In the early 1890s, a strike took place in the wool shearing industry that brought about the beginnings of the union movement in Australia. Important concessions were made by both sides before the strike collapsed. Shearing work in the 1860s and 1870s These photos, taken by itinerant photographers during the 1860s and 1870s, show theContinue reading “The Shearers’ Strike in Images”
Tag Archives: Early Photographs
Then and Now
Some places have hardly been touched by time. Others have changed beyond all recognition. Here are some then and now shots from throughout Queensland. Edison Lane, Brisbane 1888 “Hello, Office of Workplace Health and Safety? Yes, I’d like to report a series of breaches, please. There is a man without a safety harness, hi-vis orContinue reading “Then and Now”
Canine Supervision
Humans can’t be trusted to get things right. Every good project, worksite and swimming hole needs a dog to supervise. Sometimes a project required more than one good boy, sometimes much larger beasts waited politely for their doggy betters to give the go-ahead. Here are the good boys of Queensland in the 19th century.
The Roma Street Waterhole
“At the back of Rankin and Morrow’s Store, George Street, was large waterhole, a continuation of a chain of these running from the present Market reserve. The town was supplied with water for domestic purposes from this. There was no enclosure of any kind or any convenience of raising water. The waterman simply backed theirContinue reading “The Roma Street Waterhole”
Pioneer Life in the 1870s – the William Boag Photographs
In 1871, a photographer named William Boag arrived in the Colony of Queensland, and took his camera and portable darkroom on the road, exploring Brisbane and surrounds, then venturing south-west to Stanthorpe in 1872. Boag had previous experience in studio photography in Sydney, but it was out on the road, capturing people and places thatContinue reading “Pioneer Life in the 1870s – the William Boag Photographs”
The Brisbane Flood Anniversary
On the tenth anniversary of the floods that drenched Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley, let’s revisit the first flood to be widely photographed – the 1893 disaster. Views of the floods in Southern Queensland The water came up and the children came out… Of course, this sort of photo disturbs the modern viewer.Continue reading “The Brisbane Flood Anniversary”
It’s a living!
Work and business between 1860 and 1900. E.W. Cohen was an entrepreneurial chap. He was the Dentist and Chemist at Longreach, and unusually, at least to modern minds, this business included a billiards saloon. And here’s Mr Cohen in the 1880s at his establishment in nearby Arrilalah. Here, he’s the surgeon dentist, druggist and purveyorContinue reading “It’s a living!”
All in the family.
Family and group photographs in Queensland in the 1800s. Father regrets posing for a photograph so soon after being thrown from a horse in the middle of a cyclone. Son regrets being in the same photo as Pater. Wedding day It was not customary to smile for photographs in the 1800s – I suspect ColonialContinue reading “All in the family.”
Recreation and family life in Queensland in the 1880s
Old photographs show a moment in time, places that are vanished or changed beyond recognition. How we used to live can show how much people have changed, or not. Sport A cricket team in an unidentified Queensland town in the 1880s. The sportsmen, attired in cricket whites with hats – bowler, wide-awake and cabbage-tree, ratherContinue reading “Recreation and family life in Queensland in the 1880s”
People in the 1860s and 1870s – Group Portraits
How photographers presented the people of Queensland Photography was a relatively new art in the 1860s and 1870s in Queensland. There were enthusiastic amateur snappers, like G.H. Verney, and professionals who journeyed through the Colony, capturing the people they met. Sometimes group photos have individual details that fascinate the modern eye. Here’s a selection ofContinue reading “People in the 1860s and 1870s – Group Portraits”
Moreton Bay and More 