Skip to main content

Story: Photography

White Terraces photographed by George Valentine, 1885

Image
White Terraces photographed by George Valentine, 1885

Photographs of the Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana are precious because the terraces were largely destroyed when Mt Tarawera erupted in 1886. Professional photographer George Valentine took a series of photographs of the terraces during six visits in the mid-1880s. This is a close-up shot of the White Terraces' 'coffee cups' in 1885.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, S. H. Saxby Collection

Reference: PA1-q-212-20

by George Dobson Valentine

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

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/43206/white-terraces-photographed-by-george-valentine-1885 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Peter Ireland, published 4 November 2013.