Instead the bronzed Aussie male – known as “The Sunbaker” – was in fact a British model.

The true story behind the black and white image – and nine other iconic photographs – will be revealed this week as part of a travelling display through Maitland.

Titled Behind the Truth, the exhibition at Maitland Library features 10 images from the State Library’s unrivalled collections that question the role of truth in photography.

“War, politics, daily life . . . photographs can capture history in different ways, but they can’t always be used as truthful historical resources,” Louise Tegart from the State Library said.

The exhibition illustrates the duplicity behind some very famous imagery such as Edward Searle’s heroic image Southern Sun in Sydney, 1930.

“Southern Sun in Sydney celebrates the arrival in Sydney of pioneer aviatrix Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia,” Ms Tegart said.

“However, her plane, The Jason, which features in the background of the image crashed in Brisbane and she arrived in the Southern Sun with Charles Ulm.

“This photograph is actually a montage of three images.”

Even renowned Dupain cannot escape the scrutiny, with the truth behind one of his most famous images revealed in this exhibition.

“The ‘Sunbaker’ has come to epitomise the quintessential Aussie male, but the model (Hal Savage) was actually a British architectural engineer with a pronounced English accent,” Ms Tegart said.

The exhibition also reveals that the subjects used in David Moore’s famous 1966 image “Migrants arriving in Sydney” were not migrants at all.

“These images are a caution against using photographs as truthful historical resources without understanding the real story behind them,” Ms Tegart said.

Behind the Truth will be on show at the library until January 16, 2015.