Honouring our ANZACs

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
- Laurence Binyon

To honour the ANZAC legacy, the State Library of Western Australia’s Data and Discovery team have curated a special Top 10 list of photos from our collection especially for ANZAC Day. By preserving and treasuring the social and documentary history of the ANZACs we ensure that they will never be forgotten.

1. Returning soldiers.

2. c1914 – C. Longmore and his brother H. Longmore, killed in action at Gallipoli.

3. H. Phil Fry mounted on horse in front of the Sphinx in Egypt, 10th Light Horse, 1915.

4. 16th Battalion AIF, originals left after Gallipoli, 1915.

5. ANZAC Day, Perth, 2007.

6. Gordon Reid laying a wreath at Anzac Day ceremony , 1957.

7. Bunbury War Memorial, Anzac Day, 1956.

8. Ex-servicemen marching in the 1930 ANZAC Day Parade, Perth.

9. Hugo Throssell, James Woods and Thomas (Jack) Axford, VC winners at the 1928 ANZAC Day ceremony .

10. Elevated view of crowd in the Esplanade Perth. Swan river and South Perth in the background, 1928.

How times change – the view from 1962

How times change - sandwiched between UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA and  PUBLIC GOLF COURSE in Places to See (p.155) of the Official guide to the VIIth British Empire and Commonwealth Games Perth 1962  we find:

KWINANA FREEWAY: Perth’s pride and joy.  The Freeway is a 45-50 m.p.h.double-laned highway running from the Narrows Bridge over the Swan at the foot of King’s Park to Canning Bridge four miles to the south, and links the city with suburbs to the south of the river, and Fremantle.  It is part of a master plan which will ultimately give Perth the finest access road system in Australia.  The Freeway is barred to pedestrians, cycles, learner-drivers, agricultural or power machines, outsize vehicles and animals and you are requested not to drive on it unless you can maintain 45-50 m.p.h. in safety and confidence. 

It is fenced off throughout its length, with strikingly designed footbridges to give pedestrians crossing places from the roads of South Perth to the river beaches.  The roundabout system which controls traffic at each end of the Narrows Bridge — one of the most modern structures of its kind in the world — is on a semi-cloverleaf system wihch employs a give-way and weaving method to merge the traffic flows rather than the overway-underway method.  It is simple to follow if care is taken to read the signposting.

Lights of Kwinana Freeway, 4.5.60 - Battye Library 133458PD

(You can find more about the history of the freeway, including more photographs, by doing a subject search on Kwinana Freeway (W.A.) on the library catalogue.)

On a more poignant note under History (p. 145) we read:

In 1829 , 1003 people came to an empty land [my emphaisis] to establish a colony of the British Empire

We tell a very different story today – Katitjin [electronic resource] : a guide to indigenous records in the Battye Library.

 

Times have changed…

Fashion through the decades

Fashion lovers of Perth have been busy this week, spoiled by a choice selection of events as part of the 2010 Perth Fashion Festival.

There is no question that the Western Australian fashion industry is making a name for itself with the talent and innovation of local designers showcased through world-class catwalk shows, exciting retail events, inspiring workshops and vibrant performances throughout the city and metro area.

Interested in the history of the fashion industry in Perth? Let’s take a journey back down the catwalk via the State Library’s pictorial collection to discover the trends throughout the decades (and find out how far we’ve come!).

1950s

1960′s

1970s

1980s

For more information on browsing the State Library’s Pictorial Collection, click here.

Wanted! 2010 election campaign material!

Are you being bombarded with campaign material for the upcoming federal election?  Most of us will quickly send this material to our recycling bins, but this ephemeral material is also the stuff of history. 

 The State Library is endeavouring to collect as much Western Australian – 2010 Federal Election ephemera materials as possible for its WA Heritage Collection.   

Polling Booths 1940

 

So, if you have received candidate or party leaflets/flyers, letters, campaign materials, how-to-vote cards, posters, etc for your local candidates or electorate– don’t throw them out— we would love to receive them. 

 Items can be forwarded to:- 

Collection Development Team

 State Library of Western Australia

25 Francis Street  

PERTH WA 6000

(one copy only of each item please!) 

