Photographs, Negatives, Slides and Plates of New Zealand

Clouds loom but the weather was holding when this photograph was taken around 1958. A young woman is posing with an Austin A30 saloon car at Cape Egmont, the westernmost point of Taranaki on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. Formerly named Cabo Pieter Boreels by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642, the area was renamed Cape Egmont by James Cook in 1769. In the background one can see the lighthouse that was originally constructed on Mana Island but was relocated at Cape Egmont in 1877.

A woman poses for a photograph on the foreshore of Fitzroy Beach at Taranaki about 3km north of New Plymouth. The woman's bare foot is sinking into the black sand for which this region is noted. The sands are derived from volcanic rocks and mixed with iron oxide. This results in the sand becoming quite hot on a warm day. Flip-flops and sandals are required on hot days. This discourages some people from visiting the beach.