A range of pictures of British battlecruisers in New Zealand waters during the inter-war period have been doing the rounds on social media. Most were taken by professional or semi-pro photographers using high-end equipment of the day. However, the identity of the photographers has been lost in the mix, along with the outstanding quality of the original archival images. They have also circulated, frequently, without much information.
This article gives features a half-dozen of these photos, with links to zoomable high-res originals and background details of photographer, time, place and purpose. Most are under copyright, administered by the National Library of New Zealand (NLNZ). They’re used here at low-res in compliance with the NLNZ’s terms and conditions. If you want to publish them at high resolution (which carries various fees), you’ll need to contact the library. But they can be viewed at high-resolution on the library website, zoom controls at bottom left of the viewer. It’s worth noting that the library has wrong identification and details in some instances, albeit from the photographer’s own notes. This article uses independent sources, including ships’ logs, to help clarify specifics, noting that even primary sources can vary when it comes down to such details.
Pictures of HMS Renown in high quality – the Prince of Wales’ visit, 1920
In 1920 HMS Renown took the Prince of Wales to Australia and New Zealand. James Kinnear (1877-1946), an Auckland dentist and semi-pro photographer, took a series of pictures of the battlecruiser arriving at Queen’s Wharf in the port of Auckland, on the Waitemata harbour, 24 April 1920. Renown’s log notes that she was ‘secured alongside’ at 11.20 am, some 62 minutes after stopping to prepare for berthing,[1] suggesting this photo, below, was taken a few minutes before. Click photo for the high-res (opens in new tab, takes time to load).
(James Kinnear, Alexander Turnbull Library, PA-Group-00404, 1/2-016067-G)
Another excellent picture of Renown during this tour was taken by Albert Percy Godber (1875-1949), who worked for New Zealand Railways but had an interest in photography and produced at least 2,489 images during his career. These include glass-plate photos (below) of HMS Renown in Wellington. This picture was initially identified from Godber’s notes as HMS Hood circa 1917, which is obviously nonsense. Renown arrived in the capital a little before 4.00 pm on 5 May 1920, making a 30-minute run from Point Halswell across Lambton Harbour, during which ‘thousands of school children’ lining Oriental Bay Parade hailed her.[2] She was secured at the 823-foot long No. 2 berth of King’s Wharf,[3] according to her log, by 4.24 pm.[4] Godber photographed her between 9 am and 12.00 noon on 7 May 1920, when she was open to the public.[5] It had been an interesting day aboard the battlecruiser. Her log tells us, among other things, that a party was put ashore for route march at 9.20 am that morning.[6] Features to look for in the high-res (click through, link below) are the range-clocks. Click photo for the high-res (opens in new tab, takes time to load).
(A.P. Godber, Alexander Turnbull Library, PA-Group-00048: Godber, Albert Percy, 1875-1949 :Collection of albums, prints and negatives, APG-2064-1/2-G)
High-quality photos of the Special Service Squadron, 1924
In 1924 a British squadron led by the battlecruiser HMS Hood with HMS Repulse in consort embarked on a world tour. This was a direct sequel to the 1913 world tour of HMS New Zealand,[7] and from the British perspective was designed for similar diplomatic purpose. The squadron visited Australia and was accompanied across the Tasman by HMAS Adelaide, separating into various units to maximise port visits in New Zealand. Repulse, with Hood and Adelaide, reached Wellington on 24 April 1924, and the two battlecruisers were berthed at the brand-new Pipitea Wharf. Their arrival drew enormous interest: special barricades had to be raised to control traffic.
Here is HMS Hood arriving in Wellington’s Lambton Harbour, by William Hall Raine. This photo – taken late in the morning of 24 April 1924 – forms part of the New Zealand Free Lance collection, a large set of photographs associated with the magazine of the same name. This photo was taken from Oriental Bay on the south side of Lambton Harbour, looking northwest, showing the ship with Tinakori Hill in the background and the city centre to the left. In curious connection of name, during the first years of the twentieth century Oriental Bay was the local swimming beach of Bernard Freyberg, the young New Zealander who went on to join the Royal Naval Division’s Hood battalion in 1914, a ground force also named after Admiral Sir Samuel Hood (1724-1816).[8] More pictures of Hood are being published in the next article in this series.
For those unfamiliar with the geography of New Zealand’s capital, the city sits at the southwestern corner of an inlet known as Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara/Port Nicholson. The port facility is in a smaller basin adjacent to the city centre known as Lambton Harbour, bounded to the south by Oriental Bay. In the 1920s the wharves and warehouses extended from the northern to the western side, but port activity has since focused on the northern side and newer reclamation. Click photo for higher-res (opens in new tab, takes time to load).