And if you’ve got extra copies you can always send them to the National Library.

More than just Google – free workshops at the State Library

SEaK – Search Engage and Know
Do you feel lost on the information highway?
Don’t know where to start looking for information?
Feel intimidated by the library or the internet?

The State Library has a range of free, practical hands-on workshops where you can improve your research skills and get internet search tips and tricks. All sessions are designed to give you a head start in uncovering the wealth of information available in the Library’s collections and online.

For full details visit the State Library website.

Government House – Physical and Digital

A Garden Party at Government House Perth

For those of us living in or visiting Perth, here’s a chance to see inside Government House.  His Excellency the Governor, Dr Ken Michael AC and Mrs Julie Michael are hosting an Open Day and invite members of the public to explore and experience part of the cultural heritage of Western Australia.  The public rooms of Government House, the Ballroom and the Gardens will be open to the public on Friday 29 May 2009 between 11.00 am and 2.30 pm.

If you can’t make the open day you can do a virtual visit using the State Library’s pictorial collection!  We also have a wealth of information regarding Government house, it’s residents, and place in Western Australia’s history – check our catalogue for more!

Old Bailey Proceedings online

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London’s Central Criminal Court have been online for a while, covering 1674-1834.

Recently a further 100,000 criminal trials have been added to the website and the time frame now covers 1674-1913. Digitised images of the original court proceedings are attached to records. You can search on a persons name, but also by offence, verdict and punishment.

 This is a great resource if you are researching convicts from England processed through the Central Criminal Court and it’s free!

Interesting places: Cossack

Cossack is a small town in the northwest of Western Australia at the mouth of the Harding River. It was founded in 1863 as a major shipping port for the northwest. Originally named Tien Tsin by Walter Padbury, it was renamed Cossack after Governor Weld visited in 1871 on the ship HMS Cossack.

The area developed a pearling industry, using aboriginal divers. It was also vital for the pastoral industry, allowing thousands of sheep to be brought to the Pilbara by coastal shipping. In the 1880s gold finds in the Pilbara saw hundreds of prospectors arrive at the port.

By the turn of the century, the port was deemed too small and shipping turned to Port Samson, leaving Cossack virtually a ghost town. Nine buildings and the cemetery have been listed by the National Trust for protection.

 <– Cossack court house, 1969

The State Library of WA catalogue has several photographs of the remaining stone buildings in the catalogue.  Further information is available in the ephemera collection and in the booklet “A History of Cossack”. The screenplay of the film “The winds that blew at Cossack” can be viewed in the State Library of WA.

History as it was seen

Ever wonder what itwas like to dine with the King and Queen of England in 1938? Have you ever seen film of a German U-Boat sinking a ship during World War One or wondered what it was like to plant a flag at the North Pole? If so, then EyeWitness to History.com is the website for you!

Dedicated to showing you world history through the eyes of those who actually lived it, EyeWitness to History.com  is filled with amazing accounts and incredible film footage that captured history as it happened.

Interesting places: Wooroloo Sanitorium

A sanitorium was built to manage people suffering from tuberculosis in Western Australia in the early 1900′s. Treatment of TB was focused on fresh air and sunshine. The site at Wooroloo was chosen because of the beauty of the countryside and elevation of the site. Patients with leprosy were also isolated at Wooroloo.

Wooroloo is located 60km north east of Perth and 26km north east of Mundaring. The State Library of Western Australia (SLWA) has several images of staff and buildings at Wooroloo Sanitorium, many taken by photographer L.E. Shapcott. The sanitorium opened 8 October 1914.

You can listen to a oral history recorded by a patient with TB, or read Kissing can be Dangerous by Criena Fitzgerald if you go to the State Library in Northbridge.

According to Heritage Council of WA, its use was changed to a medium security prison in June 1970.

Lee-Anne Atkinson has created a site “The Gardens – Family History” with some images of headstones at the cemetery at Wooroloo.

Image 000611D shows a crowd at the opening ceremony in 1914.

Image 000608D shows some of the buildings used by patients.