Mission photography and missionary photographers have been neglected in histories of the medium in New Zealand, as have photograph albums. The wealth of mission photographs held at the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) Archives in Dunedin from the mission fields of New Zealand, the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), China and India have yet to be thoroughly explored and studied. These photographs, the majority of which were taken by missionaries working in the field, were viewed by many New Zealanders in the form of postcards and magic-lantern slides, as reproductions in mission periodicals and newspapers, as well as in albums compiled by mission organisations and missionaries. It is this final manifestation of the mission photograph that interests me for, depending on its placement and framing on the album page as well as the uses to which the album was put, a photograph can take on meanings that go beyond the original intention behind its taking. In this essay I will briefly examine one such mission album compiled by Reverend William Veitch Milne, missionary on Nguna from 1905 to 1937.Peer Reviewe

Lubcke, Antje

Te Tumu Eprints Repository

128
e ighteen
From glass plate to album: New Hebrides 
mission photographs in the album of 
Reverend William Veitch Milne
Antje Lübcke
Mission photography and missionary photographers have been neglected in histories of  the 
medium in New Zealand, as have photograph albums. The wealth of  mission photographs 
held at the Presbyterian Church of  Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) Archives in Dunedin from 
the mission fi elds of  New Zealand, the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), China and India have yet to 
be thoroughly explored and studied. These photographs, the majority of  which were taken by 
missionaries working in the fi eld, were viewed by many New Zealanders in the form of  postcards 
and magic-lantern slides, as reproductions in mission periodicals and newspapers, as well as in 
albums compiled by mission organisations and missionaries. It is this fi nal manifestation of  the 
mission photograph that interests me for, depending on its placement and framing on the album 
page as well as the uses to which the album was put, a photograph can take on meanings that go 
beyond the original intention behind its taking.1 In this essay I will briefl y examine one such mission 
album compiled by Reverend William Veitch Milne, missionary on Nguna from 1905 to 1937.
William Veitch Milne was born on Nguna in the New Hebrides in 1877. The son of  Reverend 
Peter Milne, one of  the fi rst missionaries sent to work in the islands in 1869 by the Synod of  
Otago and Southland, William took over his father’s fi eld in 1905. He was one of  the most prolifi c 
and, in my view, talented missionary photographers sent out by the New Zealand church. This 
was no small feat, as photography in the warm and humid climate of  the islands was not without 
its frustrations, especially in the early years of  the twentieth century when glass-plate cameras 
were used. In the loose-print folders of  New Hebrides photographs at the PCANZ Archives 
around 14 per cent of  the 647 photographs, dating from the 1880s to the 1950s, were taken by 
William.2 This fi gure is impressive given that he stopped photographing during the early years 
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from glass  plate to album 129
of  World War I, when the cost of  materials became too great, and he did not resume until the 
mid- to late 1920s.3 Although photography was never explicitly stated as one of  his duties in the 
mission fi eld, William showed a clear and consistent understanding of  its importance as an aid to 
the mission. In the correspondence between him and various members of  the Foreign Missions 
Committee (FMC) that spans the years 1902 to 1937, numerous references are made to William’s 
photographs, in particular, requests from the FMC for prints to be sent for their use. And, indeed, 
his photographs were frequently reproduced in mission periodicals, and as magic-lantern slides 
and postcards. 
The two-page spread I discuss in this essay comes from an album most likely compiled by 
William in late 1913 and/or early 1914. The majority of  photographs in the album can confi dently 
be dated to this period or earlier due to the events and people present in them. Another plausible 
reason for this compilation date is that in early 1914 William returned to New Zealand on furlough 
with his wife Jemima and their two sons.4 The tradition of  the furlough was a key motivation for 
missionaries to get out their cameras and document their work and surrounds, and many of  their 
albums would have been compiled with display in mind.5 By 1913 the New Hebrides mission was 
also being overshadowed by the mission fi elds in China and India. Funds were running low and in 
September Rev. Hewitson, the FMC convenor, wrote to William requesting that he ‘do something 
to keep the New Hebrides before the minds of  the people of  the church’.6 Presenting images to 
the church-going public in the form of  lantern-slide shows and postcards, as reproductions in 
periodicals, and in public presentation albums appears to have been the method of  choice for 
ensuring the New Hebrides mission would not be forgotten. William was even explicitly urged 
to visit as many presbytery meetings as possible so ‘that you [can] do all you can for the missions 
when you are here. You have a full knowledge and can show photographs as well as other island 
curios.’7 
On arriving in New Zealand with his family in February 1914, William travelled around the 
country to attend meetings and give lectures on the mission.8 These speaking engagements were 
not only intended to educate audiences about the different cultures the missionaries encountered 
through their work, but were also for the direct benefi t of  the mission. It was hoped that they 
would induce the public to give generously to the mission’s fund. One of  the key drawcards for 
the lectures, as evidenced in newspaper advertisements from the time, was the magic-lantern slide 
show. At a lecture given by Rev. Watt in Timaru in February 1891 between 600 and 700 audience 
members were ‘delighted . . . by the magic lantern exhibition of  about 100 views of  [the] New 
Hebrides’.9 However, it was not always practical to transport a lantern-slide projector around the 
country and some parishes may not have had their own. It therefore seems plausible that the album 
under discussion here was put to offi cial use during the Milnes’ furlough. As an ‘instrument of  
collective show and tell’10 this relatively small album (26.2 cm x 19 cm), when displayed in meetings 
or during smaller gatherings at the manses where the Milnes stayed, would have prompted the 
telling of  mission stories.
