Auckland Art Gallery - Forums - Memories of the 1950's

HOME\|CONTACT US\|COPYRIGHT\|DISCLAIMER\|PRIVACY\|SPONSORS\|SITEMAP\|SITE SEARCH

exhibitions \| visit \| support us \| activities \| collection \| research \| services \| about us \| gallery development


	Introduction

	First Māori contemporary art exhibition in June 1958

	Memories of the 1950's

Forums

Memories of the 1950's
Author: Anne Harlow, Curatorial Assistant
Exhibition: Turuki Turuki! Paneke Paneke!

What was the fashion and culture of Auckland in the 1950's?

As part of the exhibition Turuki Turuki! Peneke Paneke! I am researching the clothes and culture of Auckland and New Zealand in the 1950's.

I found this article which I think is great and I’m looking for any comments or memories you may have that can add to this.

http://www.nzine.co.nz/views/iga_store.html?Rcat=History&Tcat=Growing_Up_In_NZ

Comments 15
Last updated 12/03/2008

Name: Linda Rosvall

Comments: I am currently going through the records at Athletics Auckland and have come across many photographs from the 1950s. Please let me know if you are interested in loaning any of these for the exhibition.

07/02/2008
Add a comment

Name: Anne Harlow

Comments: Hi Linda,

Great! We'd certainly be keen to have a look at them - it would be great to have some really good images of people and places in the 1950s and they sound perfect. If you have digital versions of any you can email them to me at feedback@aucklandartgallery.govt.nz

07/02/2008
Add a comment

Name: Ruth Kerr

Comments: I have an excellent photo of my rather groovy parents at the airport, taken in the late 1950s, with Mum looking Jackie Kennedy glam in dark suit, heels, and head scarf, and Dad (an Auckland Star photographer during the 1950/60s)in dark, stove-pipe pants suit with hat, umbrella and leather baggage. May be useful to you. I also have a number of my father's (now deceased) photos, including of him jitterbugging with a colleague; knitting with his mates (?!); and many work photos. You are welcome to have a look at them.

07/02/2008
Add a comment

Name: Anne Harlow

Comments: Hi Ruth,

Fantastic!! Those photos sound perfect (and very stylish!). It would be great if you could scan and email them to feedback@aucklandartgallery.govt.nz
Thank you for being in touch, I'm really looking forward to seeing them!

07/02/2008
Add a comment

Name: Virginia Gow

Comments: Just stumbled upon this now..

You get some great images when you search Matapihi, a New Zealand database of heritage images and multimedia (including Auckland Art Gallery collections). Try "fashion model" (All words, no quotes) or fashion 195? (All words).

My favourites are the Clifton Firth fashion shoots from Auckland City Libraries, and the fashion models in the Evening Post from the Alexander Turnbull Library collections - especially the department store parades! Some interesting 'under'fashions from the Te Papa collections also.

These images have all been digitised by New Zealand libraries, galleries, museums, and archives - so you can order copies from them.

http://www.matapihi.org.nz/logicrouter/servlet/LogicRouter?OUTPUTXSL=home.xsl&lang=en

26/02/2008
Add a comment

Name: Anne Harlow

Comments: Thank you Virginia - there are absolutely perfect photos on Matapihi. I love the fashion parade models and all those women in the audience looking very serious! And all the things like shoes, underwear, hats, hairstyles and accessories throughout the pictures are fabulous. That's a great resource to have been pointed towards - thank you very much!

27/02/2008
Add a comment

Name: Helen Hagen

Comments: Hello Anne, prompted by reading of your interest in the Fashion and Culture in the 1950s, I decided to respond to the topic in a story that I wrote for my U3A Past for the Future story group meeting on Monday last. As it may be too long to insert here, I can send it as an attachment to an email should you be interested. I'll wait for your reply.

5/03/2008
Add a comment

Name: Anne Harlow

Comments: Hi Helen,

I certainly am interested, thank you very much! Please send it to me at anne.harlow@aucklandcity.govt.nz I look forward to reading it, thank you.
Anne

6/03/2008
Add a comment

Name: Jane Greensmith

Comments: Hi,
My mother was a hat model in the 1950's and also was on the social circuit!! She has photos of puffy ball dresses at the Peter Pan Ballroom etc. I will email them if you are interested, Jane

7/03/2008
Add a comment

Name: Jeanette de Heer

Comments: Anne, I have written a feature article which ws published a couple of years ago in the magazine 'NZ Memeories' about weekend social life in the late 1950's. It also includes photographs.It's too long to send as an attachment but I can let you have publication details or send you a photocopy of the article. I have also written a short history of the Tudor cinema which used to be in Remuera & this includes material relevant to the 1950's. NZ Memories will probably publish this later this year.

7/03/2008
Add a comment

Name: Ruth

Comments: Hello Anne , Had a look through the many surviving photos my deceased father, photographer Allen Kerr, took during the decade he worked at the Auckland Star (mid 50s-mid 60s) and thought these might be of interest for your project. The photos and what I know of them are as follows:

	Santa Parade - I think this would have been late 50-early 60s
	Boys knitting - Dad is sitting top left, with his mates Peter and Jimmy Christian in centre. They all went to Auckland Boys' but I don't know who the other two are, or why they decided to knit themselves jumpers in the very early 1950s!
	My father, Allen Kerr, and mother Raewynne, at Auckland Airport looking very glam. I assume this is very late 50-early 60s
	Dad dancing the jitterbug with an unknown work colleague in the 50s
	A postcard sent to Dad from Spain in 1956 by one of his Auckland Star colleagues, Leon ???. I love the 'hip' talk. e.g. "Come on over and get a hip load of the adagio men. Cool, kid, cool. ....... plenty sun, nothin' ta do and all day ta do it in ....."

7/03/2008
Add a comment

Name: Helen Hagen

Comments: Hello Anne. Herewith my evocation of fashion and culture in the 1950s. Cheers.

Click here to read Helen's article

7/03/2008
Add a comment

Name: Jeanette de Heer

Comments: the magazine NZ Memories has published an article I wrote on weekend social life in the late 1950's together with photographs. Please let me know if you would like a copyl

10/03/2008
Add a comment

Name: Anne

Comments: Hello Helen, oh my goodness, you've made me want to never go scuffing down the road for a coffee in my jandals and nasty old jeans again - how gorgeous to grow up surrounded by all that fashion, and to dress up for every outing! Hats and gloves and lipsticks and high heels, and immaculate hair too I'm sure. Thank you so much for sharing your memories of the culture of NZ in the 1950s. I have heard people in my family too talk about that general belief that the only real "culture" came from overseas at that time - in fashion, design and the arts. I think this kind of attitude gives some context to the contemporary Maori art exhibition that was held in 1958 - the challenge of showing NZers the interesting things happening that were unique to this country and just as, if not more, valuable to us as the art from Europe.
Thank you - your memories are very helpful and wonderful to read! Anne

11/03/2008
Add a comment

Name: Anne Harlow

Comments: Thank you very much Jeanette. And thank you for your phone call - I look forward to receiving your article, it definitely sounds like an interesting read! We will also try and put a copy on this forum.

Thanks
Anne

11/03/2008
Add a comment