Points of Focus: Historic Photographs from the Pacific

Drawing on its important holdings of photographs, the University of Sydney Macleay Museum is presenting an exhibition of Pacific photographs until November 1. The selected works date from about 1850 to 1950 and derive from a variety of sources: colonial administrators, missionaries, traders, anthropologists, and, in some cases, even tourists. Together they form a striking illustration of life and traditions among the peoples of the Pacific in the past. perhaps even more importantly, the images trace the history and development of the medium of photography from the nineteenth century to the present as a means of recording and disseminating ideas.

View the exhibition's official website.

Frank Hurley, Sunset Across Goodenough Bay  -  Papua New Guinea, 1920-1921

I. Hogbin, Marigum, Headman of Dap Village  -  Papua New Guinea, 1934

W.J. Jackson, Sea Village Admiralty Islands New Guinea, 1929

Images courtesy of Macleay Museum, University of Sydney