Indeed, the compilation of  this album appears to have been guided almost exclusively by the 
imperative of  helping the New Hebrides mission. William constructed a coherent narrative of  
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early new zealand photography:  images and essays130
mission work in its pages, and took considerable care in presenting the photographs in a tidy and 
ordered manner. Captions have been written for most of  the images, with care being taken that 
these are neat (a ruled pencil line can still be made out below most). The fi fty-six photographs that 
remain in the album are predominantly fund-raising images, such as shots of  mission buildings 
and boats, and agriculture, as well as photographs of  converted islanders.11 The photograph of  
Malapokasi School pasted onto page 13 of  the album is one such fund-raising image (page 131, 
top). It also contains islanders who can be identifi ed as converts due to their European-style dress 
– the two adults standing in front of  the school building are most likely a ‘native teacher’ and 
his wife. 
The juxtaposition of  images on facing pages was also carefully thought out. The photograph 
opposite the Malapokasi image was taken on Wala Island, off  the north-east coast of  Malekula, in 
the north of  the New Hebrides (page 131, bottom). Wala man and wife shows a man and woman 
seated on the ground in front of  a dwelling. The man is sitting cross-legged on a woven mat to the 
left, while the woman, who is sitting at a distance from him to the right of  the image, is preparing 
food. She is holding what looks to be a root vegetable, and various objects associated with food 
preparation are assembled around her. Both man and woman are looking at the photographer/
camera, and appear relatively at ease with the interaction that is taking place. The image was most 
likely taken by William in March 1908, when he was on Wala with his wife for the birth of  their 
son, Laurie.12 There may have been other opportunities over the years for a visit to the island, 
but the photograph’s appearance in another album compiled by William in around 1908 seems 
to suggest that this is its date.13 
While the photograph of  the school house was likely taken by William to document ‘the 
advance of  Christianity and material progress’,14 it would seem that ethnographic interest was the 
primary motivation behind his photographing the Wala scene. The presence and, in some cases, 
prominence of  ethnographic images in the missionary visual archive has been noted by several 
scholars, and ‘was a refl ection of  anthropology’s popularity’15 in the late nineteenth and early 
twentieth centuries. As Christraud Geary notes, ‘the idiom formulated for depicting the “native” 
also infl uenced many photographers . . . who had no anthropological interest’.16 William Milne’s 
Wala photograph, then, fi ts into the established trend of  representing the ‘other’ in colonial 
photography. Although, in contrast to missionaries such as Rev. George Brown who published 
anthropological articles and also sent his photographs to anthropologists, William’s ethnographic 
photography was more of  a hobby, with the occasional image being sent to the FMC for their 
stock of  New Hebridean views.17 This was the case with the Wala photograph, which was turned 
into a postcard, pasted into a public presentation album and reproduced in the September 1921 
issue of  the mission’s periodical for children, The Break of  Day.18
It is telling that William decided to juxtapose the Wala photograph with the Malapokasi image, 
and not the Wala dancing ground that appears on page 16 of  the album. In terms of  the album’s 
ordering principle, it is obvious that geographic location was put aside in favour of  the more 
explicit conversion narrative, or ‘before and after’ sequence, that appears throughout missionary 
imaging.19 Although the ‘after’ shot here comes fi rst, when juxtaposed with the European-style 
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Rev. William Milne, Malapokasi School, c. 1908
GELATIN SILVER PRINT MOUNTED IN ALBUM, 10 × 15 CM (IMAGE AREA), 19 × 26 CM (ALBUM PAGE)
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND ARCHIVES, KNOX COLLEGE, DUNEDIN
Rev. William Milne, Wala man and wife, c. 1908
GELATIN SILVER PRINT MOUNTED IN ALBUM, 10 × 15 CM (IMAGE AREA), 19 × 26 CM (ALBUM PAGE)
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND ARCHIVES, KNOX COLLEGE, DUNEDIN
Early_NZ_photography_3rdpp.indd   131 5/10/11   6:17:05 PM
early new zealand photography:  images and essays132
schoolhouse (albeit made with local materials), the dwelling in the Wala photograph as well as 
the semi-naked couple sitting in front of  it become markers of  the pre-Christian way of  life that is 
being transformed by the missionaries. As it stands, this section of  the album is entirely dedicated 
to the story of  successful conversions. It begins on pages 11 and 12 with two group portraits of  
the missionaries whose hard work has led to the transformation of  the island people. On turning 
the page the viewer then comes to the images of  the school house and the Wala couple, before 
arriving at the photograph of  the dancing ground mentioned above, which is juxtaposed with 
a Ngunese wedding group on page 15. Finally, on turning the page again, the viewer is shown 
images of  the Nguna church and mission house, markers of  Christianity’s and ‘civilisation’s’ hold 
in the islands.
