One of New Zealand’s most notable documentary photographers, Robin Morrison (1944-1993) spent seven months documenting his travels to the tiny towns and villages across the South Island capturing the essence of rural NZ. His photographs were ultimately collected into an award-winning book, which has long been out of print.
From the recently compiled new edition of From the Road, featuring guest essays by Robin’s friends and contemporaries, Shepherdess picks some favourite photos out of his expressive depictions of the splendour and people of the South Island.
From the Road is a personal photographic view of the South Island of New Zealand. I have loved the South Island for many years, and in 1979 I was able to express that feeling by spending six months photographing the land, its people and the mark they have left on the country.
This island is usually photographed by and for those whose only visual reality is the scenic and the picturesque. The photographs in this book present an alternative view.
I travelled 18,000 miles with my family into most corners of the South Island, but concentrated more on the areas that held my eye – in particular, Central Otago. We stayed in the holiday houses of friends and enjoyed the space and sense of being on the edge that we so rarely have in the closeness of a city.
While the title From the Road cannot be taken too literally, it does convey the found, unplanned way in which the photographs were taken. With the help of a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council grant, I was able to work without the usual restrictions of time to evolve a view of the South Island that was finally edited into this book.
The view shown reflects to some extent the analytical eye of a visitor, but this apparent detachment belies my deep feeling for the landscape and the people who live in it.
My 30th birthday was my first birthday sober for ages. And it was in Fiji, at a wedding. It actually wasn’t a test though, it was a gift. I was three months sober. I felt great in my dress. I toasted the bride and groom (and they all sang happy birthday to me, which was quite awkward because of the focus on me) with sparkling water in a champagne flute.
What I’ve seen recently, with the stratospheric rise of alcohol-free options and the sober-curious movement, is that people are realising there is a bigger experience around drinking than just the alcohol. I was conscious of that because I loved going out, and I love going out now more than I ever did. I have always loved a good party – a good dinner party or a good concert with loud music and lights – and I enjoy them even more now than when I was drinking.
I was living in Wellington when I stopped and I was relatively new there, so I didn’t have a huge extensive social circle there – and I’m not really sure if that made it easier or harder. I did find that I wasn’t quite so keen to sit in a pub from five till eleven hearing the same old stories. I got into yoga that year, so there was quite a bit that changed. Sometimes on a Friday night I would do a three-hour yoga class! But then on the Saturday I’d still go out to the pub or go out dancing.
This story was written and photographed by Robin Morrison and featured in Shepherdess magazine. Shepherdess magazine was started around a kitchen table on a dairy and beef farm in the Horowhenua. We continue to come to you from this kitchen table, and from many other farms, home offices and lounges across provincial Aotearoa. The magazine is here to connect, empower and inspire women across rural New Zealand, by offering a place to tell stories of our rural communities. Find out more about Shepherdess here shepherdess.co.nz
