Ron Murray

Photographic Collection

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A remarkable work of history, the Ron Murray Collection tells the stories of the early history of Cromwell, Central Otago and the wider Otago region.

 

Scott Bennett, Ron Murray’s nephew, has spent almost two years dating and identifying images, scanning and digitising the collection so that this amazing depiction of the district’s history can be available to the community of Central Otago and provide a great resource for future generations.

 

The array of more than 2500 images is expansive, including images of dredges, buildings, townships, people, the Clyde dam, landscapes, bridges and much more. As well as images, there are also hundreds of documents including newspaper clippings, diary extracts, letters and archeological surveys.

 

Ron Murray was a Cromwell identity who worked for many years in a local solicitor’s office. He began studying accountancy in 1951 and it became his career for the rest of his working life, with Cromwell firm Broderick, Parcell and McKay. However, his real passion was history, in particular the Cromwell district and gold mining. A keen and skilled photographer, he copied a large number of early photographs of the area and spent many hours recording oral histories, researching and documenting local history