We are greatly saddened to hear of the passing of one of New Zealand’s best-known and loved photographers, Ans Westra. Born in Leiden, Netherlands, Ans migrated to New Zealand in 1957 aged 21 and briefly lived in Auckland before moving to Wellington the following year. She quickly settled into her adopted city and set about capturing local communities, street fashion and generational shifts as the baby boomers came of age. Wielding a medium-format Rolleiflex camera held at her waist, for many years she was a regular sight at parades, concerts and school fairs; her lens always focused on the people who were attending rather than the event itself. She also travelled across the country and paid special attention to photographing Māori communities who until then had been largely ignored by contemporary photographers.

Ans Westra was a regular visitor to the former Wellington Central Library and became friendly with a number of staff in the old New Zealand Room. When tasked with establishing a photograph collection in the 1970s, the Local History Librarian Hilda McDonnell recognised the quality and breadth of Westra’s photographs and acquired several hundred images.  Hand-printed by Ans in her own darkroom, these photographs capture the people and streets of Wellington with a rare degree of intimacy.

Photograph by Ans Westra, 1976. Wellington City Recollect Ref AW-992-8

With permission from her family and agent {Suite} Gallery, we digitised our collection of her photographs and these are now available to view on our heritage platform, Wellington City Recollect. Browse them online via the button below:

Ans Westra Collection – Wellington City Recollect

Our thoughts are with Ans’ family during this difficult time.