FOREWORD:
In January 2020 I participated in an initiative by Stephen Dowling, "Around the World in 80 Cameras".  The idea was to circumnavigate the globe with film cameras and have people writing articles about a town/city they love. The resultant articles would be placed on Stephen's website (I'll promote that when it goes live). 
I chose to write about Russell, which is just across the water from where we live in Opua.  I love Russell with it's fascinating history of 'firsts' for New Zealand and (dare I say it) bad behaviour in the early days,  so it was a real pleasure to write about it and take my photos. We were asked to take both colour and black and white photos.

A PLACE I LOVE  -  RUSSELL, NEW ZEALAND

Russell, also known as Kororareka (meaning the place of sweet penguins), is a small town in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. With a population of around 750 residents, that swells to around 10,000 in Summer, Russell has a wide reputation as a popular holiday destination. Arriving in Russell is a bit like stepping back in time. Some of New Zealand’s oldest and most significant historic buildings, as well as the town’s original street plan and names from 1843, are still in use today.

Russell wasn’t always a popular town for holiday makers.  In the early 19th century it was the first permanent European settlement and seaport in New Zealand. Being one of the safest bays with anchorage, for ships entering New Zealand waters, Russell was originally developed as a shore station for shipping.  As more ships entered the bay, and the European population grew, there was soon a mix of deserting seamen, runaway convicts, grog sellers, settlers and traders. The township quickly gained a reputation of being a lawless, rowdy, port with the nickname “Hell Hole of the Pacific”. Many of the buildings seen in Russell today, date back to those times.

I first visited Russell in the early 1990’s, while on a sailing holiday in the Bay of Islands. Initial impressions were good – a tidy, town with a mix of historical cottages and modern homes, all crammed onto a small area of flat land and a few hills. The beach-front was charming (still is), with a close row of businesses and houses along its entire length, dominated by a wharf set in the centre of the small bay.  
In those days I wasn’t aware of Russell’s Hellhole of the Pacific reputation however, as my knowledge of the area grew, I became intrigued by its interesting and often violent  history. Over a twenty-five year period I visited Russell many times and noticed how, although homes and businesses were being upgraded and modernised, the township retained its old fashioned vibe.

These days I live just across the water from Russell, so a quick trip by car ferry sees me enjoying its charms any time I choose. Summer is the busiest time when many holidaymakers flock to the Bay of Islands and always include a visit to Russell. The camping ground and rental holiday houses are full and the town buzzes with day trippers. 

The historic Anglican “Christ Church” is a popular place for visitors and residents alike. Noted as one of the first churches in New Zealand, its outer wall still bears a musket hole from 11 March 1845 when a group of Maoris, led by Chief Hone Heke, stormed the town in the battle of Kororareka.  British settlers were evacuated to ships anchored in the bay, while the battle raged through the night and the following day. Even a last ditch effort by the crew of the British sloop Hazard couldn’t save the town, which was sacked and burned. Fortunately the south section was spared, on Hone Heke’s orders, and is why Christ Church still stands today.
 
Other historic buildings of note include Pompallier Mission House, a nineteenth-century construction on the waterfront that once served as the headquarters to the French Catholic Mission to the Western Pacific.  The founder of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand was a young French bishop, Jean Baptiste François Pompallier.  Bishop Pompallier travelled extensively by schooner around both North and South Islands, setting up mission stations, sixteen in all, by 1844.  At his command a printing press, bookbindery and tannery was set up at Russell to provide essential prayer books and Bible translations for Māori who were rapidly becoming literate. Now operating as a tourist destination, what remains of the printing press draws many visitors to Pompallier Mission House on a daily basis.
 
Then there’s Russell Police Station which began as the Customs house.  Built in 1870 from a Gothic design by W.H. Clayton, the Colonial Architect for New Zealand, it was one of his first designs providing both accommodation and an office. By the late 1890s the number of visiting whalers had reduced and less of the Customs services were required, so it was decided that a smaller Customs office on the wharf would be sufficient. By then Russell needed a new Police Station so the Police Department moved into the old Customs house and that remains the police station to this day.

Next door to the Police Station, on the waterfront, is The Duke of Marlborough Hotel. This began life in 1827 as “Johnny Johnstons Grog Shop”.  Johnny Johnston was an ex-convict, come good, who became fluent in Te Reo (Maori language) and was well regarded by local Maori. This allowed him to purchase the freehold site of “the Duke” which was one of the first land sales to a European in New Zealand.  With Russell having once been the largest whaling port in the South Pacific, the hotel boasts a proud history of “refreshing rascals and reprobates since 1827”. 

What I like about Russell is its peaceful ‘old fashionedness’, its beautiful waterfront and its sunsets that last longer than anywhere. It has lovely old wooden buildings and plenty of visible history that residents work hard to preserve and keep true. Summer brings a complete contrast when many out-of-town visitors flock to the town, bringing it alive with restaurant tables spilling out onto pavements, children swimming and playing at the beach, small leisure boats crowding the wharf, and picnics being held at the water’s edge.  That Russell has undergone several transformations over time, and emerged as a delightful place to be, is a triumph in my eyes.
MY CAMERA

My camera for this project was my medium format YASHICA Mat 124G.
My first experience of this camera was while doing a photography course at a local polytechnic, where we learned to take film photos and process them ourselves. I was quite smitten with the Yashica.  After the course I managed to buy one, second hand, that’s in beautiful condition. The weighty metal body gives it a stable and solid feel and I love the picture I see when I look down onto the glass viewfinder. Having said that I sometimes have a little trouble framing shots because what you see in the viewfinder is actually your picture in reverse. It’s a bit like trying to undertake a movement using a mirror as your guide and your hand always goes in the wrong direction.
Whichever way you look at it, however, it’s a beautiful camera and I love using it.

Photos of Russell taken with my medium format YASHICA 124G