Black Boot Legends Gallery comes to Wellington waterfront with historic All Blacks photos

Former All Blacks first five-eighths Bob Burgess (left) and photographer Barry Durrant hold a 1972 photograph to be installed at the Black Boots Legends Gallery. Photo/Mark Mitchell

A new rugby display has opened two weeks before Lions fans invade the capital.

The Black Boot Legends Gallery opened on the Waterfront today, featuring 20 historic photos from the All Blacks European Tour of the early 1970s.

It is the work of Wellington photographer Barry Durrant, who toured alongside the team and captured rare photos from on and off the field.

Durrant said getting decent photos was very challenging. It would get dark very early and photographers had to use flashlights to capture the action.

The photos are presented on nearly life-sized banners. Most have never been seen publicly and are taken from Durrant's historic photographic collections.

The images are from the pre1995 era when most players wore black boots, hence the title.

The pictures were sourced with the help of former All Black captain Andy Leslie and were captioned by rugby writer Phil Gifford.

"The galleries recognise the huge, positive role the code has played in the fabric of New Zealand culture and covers everything from Keith Murdoch in training, Bob Scott's barefoot prowess, the All Black trials in the mud, All Blacks pheasant shooting on the moors of England, to tests in six inches [15cm] of water. It is essentially a tribute to New Zealand's history through rugby," said Gerry Morris, director of the Black Boot Company which has initiated and curated the exhibition.