ALBUM - Diggs family who lived in Te Kinga? ca.1920`s.

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DescriptionI'm going through about 60 old West Coast photos trying to work out who the people are, with almost no clues. Some locations are obvious like Greymouth and Buller, but the majority of them are family photos. I suspect it may be the Diggs family who lived in Te Kinga. Does anyone from that area remember anyone named Diggs or recognise this man? I believe he appears in at least one other photo that's been uploaded here in the past, but I'll get to that later. Photo on L likely taken in the 1920s, and the one on R the family in probably the late 1930s at their home. Any hints appreciated.

UPDATE
Darian Zam
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Kath O'Regan Sorry I've only just seen this comment now. It transpired that Derek French the son inherited the photos in the original form of glass slide negatives. It included some from Jos Divis and possibly one other photographer whose name escapes me at this moment. The three of them were photographing in Waiuta during the period (1920s-1930s) with wet plate cameras and would allegedly sometimes swap negatives. Some time after Derek died his family were selling the house in Cobden and held a garage sale, a Reefton dealer purchased them along with a lot of Ted French's cameras and other stuff. He was supposed to let them know if he had anything he thought was of importance that they had not noticed. So they were a little annoyed when I contacted them to find these were online for sale as he had not told them. My understanding is they had prints from the originals but did not intend to part with the original negatives. Some of them went back to WWI when French photographed rare tanks on a restricted English military base, which caused a bit of a sensation amongst war historians/collectors. By then it was too late, and the archive had been split up in lots and sold off including I believe some of them left the country. Anything else I can help you with feel free to message me.

UPDATE 2
This is somehow now a year ago and I should probably recheck I have my retelling of what transpired correct. The dealer was selling them as Jos Divis photos but spelled the name completely wrong. I had not heard of Divis at the time. It was coincidental that DOCs had just reopened the house and also that there was an exhibition of Divis' work on at the National Library of New Zealand at the same time as well as the documentary on himhad just been released to theatres as well. Contrary to popular belief there is a lot to see at Waiuta rather than 'just a couple of buildings.' There are several apart from Divis' house and property, and a lot of things to see, off the beaten track between Blackball and Reefton, but well worth a day trip.Date of Photoca.1920`s.Map^[1]ContributorDarian Zam

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Location (city or town)Te KingaPersonDiggsEventDiggs family who lived in Te Kinga

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Date Created18th March 2024

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