In 1958 she moved to Wellington, where she joined the Wellington Camera Club and worked in various local photographic studios. In 1960, Westra received international recognition winning a prize from the UK Photography magazine for her work entitled "Assignment No. 2". That same year Westra had her first photograph published in New Zealand on the cover of "Te Ao Hou / The New World", a magazine published by the Department of Maori Affairs. In 1962 she began working as a full-time, freelance documentary photographer. Much of her early work was for the School Publications Branch of the Department of Education and "Te Ao Hou".