After almost a decade since it arrived into University custody, work has now officially begun on massive Hannan Photographic Archive.
The Hannan Archive was donated to the University of Newcastle’s Cultural Collections in June 2014. It includes over a million photographic materials showcasing Newcastle and the Hunter Region throughout the second half of the twentieth century. The Archive covers an era from the mid-1950s until 2010s.
You can view digitised images available online HERE
The Surfest Photographs 1985-1988
At the time of donation over 800 images showcasing the first three years of Surfest held on Newcastle beach between 1985 and 1988 were made digitally available to the public to coincide with the 30th Anniversary of the event. All photographs were taken by Chris Patterson and other photographers working for Hannan Photography.
Conservation of the Hannan Archive
In 2022, with consideration of the conservation priorities, the first phase of the collection’s preservation began.
The aim is to rehouse, document and digitise collection images dating from 1955 to 1965. We also aim to transcribe and digitise the relevant collection ledgers to our focus period.
As is the case with the Ralph Snowball Archive, the Hannan photographs provide a comprehensive visual history of the Hunter Region. Reflecting the common trends of their time, images of this era are black and white.
The 1950s is an important time in Australian social and photography history due to the post-war social changes, migrations, social movements and lifestyle changes and the subsequent rise of photojournalism, fashion and advertising photography.
Looking into negatives held in the Hannan archives, we can see the local photographers’ comprehensive work on documenting social, urban and environmental changes in Newcastle.
The collection provides insight into the region’s social and cultural history and lived experiences. Therefore extra care is given by conservation, archives and the GLAMx lab to document and preserve original negatives and their historical context as they provide important records of Newcastle’s past and its evolution into the new century.
At this stage, we have rehoused and documented more than 600 negatives, from which more than 100s have been digitised.
Dr Amir Moghadam | Conservator
E: amir.mogadam@newcastle.edu.au
Great collection/comments/replies …have only just discovered this site!!!!! So good!
Is there any place for volunteers to help ??
Thanks for reaching out. There are a number of volunteers working with us at present, but we are limited by the numbers we can accommodate. This will need many hands in future, so stay tuned. We appreciate the interest.