The Auckland Museum is hoping long-time Mahurangi locals may be able to help it expand its knowledge of a set of photographs recently donated to the museum.
The museum recently digitised a large tranche of the photography collections of Warkworth photographer Tudor Collins, which came to it via a bequest to his nephew.
It is a large image bank of photos of American servicemen, based in Auckland in World War II, prior to being despatched to the Pacific.
Pictorial curator Shaun Higgins says the photos are a wonderful trove of individual and group portraits together with action shots of the men having fun while taking advantage of the relaxed lifestyle in Warkworth, including sea fishing, hunting pukeko and relaxing in front of local homes.
“Many of these servicemen are unidentified and we would love to know more about them and their experiences in Auckland,” he says.
“We are working on a project to attract US citizens to these photographs online.”
The project was specifically promoted during recent Thanksgiving celebrations.
“We hope to gather more information and ‘back stories’ on these men to enhance these collections online by highlighting the images to friends and families overseas.”
A page has been created with easy instructions on how to browse the online gallery and how to contribute using an enquiry form.
