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Story: Photography

Mitre Peak photographed by Alfred Burton, around 1889

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Mitre Peak photographed by Alfred Burton, around 1889

Mitre Peak is a landscape photographer's dream, with the sheer sides of the mountain replicated on the mirrored surface of Milford Sound. Alfred Burton of the Dunedin-based Burton Brothers firm took a number of photos of the peak in the 1880s. His images of Fiordland record its unspoiled natural beauty and were instrumental in promoting the tourism potential of the area. 

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: O.000755

by Burton Brothers

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Peter Ireland, Photography – Early photography, 1840–1880s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/43205/mitre-peak-photographed-by-alfred-burton-around-1889 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Peter Ireland, published 4 November 2013.