Category Archives: Early Photographs

Lantern slides of outback life.

The George Washington Wilson Company’s slides of the goldfields. Celebrated photographer George Washington Wilson didn’t make the journey to the goldfields of North Queensland in 1890. By then, he was in old age, and the journey would have been too taxing (besides, he was making enough money to have studios under his command). One ofContinue reading “Lantern slides of outback life.”

A Group Photo for the Ages.

It gives us a date and a place – Mount Victoria on 18 September 1892. The setting is a quite charming cottage with a brick chimney, somewhere in the countryside. The edges of the photo are blurred, there are 30 figures posed in front of the house, and the silhouette of a woman indoors. ThereContinue reading “A Group Photo for the Ages.”

Panoramas of Old Brisbane.

Windmill Hill, or as it became later, Wickham Terrace, afforded townsfolk an outstanding view of Brisbane Town. Several photographers stood more or less on the same spot and recorded the view through the 19th and early 20th centuries in a series of panoramas. In the process, they recorded enormous growth, historic buildings under construction, andContinue reading “Panoramas of Old Brisbane.”

The Mackay district in glass plate negatives.

One of the many glass plate negative series in the State Library’s digital collection shows people and scenery in the Mackay area around the 1870s-1880s. There aren’t many pictures, and some are badly damaged. Others depict First Nations people, and I’m uncomfortable about uploading those, given cultural sensitivities, and the fact that the photographs wereContinue reading “The Mackay district in glass plate negatives.”

The Past in Colour.

Lantern Slides and Tinted Slides The first set of colourised slides of Brisbane in the State Library collection depict the flood of 1893. Adding some (slight) colour to them brings out some detail that would be lost in black and white, particularly the height of the water compared to the banks and houses. Brisbane landmarksContinue reading “The Past in Colour.”

A Visit to the Ekka (or the Show).

(Translation for non-Queenslanders: A visit to the Royal National Association Exhibition, an annual city-country fair held in Brisbane. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors over its fortnight of operation. Sort of like a State Fair. Because Australians in general and Queenslanders in particular have to shorten names, it became “the Ekka.” In my family,Continue reading “A Visit to the Ekka (or the Show).”

The A-Z of Old Brisbane – Fairfield, Fig Tree Pocket and Fortitude Valley.

Fairfield Fairfield’s European history began around 1850, with the establishment of dairy farms in its wetlands. The photographs here show the gradual development from farming to suburb through the 19th and early 20th centuries. L: R Crump’s Family Butcher Shop on Boggo Road, c. 1894. R: Fairfield and Dutton Park area, 1920s (BCC). Fig TreeContinue reading “The A-Z of Old Brisbane – Fairfield, Fig Tree Pocket and Fortitude Valley.”

Railways in Old Queensland, in Pictures.

I don’t know much about trains. (Early on very still mornings, I can hear the distant sound of a train horn at Grovely Station.) However, I am aware of the profound impact of rail travel in old Queensland. Goods that had previously travelled at the speed of a bullock train could arrive in hours onContinue reading “Railways in Old Queensland, in Pictures.”

Other “E” stories from old Brisbane – from Electric Light to Elections.

The Visit of the Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness paid a visit to the Colony of Queensland. We fed him, feted him and sang at him. With varying levels of success, although HRH was unfailingly polite. At least no-one tried to assassinate him… Original post here: https://moretonbayandmore.com/2022/02/26/the-grub-train-and-the-emu-hunt-that-never-was/ George Edmondstone. George Edmondstone (1809-1883) was aContinue reading “Other “E” stories from old Brisbane – from Electric Light to Elections.”