William Barbour Beattie (21 August 1902 – 6 December 1991) was a well-known and popular New Zealand photographer. He was the chief photographer of ''
The New Zealand Herald'' and ''The Weekly News'' between 1940 and 1968. He worked for a total of 44 years for the ''Herald''. Beattie is prominently remembered for his photographs which captured many aspects of New Zealand's social history in the twentieth century.
Beattie was the son of another prominent photographer
William Beattie, and this is where Bill's interest in photography stemmed from. He took his first official news picture for the ''Herald'' in 1923 which was of a tram crash on Wellesley St,
Auckland. Beattie, who was at a nearby theatre was informed of the incident and rushed to get his camera from the ''Herald'' offices.
Beattie was mostly known for his scenic work and his photographs that captured the New Zealand way of life. He travelled extensively up and down the country in order to take these photos and often to rural areas. Beattie took photographs of the building of the
Lewis Pass
Lewis Pass (el. 907 m.) is a mountain pass in the South Island of New Zealand.
The northernmost of the three main passes across the Southern Alps, it is higher than the Haast Pass, and slightly lower than Arthur's Pass. State Highway 7 traver ...
road and of the first road construction that ran from the
Haast to
Wānaka.
During his long career, Beattie captured on film six royal tours to New Zealand. His first brush with royalty was in 1920 when he photographed the visit of
Edward Prince of Wales. Beattie also took photographs of the Duke and Duchess of York, later to be
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
and
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to:
Queens regnant
* Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland
* Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...
in 1927. He also captured the visit of
Elizabeth II to New Zealand in 1953 on her royal tour.
In 1963, Beattie won an international photography competition where he took top prize in the Pacific Travel Association Awards. The competition was to promote travel in the Pacific and Beattie's photograph of sheep
mustering
Muster may refer to:
Military terminology
* Muster (military), a process or event for the accounting for members in a military unit
* Muster list, list of the functions for team members
* A mustering, in military terminology, is a specialised for ...
at the Ruakituri Station in
Hawkes Bay, taken in 1937 won first place. This photograph was also used by ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' in a double page spread in a pictorial article used to promote New Zealand.
During
World War II, Beattie was a member of the
RNZAF, serving in the photographic section.
Beattie died on 6 December 1991.
References
External links
Works of Beattieare currently held in the collection of
Auckland War Memorial Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beattie, Bill
1902 births
1991 deaths
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
Photographers from Auckland