Neville Forsyth Harston opened his Napier music store in 1930, rebuilt it after the 1931 earthquake and ran his business for the next fifty-five years. He also served with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the two world wars. Paeroa-born Harston is said to have upheld traditional musical standards: he refused to sell electric guitars, maintaining that he ran a music, not an electrical, store.Christopher Matthews made this portrait as part of his 1980s Citizens of Napier series. Born in Hastings, he studied at the University of Canterbury’s School of Fine Arts in the late 1970s, became well known as a documentary photographer and moved to England in 1995. He is now a lecturer in photography at Colchester University.

(Leaving for work, 2 October 2021 - 1 May 2022)

Harston's was at 35 Hastings Street, Napier. It is still operating as a music shop (2021).