Robin Morrison

Robin Morrison (16 June 1944 – 12 March 1993) was a New Zealand documentary photographer, best known for his unpretentious portrayal of New Zealand countryside, everyday life and quirky architecture. His photos can be described as unearthing memories of his childhood in the process of exploring the place as it is now.

His entire collection of negatives was gifted to the Auckland War Memorial Museum in 1992, which honoured his work in the exhibitions Robin Morrison, Photographer (1997), A Decade of Days (2013–2014) and Robin Morrison: Road Trip (2023).

Early life

Morrison was born in Devonport on the North Shore of Auckland on 16 June 1944. He grew up in Narrow Neck, and attended Vauxhall School. where he attended Freyberg High School and Massey University.

Morrison's father worked a home-portrait photographer for Christopher Bede Studios, however Morrison never took great interest in his works. and created portrait shots for the Listener for people including Dame Whina Cooper, John A. Lee and Frank Sargeson. and had no strict plan of what he wanted to photograph. In 1981, his works were published as The South Island of New Zealand: From the Road.

Shots from From the Road were exhibited at the Auckland Art Gallery from June to August 1981, and a television documentary, From the Road - Robin Morrison: Photo Journalist (1981), profiled Morrison and his works.

Morrison photographed the Paua House in Bluff as a part of the book. The house's inclusion in From the Road helped to establish the house as a tourist attraction, and made the owners Fred and Myrtle Flutey local celebrities.

Later works

In 1981, Morrison photographed the protests against the Springbok Tour. He died the following year on 12 March 1993.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum has held three exhibitions of Morrison's works. The first was Robin Morrison: Photographer, held from February to April 1997, after which the exhibition travelled across the country to Christchurch, Dunedin, Timaru, Wellington and Rotorua. The exhibition was paired with the release of a book, The Robin Morrison Collection. The second exhibition, A Decade of Days – Auckland Through Robin Morrison's Eyes (2013–2014), focused on Morrison's urban photography of Auckland in the 1970s and 1980s, and elements of the exhibition were installed at Manukau Institute of Technology and Ōtara Town Centre.

Robin Morrison: Road Trip, opened in March 2023, and was paired with a re-release of The South Island of New Zealand: From the Road.

In 2009, the Auckland City Council reissued Morrison's calendar of Ponsonby shot in 1978, as a part of the Auckland Heritage Festival.

Personal life

Morrison met his wife Dinah Bradley while attending Otago University. The pair moved to London, where they wed in 1966. Robin and Dinah returned to New Zealand after Dinah became pregnant, having their first son Jake in 1970, followed by Keir in 1972. and bought a family home in Ponsonby in the same year.

Selected books Images of a House (1978) The South Island of New Zealand: From the Road (1981) Reader's Digest Book of Historic Australian Towns (1982) A Sense of Place (1984) Wild Australia Reader's Digest (1984) The Wines and Vineyards of New Zealand (1984) text Michael Cooper The Historic Country Hotels of England (1985) text Wendy Arnold The Historic Hotels of London (1986) text Wendy Arnold The Irish Village (1986) with Christopher Fitz-Simon Homeplaces (1986) with Keri Hulme The English Country Town (1987) text Anthony Quiney The Historic Hotels of France (1988) text Wendy Arnold Auckland: City & Sea (1989) The Bayswater Brasserie Book of Food (1989) The Historic Hotels of Ireland (1989) text by Wendy Arnold A Land Apart: The Chatham Islands of New Zealand (1990) with Michael King The Historic Hotels of Paris (1990) text Wendy Arnold The Historic Hotels of Spain (1991) text Wendy Arnold New Zealand Architecture From Polynesian Beginnings to 1990 (1991) text Peter Shaw At Home and Abroad (1991) Sydney in Black and White (1992) text Glenn A Baker Coromandel (1993) with Michael King A Journey (1994)