Although geographic location was not an ordering principle of  the album as a whole, it is 
nevertheless important in this section of  the album. This becomes apparent when the caption 
that accompanies Wala man and wife is taken into account: ‘A heathen native & his wife sitting in 
front of  their house. Wala Is. Malekula. The woman is preparing a yam pudding, but her husband 
cannot eat any of  it, for his caste forbids him to eat any food prepared by a woman.’ Captions 
are an important element of  photograph albums, not only because they describe the content and 
context of  a photograph, but also because they indicate what it is that the compiler wanted the 
viewer to see. The caption for the Wala photograph not only draws attention to the fact that the 
subjects are ‘heathen’, but goes into detail, explaining that they are husband and wife, noting the 
location, indicating the type of  food being prepared and commenting on cultural practices. By 
including such details William ensured that, even if  he was not present at the album’s showing, 
the message he wanted to communicate with this photograph and its companion on the facing 
page was not lost: there are still islanders living in a ‘heathen’ state, but not on Nguna. In the 
context of  promoting the mission while on furlough in New Zealand, this translates to: work is 
progressing well, but more funds are needed for its continuation. 
Mission photograph albums, such as the one compiled by Rev. William Veitch Milne, offered 
glimpses of  foreign, ‘exotic’ lands and peoples to New Zealand audiences of  the time. But more 
than this, as an object deliberately constructed to tell a story, William’s New Hebrides photograph 
album presents a narrative that is tied to the needs of  the mission. By closely examining the album 
and its uses, and taking into account the power of  juxtapositions and captions to frame our reading 
of  images, this narrative, to a degree, outweighs the original motivation behind the photographs. 
In this way, a seemingly straightforward ethnographic photograph becomes the contrasting image 
to Christian Nguna in the ubiquitous before-and-after conversion narrative. However, the meanings 
attached to the photographs in the album would have changed over the years, as the album moved 
from functioning as a tool for the propagation of  the mission to being a personal belonging (the 
album was in the care of  Jemima Milne until her death in 1972). The social and physical spaces the 
album inhabited shifted from public to private, and with this transition the meanings and readings 
attached to the photographs too would have changed.  
Early_NZ_photography_3rdpp.indd   132 5/10/11   6:17:06 PM
notes 201
 6. For more on Crozier’s activities in China see Caitriona Cameron, Go Anywhere, Do Anything: New Zealanders in the Friends 
Ambulance Unit in China, 1945–1951 (Wellington: Beechtree Press, 1996).
 7. This transformation of  the city is discussed in Virgil K.Y. Ho, Understanding Canton: Rethinking Popular Culture in the Republican 
Period (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005).
 8. John Fitzgerald, Big White Lie: Chinese Australians in White Australia (Sydney: University of  New South Wales Press, 2007), 
190–200.
 9. James R. Ryan, Picturing Empire: Photography and the Visualization of  the British Empire (London: Reaktion Books, 1997), 161. 
For an introduction to Thomson’s life and photography see http://www.nls.uk/thomson.
 10. Régine Thiriez, Barbarian Lens: Western Photographers of  the Qianlong Emperor’s European Palaces (Amsterdam: Gordon and 
Breach Publishers, 1998), 121.
 11. Nicholas Thomas, ‘Colonial Conversions: Difference, Hierarchy, and History in Early Twentieth-Century Evangelical 
Propaganda’, in Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 34, no. 2 (1992), 366–95.
 12. See, for instance, Leonard Bell, ‘Eyeing Samoa: People, Places, and Spaces in Photographs of  the Late Nineteenth and Early 
Twentieth Centuries’, in Tropical Visions in an Age of  Empire, edited by Felix Driver and Luciana Martins (Chicago: The 
University of  Chicago Press, 2005), 156–174.
