American Fleet in the Waitematā Harbour
1908 (Henry Winkelmann) - 2022 and 2024
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A multi-plate panorama by Henry Winkelmann, digitally stitched (by Auckland Libraries), taken from Takarunga / Mt Victoria. The American "Great White Fleet" (as it was known) consisting of sixteen battleships and their escorts, arrived in Auckland on 9 August 1908 for a six-day visit as part of a world cicumnavigation visiting twenty ports.
1908 panorama: Henry Winkelmann | Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1-W1012-PAN
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Winkelmann would of course have never seen his panorama in this stitched form; in his day a panorama made up of several plates would be presented as separate prints mounted side-by-side, as in the version of his Great White Fleet panorama below. This version is from the collection of Archives New Zealand and can be viewed online (together with an informative historical commentary) on Flickr here.
Click on the image to explore its rich detail in high-resolution.
This Archives New Zealand printed version differs somewhat from the Auckland Libraries digital stitch at top; Winkelmann evidently made a couple of attempts at this three-plate-wide panorama, moving his camera position between them. Below is my own attempt at stitching the three plates that make up this version (cylindrical projection). Click on the image to toggle a then-and-now transition.
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1-W1459, 1-W0974, 1-W1011
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Additional images | 1908—2024
Below, an image formed from two Henry Winkelmann plates (taken from Stanley Point) digitally stitched together by Auckland Libraries. Click for transition.
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1-W0905-PAN
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Below, another Henry Winkelmann plate. Click for transition.
Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1-W0996
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Click here for a Winkelmann panorama the American Fleet's later visit in 1925.
