Dramatic Movement

A sweeping smoke trail and a killer composition sets this Charters and Guthrie photograph apart. With a sense of dramatic movement, it rivals anything you might expect from a fine art photographer. The row of hats in the foreground makes you feel like you are there, watching over the spectators’ shoulders, hearing the roar of the aeroplane as it swoops over the crowd.

This photograph was taken during the opening of New Plymouth Airport on 4 March 1967. The new facility became operational on 14 November 1966 but was officially opened with great fanfare by the Right Honourable Keith Holyoake, Prime Minister of New Zealand. The airport at Brown Road – now aptly renamed Airport Drive – replaced the original airport which opened in 1933. The festivities featured a large display of aeroplanes including commercial and specialist aerobatic craft. Large crowds picnicked next to the runway and took shelter from the sun in the terminal building.