Albert Guilloux-Chevalier is passionate about old photographs. A passion that he shares widely via his Facebook page. Photos from his personal archives, but also found through research on the Internet and which he is keen to share with everyone.
Opunohu Bay in the 1930s, Papeete in the 60s or even the Faa’a track under construction… You may have seen these old photographs of Polynesia on social networks. They sometimes appear in black and white or sepia, with a legend or a date when the information is available.
There are a few enthusiasts who have started researching and sharing old photos of fenua. Among them, Albert Guilloux-Chevalier. Born in Makatea, Albert was adopted at the age of three months by his aunt and uncle who ran the Raiatea cinema. He then grew up in Papeete in the Orovini district. His father gave him his first camera, “ an old kodak, with which I took my first photos » he tells us.
He found his first job has ” the weather “, but he then had to leave in 1968 for his military service which he carried out in Corsica. On his return, he was transferred by the meteorological service to Hikueru. but I didn’t want to go » he confides. He resigned and found a job at Socredo as a traveling agent.
He then traveled the islands of the territory, which he immortalized on film. He will go through the Rural Economy service before taking a competitive examination to work in the Territorial Archives. The beginning of happiness… He delves into the formidable collections of photos, documents and films kept there. It was only at the end of his career that he started working with computers.
“I learned about computers in 2002 – 2003. At the service, we each had our own computer. And I started my research on the internet at the time”
Albert Guilloux Chevalier
He retired in 2009 and began digging through his own albums which he digitized. Then, he continued with research on the web, in the libraries of France and those of New Zealand… Everywhere, he looked for photographs of Polynesia. He discovers other enthusiasts like him on social networks who also share the images they find.
Albert is passionate about the stories of places. He even wrote a memoir on Teahupo’o in the 1890s. Today he has thousands of photos in his archive boxes, his albums are stored on his computer. He classifies them by island, by date if he manages to find them and comments on the photos which he regularly publishes on his Facebook page.
And when he’s not on his computer or with his nose in his books, he sometimes also sings with songs composed with his group Miri Miri in the 70s. In his archives, he still has thousands of photographs to share, which everyone will soon be able to admire on social networks.
France
