The Northwood Brothers – Far North Photographers by Jenny Long

Arthur (1880-1949), Richard (1881-1955) and Charles Northwood (1882-1940) took photos of the Far North of NZ between about 1894 and 1940. They were raised in the small settlement of Pukenui, which is about 27 km north of Awanui, by parents Richard (senior) and Mary. Their father had served as a pharmacist in the Armed Constabulary between 1874 and 1881, and regarded photography as a natural progression, so he arranged correspondence courses in various subject for the boys, including photography and accountancy. A small studio and darkroom was built at the back of their home, and the boys travelled extensivelyon horseback with their camera gear packed into saddlebags. Their early work was all glass plate photography.


In 1909 Arthur established a photography business in Kaitaia, and in 1919 was also involved in the establishment of a silent movie theatre in the town. Arthur tended to focus on photographing townships, rural scenes and industries of the period, especially gum digging and processing.


Richard worked as an accountant, but also, with his younger brother Charles, ran the Northwood Brothers photographic studio inKohukohu. Their postcards were published by Frederick George Radcliffe (FGR) and Frank Duncan and some smaller publishers, including some cards in a letterpress series “Far North” by E. J. Darby of Russell.

Collectively, the brothers created a treasure-trove of images of the Far North over a 45year period, depicting in great detail the culture and environment of that period.

Information about the brothers is hard to obtain. Computer searches in the usual places reveals very little about the men, although they were prolific in their output. Author, Kaye Dragicevich, has been researching the men and their images for many years, and now has a database of literally thousands of photographs. As is common, even with family album photographs, details of who is pictured in the photos is often lacking, but Kaye and other researchers have worked hard to identify the men and women in many of the photos. Kaye’s ‘scrapbooks’ of reference material eventually reached the stage where there was enough publishable material for an illustrated book. Now in its second revised edition, “The Gumfield Collection: Photographs by Arthur and Richard Northwood 1898 – 1940”can be purchased from Kaye at Box 171, Awanui for $55 plus $8 for postage, (+$3.50 for rural delivery). This book is highly recommended to members, with nearly 120 pages of magnificent photographs, many of them from glass plates, but also a significant number of real photo postcards, many expanded in size to show the detail. Kaye’s website is

Editions of the Postcard Pillar have just six references to the Northwoods, all between issues 13 and 51, nothing since. Fortunately, we can add a “however” here because at least two of our members have been collecting details of Northwood postcards – Brian McLintockand Paul Ferris. Considering that Northwood postcards hardly ever appear on TradeMe or in dealer boxes, the lists are extensive. The two lists have been combined, and postcards I hold have been also been added to the list. A sample page is shown below, and the list will shortly be added to the NZ Postcard Society website.

Thanks to Kaye, Brian and Paul for their work.

The postcards shown here are from Jenny Long’s collection.

Further information from members would be welcome.