Chapter 18: From glass plate to album: New Hebrides mission photographs in the album of Reverend William Veitch Milne
 1. Antje Lübcke, ‘The Photograph Albums of  the New Zealand Presbyterian Mission to the New Hebrides’, MA thesis, University 
of  Otago, 2009.
 2. P-A10, New Hebrides loose-print album, 1/5; P-A11, 2/5; P-A15, 3/5; P-A16, 4/5; P-A436, 5/5, Presbyterian Church of  
Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) Archives, Knox College, Dunedin 
 3. Letter to Rev. Barton, 15 October 1924, p. 2 in GA0146, New Hebrides Mission, Staff  Files, Rev. W.V. Milne, 1923 to 1925, 
1984/0018, AA 13/2/2, PCANZ Archives.
 4. Furlough was when missionaries would take leave from their work in the mission fi eld and, most often, returned home for 
a holiday and to give lectures on the mission.
 5. This was confi rmed when an attendee at the paper I presented at the Pacifi c History Association Conference in Suva, 
December 2008, mentioned his parents making such use of  photograph albums on their furloughs. 
 6. Letter to Hewitson, 8 September 1913, p. 1, AA 13/1/5, PCANZ Archives.
 7. Letter from Rev. Clark to William, 29 September 29 1913, unpaginated, AA 13/1/5.
 8. Foreign Missions Committee, Minute Book 1914 to 1919, 10 February 1914, p. 1, and 10 March 1914, p. 10, GA0001, AA 
4/1/2, PCANZ Archives.
 9. The Timaru Herald, 24 February 1891.
 10. Martha Langford, Suspended Conversations: The Afterlife of  Memory in Photographic Albums (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University 
Press, 2001), 20.
 11. Max Quanchi, Photographing Papua: Representation, Colonial Encounters and Imaging in the Public Domain (Newcastle: Cambridge 
Scholars Publishing, 2007), 150.
 12. Letter from Rev. W. Milne to Rev. Hewitson, 31 March 1908, in GA0146 New Hebrides Mission, Staff  Files, Rev. W.V. Milne, 
1902 to 1914, 1984/0018, AA 13/1/5. 
 13. A-S30-163, Milne, W.V. (Rev.), album(s) of  New Hebrides images, pre-1920, PA 42008/53, PCANZ Archives.
 14. Christraud Geary, ‘Missionary Photography: Private and Public Readings’, in African Arts, vol. 24, no. 4 (October 1991), 50.
 15. Quanchi, Photographing Papua, 157.
 16. Christraud Geary, ‘Photographs as Materials for African History: Some Methodological Considerations’, in History in Africa 
13 (1986), 96.
 17. Helen Gardner and Jude Philp, ‘Photography and Christian Mission: George Brown’s Images of  the New Britain Mission 
1875–80’, in The Journal of  Pacifi c History vol. 41, no. 2 (September 2006), 175, 185.
 18. P-A10, New Hebrides Mission loose-print album, 1/5, P-A10.62-53; A-L-2.55-142, A-L-2, Foreign Missions Committee, New 
Hebrides Mission Album, PA 496/34, PCANZ Archives; The Break of  Day, vol. 13, no. 8 (September 1921), 10.
 19. See, for example, Nicholas Thomas, Colonialism’s Culture: Anthropology, Travel and Government (Cambridge: Polity Press, 
1994), 126; Kim Greenwell, ‘Picturing “Civilization”: Missionary Narratives and the Margins of  Mimicry’, in BC Studies 135 
(Autumn 2002), 13; Richard Eves, ‘ “Black and white, a signifi cant contrast”: Race, humanism and missionary photography 
in the Pacifi c’, in Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 29, no. 4 ( July 2006), 728. 
Chapter 19: The best of intentions: imaging and imagining Te Mata Road
 1. James Belich, Making Peoples (Auckland: Penguin, 1996), 352.
 2. R.T. Vernon, Raglan (Auckland: W.G. Vernon, 1984), 70, 124. 
 3. William Main and Alan Jackson, ‘Wish You Were Here’: The Story of  New Zealand Postcards (Wakefi eld: New Zealand Postcard 
Society, 2005), 73.
 4. ibid., 8.
 5. E.E. Bradbury, The Raglan and Kawhia Districts, New Zealand: Early History, Resources and Potentialities, Future Prospects (Auckland: 
E. Bradbury, 1915), 5.
Early_NZ_photography_3rdpp.indd   201 5/10/11   6:17:11 PM


From glass plate to album: New Hebrides mission photographs in the album of Reverend William Veitch Milne

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From glass plate to album: New Hebrides mission photographs in the album of Reverend William Veitch Milne

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