Behind the lens: Peter Haskin

For Peter Haskin, Maccabi wasn’t just a sports club – it’s a constant, through decades of playing, coaching, managing, and capturing the community behind the lens.

It all started in 1979, when Peter and a tight-knit group of mates from Mount Scopus decided it was time to join the Ajax Volleyball Club. Back then, training was held on a basketball court inside the Samuel Myers Hall next to St Kilda Shul – now a quiet little function room, but once the site of noisy serves, spikes, and blocks.

‘We were just a bunch of mates who wanted to keep playing together after school,’ Peter recalls. ‘And we did – from ’79 through to the late 90s.’

By 1995, Peter and his teammates were competing in State League Division One – the highest level of competition in Victoria, going head-to-head with state and national representatives. The club was booming: six men’s teams, five women’s, and a firsts team competing at an elite level. Ajax Volleyball had become a force.

But for Peter, it didn’t stop at club level. Over the years, he played in 15 Maccabi Senior Carnivals – sometimes juggling both hockey and volleyball – and represented Australia at two Maccabiah Games in Israel, in 1989 and 1993.

Eventually Peter would also coach, trying to ensure the next generation could experience what made Ajax volleyball special. And while the team’s heyday in the late 80s and 90s was long gone, the impact it made lives on through stories like his. While coaching helped Peter give back to the club, it was behind the camera that he began building a new legacy as he started capturing club games, Carnivals, and even international Maccabi events.

MACCABIAH

Peter’s first Maccabiah holds a particularly special memory. The opening ceremony and the thrill of representing Australia were unforgettable – but what really stayed with him was the moment the entire stadium stood to sing Hatikvah. ‘Every person, from every country, singing the same anthem – it gets you. You can’t help but feel emotional.’

Adding to the magic, Peter’s birthday fell during the Games. ‘I came down to breakfast and had “Happy Birthday” sung to me in six different languages. That’s what happens when you’re all staying in the same hotel – word gets around fast.’

Australia’s volleyball team finished fifth that year, after a five-set nail-biter against France. ‘We weren’t going to catch the big four – Israel, USA, Brazil, Argentina – but beating France to be the best of the rest was incredible.’

By 1997, Peter had planned to return to Israel as a player, but when Maccabi Australia withdrew the indoor volleyball team due to funding shortfalls, he instead travelled as the beach volleyball team manager. It was a Games overshadowed by tragedy: the bridge collapse at the opening ceremony changed everything. For Peter, it marked a confronting shift – from training to compete, to supporting others in a Games defined by loss and devastation.

His transition from player to photographer came shortly after. In 2005, armed with his first digital SLR camera, Peter returned to Maccabiah to photograph the games as the Australian team photographer. It marked a new chapter – one that would take him behind the scenes of not just Maccabiah but sport across the Jewish community.

‘We were up first thing in the morning, driving all over the country, editing into the early hours and sending images for the daily Maccabiah newsletter and for the Jewish News. It was full-on – but I loved it.’

He went on to photograph the 2009 and 2013 Games, adding thousands of images to the visual history of Jewish Australian sport.

SENIOR (and junior) CARNIVAL

Running from the 1920s through to the early 2000s, the Maccabi Senior Carnival was once a staple on the Australian Jewish sporting calendar. It brought together athletes from across the country to compete in everything from netball and soccer to athletics and volleyball. But it wasn’t just about sport – it was about creating lifelong bonds, intercity rivalries, and unforgettable memories.

Peter’s love for Maccabi Senior Carnivals ran deep. Over the years, he attended 15 Senior Carnivals – playing Volleyball, and a few in hockey as well. His first Senior Carnival selection came in the form of a letter in the mail – a proud moment that reminded him how competitive, and meaningful, these events were.

‘Senior Carnivals were serious. Not just on the court, but socially too,’ he says. ‘And matchmaking? Let’s just say I know a few couples who met at Carnivals… including my best mate, who met his wife at a very memorable Adelaide Carnival – they’re now married with three kids.’

Later, Peter even served as an assistant team manager at a Junior Carnival in Sydney – back in the early days when Junior Carni attracted over a thousand participants!

BEHIND THE LENS: A NEW LEGACY

While Peter never formally studied photography – entirely self-taught and clearly talented – his parents, like many at the time, encouraged him to ‘get a real job’, as photography was just a nice “hobby”. But his passion for photography never faded, and in 2000, he was hired by The Australian Jewish News – an opportunity that marked the start of his professional career behind the lens. Decades later, he’s now known for documenting the highs, lows, and raw emotion of the Jewish community and Jewish sport – from cultural events and commemorations to local celebrations and milestones.

When asked if there’s a photo he’s taken that he instantly knew was part of Maccabi history – Peter doesn’t hesitate. One image that stands out: the 1500m final, 2005 Maccabiah Games. Zac Ashkanasy leading with metres to go, overtaken by an American runner who raised a finger just before crossing the line. ‘Zac’s head thrown back in pain, the other guy celebrating – it’s a photo of both winning and losing in one shot.’

This year, Peter got the chance to capture another milestone in Zac Ashkanasy’s journey – setting a new M50 world record in the 1500m with an unbelievable time of 3:57.7. The previous record had stood for nearly a decade. For Peter, it was a full-circle moment – watching an athlete he once captured in heartbreak, now sprinting into history.

As Maccabi celebrates 100 years, Peter’s story is a reminder that some of the most powerful moments live on because someone was there to capture them. It is thanks to Peter that Maccabi has a visual memory – one that stretches from grassroots games to world records, from Carnival courts to international ceremonies. His archive doesn’t just document Maccabi’s journey – it’s part of it.