Enos Pegler

Enos Pegler
Pegler in the 1890s, with a lantern slide projector and camera
Born1869
King's Stanley, Gloucestershire, England
Died (aged 69)
Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand
OccupationPhotographer
Spouse
Eliza Emily Oldham
​
(m. 1892)​

Enos Silvanus Abijah Pegler (1869 – 13 October 1938) was an early New Zealand photographer who documented New Zealand during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1]

Biography

Pegler was born in King's Stanley, Gloucestershire, England, in 1869 to mother Eliza Pegler (née Sealey) and father James William Pegler, a shoemaker.[2][3][4] In 1875, he and his family (including sisters Julia Flatt and Emily Joeelin) emigrated to New Zealand, arriving on the Baron Aberdare on 19 March.[5][3][6] The family resided in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga,[7] where Pegler ran a photographic studio from 1894 to 1901.[1][8]

Studio group photograph, with Pegler on the far right

Pegler's photography was published in the Auckland Weekly News and he photographed notable New Zealand colonial figures, including Elizabeth Yates, the first female mayor in the British Empire.[9] His film Lady Mayor depicts Yates and is the second-oldest New Zealand film in the collection of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.[9] He also documented the tangihanga (funeral rites) of the second Māori monarch, Tāwhiao at Parawera in 1894.[10]

Pegler married Eliza Emily Oldham on 15 March 1892 at the Wesleyan Church in Tuakau.[11] The couple had four daughters and three sons.[8]

In 1901, Pegler moved to Palmerston North, where he was manager of the Theatre Royal, and established a photographic studio, also importing and selling photographic supplies and giving free photography lessons.[1][12][13] In Palmerston North, Pegler served as secretary of the Manawatu Cricket Association, and was instrumental in securing a match there between Manawatu and Lord Hawke's team that toured New Zealand in 1902–1903.[8][14][15]

Pegler returned to Auckland in 1907, settling in Papatoetoe.[8] He was a prominent figure is expanding the Auckland suburban railway service from Penrose to Papatoetoe.[8] He widened his business concerns, with a real estate office and farm at Manurewa, and opened a studio at 91 Karangahape Road in Auckland.[8][16] When the Manurewa Town Board was established in 1916, Pegler was elected as a member on a "progressive" ticket, although he had opposed the board's creation.[17] In 1918, he unsuccessfully stood for election to the Manukau County Council.[18]

Pegler was active in the sport of lawn bowls.[8] In 1921, the Manurewa Town Board granted Pegler nine months' leave, and he travelled to Britain as a member of the New Zealand bowls team.[8][19][20]

After a period of failing health, Pegler retired and he died at his home in the Auckland suburb of Epsom on 13 October 1938, at the age of 69.[8][21] His wife died in 1953.[22] They were both buried at Purewa Cemetery in Meadowbank.[22][23]

Photographic legacy

Pegler's photographic work is part of collections at Auckland Art Gallery, Te Papa, Auckland War Memorial Museum, National Library of New Zealand and Auckland Libraries.[1][3][4][24][25] His work was displayed as part of the 2024 exhibition, A Different Light: First Photographs of Aotearoa.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Pegler, Enos Silvanus Abijah, 1869-1938". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  2. ^ "1871 England Census, class RG10, piece 2636, folio 74, page 16, GSU roll 835323". Kew: The National Archives – via Ancestry.com.
  3. ^ a b c "Pegler, Enos Silvenus". Auckland Libraries. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Enos Pegler". Auckland Art Gallery. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Deaths". Auckland Star. Vol. 65, no. 146. 22 June 1934 – via PapersPast.
  6. ^ "The Baron Aberdare". Auckland Star. Vol. 11, no. 1593. 20 March 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  7. ^ "Obituary". Auckland Star. Vol. 65, no. 147. 23 June 1934. p. 2. Retrieved 5 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Obituary". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. 75, no. 23174. 21 October 1938. Retrieved 6 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  9. ^ a b "Meet the First Lady Mayor". www.ngataonga.org.nz. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Maoris practising a haka for a king's tangi: Pegler photo". New Zealand Mail. No. 1784. 16 May 1906. Retrieved 6 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  11. ^ "Marriages". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. 29, no. 8867. 2 May 1892. Retrieved 5 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  12. ^ "Advertisements". Manawatu Times. Vol. 26, no. 7233. 5 July 1901. p. 5. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  13. ^ "Advertisements". Bush Advocate. Vol. 14, no. 238. 9 January 1903. p. 4. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  14. ^ "Cricket". Manawatu Times. Vol. 27, no. 7551. 8 October 1902. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  15. ^ "Cricket". Feilding Star. Vol. 24, no. 157. 5 January 1903. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  16. ^ "Advertisements". Auckland Star. Vol. 92, no. 192. 14 August 1911. Retrieved 5 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  17. ^ "Manurewa: town board election". Pukekohe & Waiuku Times. Vol. 5, no. 171. 5 May 1916. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  18. ^ "Manukau County Council". Pukekohe & Waiuku Times. Vol. 7, no. 433. 10 December 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  19. ^ "Leave of absence". Pukekohe & Waiuku Times. Vol. 9, no. 602. 25 January 1921. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  20. ^ "Mr. E. Pegler honoured". Franklin Times. Vol. 9, no. 606. 11 February 1921. p. 5. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  21. ^ "Deaths". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. 75, no. 23168. 14 October 1938. p. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
  22. ^ a b "Eliza Emily Pegler". Purewa. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Enos Silvanus Abijah Pegler". Purewa. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Enos Silvenus Pegler". Te Papa. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Enos Pegler". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  26. ^ "NZ History brought to life in photographs". The New Zealand Herald. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
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