Tag Archives: 1960s

Dunedin in Kodachrome 3

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The first ‘Dunedin in Kodachrome’ post on this blog showed a Ray Hargreaves image, looking south along George Street in 1957. This fascinating image above, taken by David Green, makes an excellent companion piece, as it looks north along the same street five years later.

It can be dated unusually precisely to Otago Anniversary Day, 23 March 1962, at 4:35pm (if the Arthur Barnett clock was functioning properly). The traffic movements, including the Triumph Herald and Hillman Minx (or possibly Humber 80) in the foreground, give an energy to the scene. The buildings on the left are Victorian, but with remodelled facades that have stripped them of ornamentation. The tell-tale sash windows remain. Shops include the Disabled Servicemen’s Shop and Modern Furniture. Further along is the Arthur Barnett department store. On the right is another department store, the DSA. The now-demolished State Theatre is the taller building. In the background the tower of Knox Church can be seen. The hanging boxes are quite spectacular. Are those red hot pokers?

Thanks to David Green for generously sharing this image.

A Maclaggan Street vista

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It can be interesting to look at some of the changed vistas along our city streets. Here is a Gary Blackman image of Maclaggan Street taken in August 1963, and an approximate comparison from February 2017. The silhouette of the First Church spire is prominent in the earlier picture, but obscured by Scenic Hotel Dunedin City (formerly Cargill House) in the later one. Philip Laing House on the right, opened in 1973, is the other large addition. The magnificent AMP Building designed by Louis Boldini was demolished in 1969. All of the buildings visible on the left and right hand sides of Maclaggan Street have been pulled down, with the exception of the Crown Hotel on the Rattray Street corner. These included the western end of the old Broadway Arcade, taken down in 1970. Today the realigned Broadway is a busy traffic route, and Harvey Norman (left) and The Warehouse (right) take up much of the remaining real estate. Notable survivors on Princes Street (seen here from behind) include the former Excelsior Hotel and Everybody’s Theatre with their fascinating roofscapes. The Calder Mackay building, covered in scaffolding in August 1963, is still standing, as is Speight’s Shamrock Building to its left. The telegraph poles and their busy wirescape have been removed. Of course one photograph was taken in winter and the other in summer, but the trees that now bring greenness for much of the year are another addition.

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