This print from one of Campbell Smith's delicate wood engravings is an exaggerated depiction of the Waikato River, with several of its iconic bridges visible.
Smith, his wife Esme and their two sons moved to their home adjacent to the river on River Road in 1961.
Waikato te awa is the longest river in New Zealand and a living ancestor to the people of the Tainui waka. In pre-European times, Ngaati Wairere lived along the river, which was their local highway for travelling up and down the North Island. It also was a rich source of food.
When the British settlers arrived in the Waikato area, they too would find this a fertile and accessible place to set up camp. These entwined histories comprise the origins of contemporary Hamilton.
Smith’s juxtaposition of the bridges and the river is a real feature of Hamilton's urban landscape, but also represents the colonial presence, and is a visual reminder of historical change.
One of the ‘founding fathers’ of Hamilton's arts community, Campbell Smith served as Waikato Art Museum's director from 1971 to 1985 and was a driving force behind shifting and expanding the Museum to its current site in Grantham St.