(William Hall Raine, Alexander Turnbull Library, PA-Group-00079. New Zealand Free Lance : Photographic prints and negatives. 1914-1960, 1/2-100604-G)
Another local photographer who captured images of the Special Service Squadron battlecruisers as they arrived was Francis Thompson (1895-1977) of Crown Studios of Wellington. This family business, operating from Cuba Street 1920-1971, was initially managed – then owned – by Thompson and subsequently his son Francis Charles Thompson (1923-2001). Thompson’s pictures include this one of HMS Repulse arriving in Lambton Harbour late morning on 24 April 1924.[9] Repulse’s log states that she was ‘secured alongside west side of Pipitea Wharf, bows north’ at 11.30 am,[10] so this photo – looking southeast with Mount Victoria and Oriental Bay Parade clearly visible to the left – was likely taken a few minutes prior. I’ve reproduced it here in low-res with full negative edges showing: the picture is the right way around, but photographers often wrote identifiers on the back of their negatives. Click photo for the high-res (opens in new tab, takes time to load).
(Crown Studios, Alexander Turnbull Library, PA-Group-00349: Photographic Archive, 1/2-204854-F)
HMS Renown in high resolution – the Duke and Duchess of York’s visit, 1927
In 1927 HMS Renown brought the Duke and Duchess of York to New Zealand. They departed Britain amidst international concern over possible war between the Soviet Union and China, perhaps demanding intervention. Although temporarily fitted as a royal yacht, Renown was loaded with full munitions in case she was ordered to sail to Asian waters. In the end no such need arose.
Multiple photographers captured images of the ship. This one is of Renown at Pipitea Wharf in Wellington’s Lambton harbour, early afternoon on 6 March 1927, a bright late-summer day in New Zealand’s capital. She was open to the public that day between 2.00 and 5.30 pm, giving a time-range for the photo.[11] The location is sometimes identified as King’s Wharf, but according to period media reports was in fact Pipitea.[12] The picture is by Leslie Hinge (1868-1942), a long-standing newspaper photographer. At the time, Renown was about six months out of a major refit that included additional armour and a new anti-torpedo bulge.[13] Note that the National Library of New Zealand incorrectly lists this picture as Repulse, although other pictures in the same sequence – clearly taken within a short time, probably as Hinge walked around the wharf getting angles – are correctly identified as Renown.
(Leslie Hinge, Alexander Turnbull Library, PA-Group-00993, 1/4-016960-G)
The next picture of Renown in Wellington (below) was taken by Sydney Charles Smith (1888-1972), a professional photographer who worked extensively in the early-to-mid decades of the twentieth century, notably in the Wellington district, and whose photographs provide a unique record of New Zealand during this period. This photo shows Renown berthed at Pipitea Wharf, between 5 and 9 March 1927,[14] This picture reveals Smith’s mastery of the art, particularly the way his chosen angle takes advantage of water reflection partially back-lighting the shadow on the starboard bow. The reproduction of this particular photo – as digitally archived – is outstanding. Not bad for a near-century old picture. Click for full effect, opens in new tab and takes time to load.
(S. C. Smith, PA-Group-00242: Smith, Sydney Charles, 1888-1972: Photographs of New Zealand, 1/2-045259-G)
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Copyright © Matthew Wright 2023
[1] ADM 53-57642, log 24 April 1920.
[2] Wairarapa Age, 6 May 1920.
[3] Evening Post, 20 April 1920.
[4] ADM 53-57642, log 7 May 1920.
[5] New Zealand Times, 6 May 1920.
[6] ADM 53-57642, log 7 May 1920.
[7] For details see Matthew Wright, The Battlecruiser New Zealand: A Gift to Empire, USNI Press, Annapolis, 2021.
[8] For Freyberg’s story see Matthew Wright, Freyberg: A Life’s Journey, Oratia Books, Auckland 2021.
[9] See, e.g. Poverty Bay Herald, 24 April 1924.
[10] ADM53-8249, entry 24 April 1924.
[11] Evening Post, 5 March 1927.
[12] Evening Post, 5 March 1927.
[13] The refit was conducted July 1923-September 1926, for summary see, e.g. R. A. Burt, British Battleships 1919-1945, pp. 215-216.
[14] Evening Post, 5 and 9 March 1927
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