Taranaki

Auction for Hospice of the best NZ news photos!

One of the saddest things I had to deal with earlier this year was finding out that my old buddy and ex boss, Rob Tucker had  cancer.

Several years ago when I went down his home town of New Plymouth,  Rob went to some trouble to give me a guided tour of New Plymouth. We later adjourned to his house for tea where I caught up with his wife Bonnie and brother Jim who was also an ex boss when I was at the Auckland Star.

While we were in the South Island earlier this year I received a phone call from another old friend Ross Land to tell me that Rob has organised an auction of our 3 best images from our days in newspapers. We were in Plimmerton at the time about to cross on the ferry and as there was plenty of time, we’d find some images for it  when we got back.

Once we got back to Auckland a few weeks later, I sent a selection of 10 or so images to Rob for him to pick what he thought would work and the three images below are what he picked.

Click on any Image to Enlarge

Tina Turner at a press conference under TV lights.

Rob was one of the NZ Heralds youngest ever Picture Editors.  A vacancy came up at the Herald for a junior and I jumped at it. I was 19yrs old, welding and repairing containers at the time biding my time so it came just at the right time. Rob did me a big favour getting me on board at that early stage as the Herald was a fantastic training ground and a great place to work.  Once you were out of the Newspaper industry, it was really hard to get back in.

Ross joined not long after me and later we shared a darkroom together and became good friends.

Ross and Kay have done a spectacular job over the last few years doing up a classic Caravan!

Michael Winslow outside the Regent in Auckland.

Hospice Taranaki have taken really good care of Rob and he felt he wanted to do something to help them fund their financial situation. He came up with the idea of getting as many of NZ Newspaper photographers to provide their best three images to be mounted and auctioned off for Hospice Taranaki.

Here’s a story from the  NZ Herald of Rob  Its an interesting video and well worth watching.

Run for your wife. One of the last shows at His Majesties Theatre in Auckland before it got bulldozed. L to R: Geoffrey Hughes (Coronation Street), Timothy Lea (Confessions of a Windows Cleaner) and Windsor Davies (It aint half hot mum) were staying at the White Heron lodge in Parnell where I met them early one morning.

There is also a coffee table book with all the images in which will be a collectors item in years to come. The proceeds for this are also heading Hospice’s way.

Its a great idea of his to get behind a great cause and we need to support it.  I’m sure once you see some of the images, you will remember seeing them published.

Here’s a few that didn’t make Robs selection that I sent as well to give you an idea of some of the others.

Click on the Gallery below to Enlarge.

NZ girls win at Han river rowing regatta in Seoul during 1984 Olympics.
Audrey Hepburn at a press conference in Auckland.
Mark Todd with Charisma in Seoul.
Edgecumbe earthquake.. this image was used all over the world.
Victor Borge under TV lights during a Holmes show interview at the Town Hall.
David Lange looking chuffed with poll results a week before the 1984 election.

The Auction is being held at Plymouth International Hotel in New Plymouth on the 24th September.

Most if not all the photographers involved will be there too so it’ll be quite a reunion 🙂

Check out the Photo Journalism NZ page here.