of his three children : Winifred in 1908 and Herbert in Brisbane in 1941 at the young age of 46 . “‘ Old Tat ’ we called him ,” wrote Irwin . “ He was in his eighties , tall , immaculate , and endearingly oldfashioned .” He and Blanche “ built themselves a shuttered house , planted mango trees around it , and beyond made wide lawns , gardens and a grass tennis court ,” Irwin wrote . “ For over sixty years Tattersall lived the tropical island life people dream about , and then his wife died . When I met Old Tat he was living alone among family portraits in a house darkened by overgrowing mango trees .”
McKay Family Collection , bottom photo Bunge Family Collection
Tattersall reminisced to Irwin over Robert Louis Stevenson , (“ always obliging and good humoured , even when he was sick ”) who had often summoned the young photographer to Vailima to record special occasions . “ But what Old Tat liked remembering most was the hurricane of 1889 – the ‘ Calliope Hurricane ’ he called it . He had crouched all that dark March day among rocks on the beach and watched five warships wrecked - the sixth , the German Eber with eighty men had disappeared under the foreshore reef before dawn .”
An examination of Tattersall photography shows indisputably that he was a skilled location photographer whose images were well composed and crisply detailed . Some of his exteriors , especially of family and community groups , were stunning , not only in focus and clarity but in the
Above : A Mau demonstration on Beach Rd , Apia , outside the courthouse circa 1928-29 is watched by Alfred and Blanche Tattersall standing in the middle on the upstairs verandah of the Hellesoe Sasse store on the opposite corner ( Alfred has his hands on the handrail ). Mr Tattersall took arguably his most famous series of photos from near that spot in 1914 when he snapped images of the British flag being raised by the New Zealand occupiers ( see photo right ).
In the photo above the high chief Tuimaleali ’ ifano Si ’ u stands in front . The tallest man behind is Faumuina Fiame I .
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