Looking south from Queen Street wharf
1857 (?) 1858 (?) by Hartley Webster (?) - 2022
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Historical image: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 5-3021
This view from Queen Street wharf may be as early as 1857, and may have been made by Hartley Webster. In any case, it's early, as the buildings at right, the premises of Hugh Coolahan and the Ship Biscuit Manufactory, would later—by 1862 or maybe earlier—become the Waitematā Hotel. A number of people were present in this scene, but were recorded only as blurred and shadowy traces as a result of the lengthy exposure time.
Below, a facsimile of a report published in the New Zealander (2 October 1858, page 3). Mention is made here of a 'view from the Queen Street Wharf' by Hartley Webster which sounds very like the picture on this page.
