Explore the life, career and photographs of one of Ashburton’s earliest female photographers, ‘Bobbie’ Barwell of Barwell Studios.

A woman who was not confined by the social constructs of her time, Bobbie’s photographs capture life in Hakatere Ashburton and Te Waipounamu in the 1930s and 40s, with her passion for the outdoors shining through. Her photograph of Lake Pukaki appears to have been the inspiration for the engraving on the second series of the New Zealand five pound bank note, released in 1940. This exhibition explores this story and more, including photographic techniques, equipment, and practices in the era of Barwell Studios.

Lake Pukaki, c.1930s, Bobbie Barwell

Five pound note, 1940, courtesy of Reserve Bank of NZ.