Newspaper Article 2015 – Negative move is positive for history

By CAROLYN VEEN

At least half a million aerial photographs of New Zealand are now stored in a vault in Napier.

Opus International Consultants in Ahuriri won the bid to become the custodian of the New Zealand Aerial Mapping (NZAM) archive collection.

The collection was made up of footage owned by the Crown and the former NZAM. Hawke’s Bay based NZAM was wound up six months ago.

“We are thrilled to be able to keep the collection in Hawke’s Bay,” Opus business manager Dean Taylor said.

NZAM was formed in Hastings in 1936 and is believed to be the oldest aerial survey company in the world and the oldest company Hastings.

For almost 80 years, NZAM’s photographs have played a vital role in everything from archaeology and town planning to search and rescue nationwide.

“NZAM has left a bit of legacy; in essence we have picked up a part of that business and have re-secured it on behalf of the whole country. It now stays in the Bay and we’re genuinely excited about the opportunity to be involved in something that has a bit of history attached to it,” Taylor said.

“Aerial Mapping, on behalf of the Government, managed a photographic archive of the whole country, dating back to 1936. Sitting in a vault, locked up by the receivers, we signed a contract with Government Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and moved the vault downstairs [Opus Napier in Ossian St] so we’re in the business of looking after it.

“To make it secure, we are scanning and digitising the whole collection, which will also make it more available for people to use for a whole variety of purposes.”

Opus Information Management technician Stephanie Lockyer, one of three former NZAM employees now working at Opus, said many people were touched by the company closing, and that it’s great to have it secure and available.

“A farmer likes to have historical photos of his land over the decades to see how it has changed, and surveyors find it really interesting to look at land movement, coastal erosion, legal disputes over boundaries, historical uses of land over time – there multiple uses really,” Lockyer said.

Opus had installed a purpose-built vault on site in Ahuriri to house the massive collection.

Extreme care was taken transporting the collection to Napier. “It was a big operation; we had to be very careful … to maintain the correct and constant temperature and we couldn’t let it get wet or be exposed to moisture while it was on the truck.”

Large rolls of negatives, stored in thousands of tins, “are now being digitised through enormous scanners in temperature controlled rooms.

The process could will take at least 10 years, Opus project manager Trent Downing said.

“We have some really cool photos of Christchurch, pre- and post-earthquake. These will have been very useful for the city’s historical records, and rebuild,” Downing said.

“With aerial photos, you can also see where a river tracked – every seven years photos were taken from a precise altitude and calibration, which clearly shows any changes. We already have a lot of historical records, bridges for instance, so having aerial photography is certainly complementary.”

Photo captions –

On film: Napier Port in 2009 and, below, in 1936.

Negatives unfurled: Stephanie Lockyer.

On Film: Opus Napier, left Stephanie Lockyer, Dean Taylor and Trent Downing in the OPUS Aerial Imagery Archive of New Zealand.