James Harding Collection.

William Harding’s studio, Ridgway St, Whanganui. He used this studio from 1860 until 1889, when he left for Sydney. Whole-plate collodion silver glass negative. Photograph: William Harding, ca. 1870s. Ref: 1/1-000144-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, William James Harding Collection.

Eel or fish weir at Pungarehu, on the banks of the Whanganui River. Whole-plate collodion silver glass negative. Photographer: William Harding, between 1856 and 1889. Ref. 1/1-000483-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, William James Harding Collection.

Eel or fish weir at Pungarehu, on the banks of the Whanganui River. Whole-plate collodion silver glass negative. Photographer: William Harding, between 1856 and 1889. Ref. 1/1-000483-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, William James Harding Collection.

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Nomination submission

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography

Between skin & shirt

The photographic portraits of William Harding. Selection of 60 portraits by prominent Whanganui photographer William James Harding, from the collection held by the Alexander Turnbull Library, exhibited at Whanganui Regional Museum.

William James Harding photographs

More than 6,600 items in the Alexander Turnbull Photographic Archives.

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