Henry Winkelmann image of Whangaroa forest

Henry Winkelmann, The Environment, 1905.

Auckland photographer Henry Winkelmann is most renowned for his nautical photography. His images of boats are fine enough, but they do somewhat overshadow the work he created away from the coast. This photograph of a kauri forest at Whangaroa is magnificent. Not only is it technically superb, it also demonstrates the immensity of the kauri forests at the turn of last century and the conditions the workers were faced with. If you look closely you can see a man leaning against one of the trees in the foreground. The hut looks too ramshackle for living quarters so presumably it was the sawmill.