Jeff Maynard

The Anzac Camera

Cameras were banned at the Western Front when the Anzacs arrived in 1916. Correspondent Charles Bean continually argued that Australia should have a dedicated photographer to records the Australians in action. Bean was eventually assigned an enigmatic Australian explorer, Sir Hubert Wilkins.

During two years at the Western Front, Wilkins produced the most detailed photographic record of the war in the world, which is now held at the Australian War Memorial.

After the war Wilkins returned to polar exploring and largely disappeared from the history books. He died in America in 1958, where he left his lifetime legacy of manuscripts, diaries, photographs and artefacts.  After his death these records were split up, sold, destroyed or hidden.

Jeff Maynard has spent 18 years researching Sir Hubert Wilkins and has located his lost records in Washington, Michigan, Ohio and Arizona. In this talk, Jeff will speak about his ongoing search to find the Anzac records of Australia’s greatest war photographer, and speak about the material that has already been brought back to Australia and donated to the Australian War Memorial.

Jeff Maynard is the author of two books about Sir Hubert Wilkins – ‘The Unseen Anzac’ and ‘Wings of Ice’. He is currently planning a trip to America to locate more lost records that can be brought back to Australia.