Wednesday November 19, 2008
LIFE photo archive hosted by Google
Wide range of facial expressions on children at puppet show – The moment the dragon is slain, Guignol puppet show, Parc de Montsouris, Paris, 1963. Photographer: Alfred Eisenstaedt.
Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time.
Google says only about 20 percent of the collection is online; during the next few months, they’ll be adding the entire LIFE archive — about 10 million photos.
Go to images.google.com/hosted/life
Wednesday November 12, 2008
Explore Sydney's history - where it happened
Electric trams, George Street, David Jones corner
Take a trip down George Street on top of a tram in 1906. Listen to an interview with Chow Hayes, once ‘king of the standover men’. Watch ABC News report the Green Bans in The Rocks in 1973. Hear Frank Coughlan’s Trocadero Orchestra.
It’s all at Sydney Sidetracks – a wonderful project by Sarah Barnes supported by ABC Innovation.
There’s currently over 50 stories about Sydney that you can explore on a map or out and about using your mobile phone.
At Mosman Library, we’ll soon be geocoding (adding latitude and longitude) to all the Mosman Memories of Your Street – with the intention that one day you’ll be able to access our collection while doing a heritage walk at Balmoral, for example.
Technology and network capability is still catching up with these ideas of location-aware services, but the day is not too far off!
Right now you can browse Sydney’s history on the Sydney Sidetracks website or download the stories to your phone, laptop or mobile device – and explore Sydney’s history where it happened.
Film, audio recordings and photos come from the archives of ABC TV and Radio, supplemented by contributions from the Powerhouse Museum, State Library of NSW, National Film & Sound Archives, Museum of Contemporary Art, the City of Sydney Archives, and the Dictionary of Sydney.
You can also upload your own stories, photos and videos.
Here’s a bit more about the project:
- On her blog, producer and researcher Sarah Barnes talks about her motivations and ambitions for Sydney Sidetracks and lists some of her favourite stories.
- Seb Chan of the Powerhouse Museum interviews Sarah Barnes.
Wednesday October 1, 2008
Firsts on Flickr from the State Library of NSW
Opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge; the first cars at the toll bar.
The State Library of NSW joined the The Commons on Flickr on Monday.
The Commons on Flickr was launched early this year with the aim of increasing access to publicly-held photography collections and providing a way for the general public to contribute information and knowledge – then watch what happens when they do!
The State Library has an impressive collection to share.
The State Library is home to one of Australia’s most significant historical and heritage collections. As well as nearly 11 kilometres of manuscripts – from nine 1788 First Fleet journals through to the archives of contemporary organisations and writers – the Library holds more than one million photographs. From the earliest surviving photograph taken in Australia – in January 1845 – through to digital photographs taken last month, the Library’s unrivalled photographic collections document with powerful clarity the way Australians have lived their lives over two centuries.
Some of these photographs can now be seen on Flickr, with the first sets appropriately themed ‘Australian firsts…’
- Australia’s first women Olympians
- Earliest known surviving photograph taken in Australia
- First Miss Australia
- First time Australian Aborigines formally protest their treatment
- First pilot to carry passengers in a powered aircraft in Australia
Explore the State Library’s photostream. And look for the link to see the photo located on a map!
Friday February 1, 2008
Postcards from Mosman's past
We recently came across some historic postcards of Mosman’s Bay and Clifton Gardens on the photo sharing website Flickr. They date from the beginning of the last century, roughly 1900 to 1920.
The Mosman’s Bay set features views of the Harbour, its ferries and houses, the wharf at the bottom of Avenue Road and the footbridge across what is today Reid Park.
In the Clifton Gardens set you see the ‘The Clifton Arms’ at Chowder Bay, the first licensed hotel in Mosman, and the very popular ‘pleasure grounds’ that incorporated the Marine Hotel with its dance hall, wharf, pool and accommodation, ‘unsurpassed in the Southern Hemisphere’. The hotel was demolished in 1967. You can also see the Submarine Mining Depot, now accessible to the public.
Wednesday January 30, 2008
The hospital on the hill
This image is from a photo album owned by Margaret Holmes. It is reproduced here with her kind permission. It was taken at the 21st Australian Auxiliary Hospital by her father, the doctor and Army Medical Corps commanding officer at the time (1918), Lieut. Col. W.H. Read. We know nothing more about these two than the caption on the photo.
Georges Heights, here in Mosman, was home to the third largest military hospital in Australia. But who was here? What was life like in the hospital on the hill? Can you help?
Tuesday June 19, 2007
Mosman's Built Heritage
Mosman Council has produced four short programs about architecture in Mosman with well-known architectural historian Robert Irving OAM.
Whether you are planning to carry out building work, or own a heritage property, or are just interested in Mosman’s beautiful buildings and landscape, you will enjoy and learn from viewing Mosman’s Built Heritage.
The four part presentation can be viewed online.
See Mosman’s Built Heritage on Mosman Council’s website or go to Google Video:
- What do we value about Mosman’s Heritage?
- Mosman’s Federation Past
- Mosman Between The Wars
- Today’s Buildings: Tomorrow’s Heritage
You can also download the programs to your hard drive to view later.
Mosman’s Built Heritage is also available on DVD from Mosman Council for $8.95.
Monday October 9, 2006
Early European observations of Australia's fauna
Frederick McCoy’s Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria set out to describe the colony’s fauna. Published between 1878 and 1890, it included illustrations and text on 447 individual species. At least 250 more species were printed but never published and a further 500 were drawn.
Drawing on Museum Victoria’s rich archival sources, Caught and Coloured: Zoological Illustrations from Colonial Victoria explores the legacy of this great project.
Original drawings, lithographic proofs and manuscripts bring to life the work of both McCoy and the artists he commissioned.
Friday October 6, 2006
Captain John Hunter RN - his contribution to the early development of Australia and the memorials that honour his life and work
Mosman Council’s General Manager, Mr Viv May PSM, gave the following presentation at a luncheon in the wardroom of HMAS Penguin on Tuesday 29 August 2006 to celebrate Hunter Day, the birthdate of Captain John Hunter. The luncheon was attended by representatives of all the local schools.
Friday May 19, 2006
Explore the Mitchell Library archives from the comfort of home
The Mitchell Library has launched a great new website at www.atmitchell.com
The website is a fantastic resource for students and anyone else who has an interest in Australian history. It’s full of original materials such as personal journals, manuscripts, paintings, photographs and maps.
The site is interactive which means you can actually turn the pages of Joseph Banks Endeavour Journal, watch the flight of Bland’s Atmotic Ship (which was never built), as well as listen to the roar of the crowd at the very first cricket match played in Sydney.
Have a look at atmitchell.com and marvel at the wonders of digital technology and how it has brought to life these musty archives from the State Library.
Saturday November 5, 2005
What was flowering or flying around Mosman in 1789?
Glossy black cockatoo - George Raper
Linda Groom, Pictures Librarian at the National Library of Australia, informs us of a significant new acquisition that relates to Mosman and the Sirius – 56 First Fleet watercolours of birds and flowers.
They are attributed to George Raper, Midshipman of the Sirius, and at least two have been dated to no later than 1789.
“The seasonality of the species depicted, and the date, make it very likely that many of them were painted when the Sirius was careened at Mosman Bay, June to November 1789. That would make them a kind of survey of the species present in Mosman in 1788 or 1789,” says Linda.
Following is the full press release from the National Library: