Photo exhibition portrays Hamiltonian people and their problems in the 1990s

The photo exhibition 'Jellicoe and Bledisloe: Hamilton in the 90s' gives visitors a view of Hamilton's recent history. Photo / David Cook

The Waikato Museum is inviting visitors to travel back to the 1990s with its latest photo exhibition, 'Jellicoe and Bledisloe: Hamilton in the 90s'.

The 40 photos in the exhibition - now on tour from the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata - were taken by David Cook, who documented the homes and inhabitants of one of Hamilton's state housing suburbs.

When Cook moved to Hamilton East in the 1990s, he was drawn to the colourful and creative lives of his neighbours. Camera-in-hand, he documented everyday life on the block - from backyard mechanics to Sunday roasts.

Waikato Museum's director of museum and arts Liz Cotton says the photos were a "unique slice of life".

"From today's viewpoint, you can see how David has captured the rapid social change of the last three decades through his photographs," Cotton says.

"Locals and visitors to the area alike will see themselves reflected in these candid and evocative images, which in turn prompt conversation about housing and community development in our towns and cities."

Cook, now a lecturer at Massey University in Wellington, says when he was taking the photographs in the 90s, he was looking for a photo project close to home since he was raising a young family and couldn't travel far away.

"I opened my eyes and looked around and saw the richness of the neighbourhood we were living in," Cook says.

"The east side was once a little, humble state housing area in a great location by the river, and over time people have seen that, bought into it, and really affordable housing has become unaffordable."

Director of The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, Jaenine Parkinson, says the exhibition captures a community at a key moment in New Zealand's development.

"Looking back with the perspective that 30 years brings, we see burgeoning issues of relevance to today: housing, bicultural relations, social welfare and freshwater quality, all brought to us through the lens of daily life," she says.

"This exhibition draws attention to the different roles that the state and city councils have played in providing housing and community welfare."

Cook received an NZ Arts Council grant to take the photographs, now on show at Waikato Museum.

"[The photos] show us as a nation, as people - who we are and where we've been. Kids played on the streets and down at the Waikato River; people worked on cars in their front yards, and neighbours knew each other well," Cook says.

"It had that mix of people who had either bought their first home or were long-time state housing tenants."

While Cook has managed to reconnect with some people from his former neighbourhood, there are still several people portrayed in the photos that are unknown and whom Cook hopes to identify.

The exhibition's title, 'Jellicoe and Bledisloe', is a reference to two local streets, the names of which are in tribute to two New Zealand Governors-General of the early twentieth century.

The exhibition is open every day from 10am to 5pm. Entry is free.