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| No: 40 |
June 2008
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News June Seminars No seminars programmed. July Seminars 22: Identifying and dating 19th century family photographs Tea Tree Gully Library 1:00pm 31: Tracing your English ancestors WEA Centre 6:30pm See the seminar program for more details. SA Cemeteries The online cemeteries database maintained by Adelaide Proformat now has the added feature of Google Maps so that users can see where each cemetery is located. Thanks to AWE for their support with this initiative. South Australian photographic collections A number of significant collections of photographs are available to the family historian. While seeking a photograph of an individual may be out of the question, there are many photographs of locations taken at the time of your ancestors that will certainly give you an indication of the environment during the life and times of your forebears. This article focuses on the larger collections and how to access them. State Library of SA The Pictorial Collections held by the State Library of South Australia cover most aspects of South Australian life during the past 175 years. It is estimated that the combined collections comprise of more than 350,000 images with more than 125,000 viewable on-line. An active program of digitisation is continuing to make increasing numbers of images available. These images can be accessed via the State Library's online catalogue or the National Library of Australia's Picture Australia. |
In
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Graham Jaunay Services
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 State
Records of SAState Records holds a significant collection of photographs but they are not all catalogued and therefore not apparent in a series search. In spite of this the first step is to undertake a catalogue search using the word, photo[graph]. This will reveal over 550 sets of records ranging from Parachilna School 1929 to the Christmas Pageant 1956. As an archive, this collection is housed according to the department generating the material and therefore to locate the subject and possible photograph one needs to be aware of the agency concerned. While in many cases this is easily determined, tram photographs were clearly a part of the Municipal Tramways Trust material (GRS/8270), some promotional material may be found in quite unexpected agencies. Picture from the State Records of SA collection (with permission of State Records): GRG 35/58/68 Magill Post Office. State Records also holds a collection of photographs that resulted from a program run by the Public Library of South Australia asking those who served during World War I, or their families, to donate a photograph. This was a voluntary program and the collection is not a complete photo record of all South Australians who served in World War I. Each photograph is supported with the full name, date of birth, date of enlistment, trade or calling, date of birth, address prior to enlistment, rank, number, unit and distinctions. The reverse side of the photograph has the signature and address of the donor. There is an online index available for this series designated GRG 26/5/4 that can be search by surname, battalion, unit or corps, but the photographs themselves are not available without attending the reading room. Art Gallery of SA In 1922 the Art Gallery began collecting photographs. Since the 1970s the photography collection has been continuously strengthened, with an emphasis on South Australian photography. In 2004 the Gallery acquired the RJ Noye Collection of early South Australian photography comprising some several thousand images including Noye’s web site called Photohistory SA. A number of the earlier images in the collection are online, access being divided into before with most images on view and after 1920 where the titles only are available. History Trust of SA The Trust itself, located in the Torrens Parade Ground buildings, and its museums maintain photographic collections. Images may be available for reproduction and can be viewed by appointment with the appropriate agency. There is no online catalogue available. 
1. Glass negatives CollectionFrom 1890 to 1960 the Department of Lands had the responsibility, within the office of the Government Photolithographer, for maintaining the official photographic record of South Australia. This diverse collection, known as the Glass Negatives Collection, not only includes significant events of the period, but also place, and commercial and recreation activities across the state. The collection also includes photographs taken by Frank Hurley in 1935 for the State’s Centenary Committee. This collection is housed with State Records as series GRG35/342, but the History Trust also holds copies that can be accessed by appointment through the Information Resources Manager. The collection has a web site and a photograph from the collection is featured each month. There is some duplication, although I am not certain to what extent, with the collection held by the State Library. For example the photograph (pictured with permission of the History Trust) B524 in the State Library collection depicting wool scouring in the Torrens River at Hindmarsh in 1865 is the same image as GN2276 in the Glass Negatives Collection. 2. Maritime Museum Lipson Street Port Adelaide With nearly 20,000 images, the Maritime Museum holds a significant collection of photographic maritime material, including a range of vessels, people associated with the sea and ports of South Australia. The collection is not restricted to South Australia and covers the whole photographic era to the present day. 3. Migration Museum Kintore Avenue Adelaide The Migration Museum has a wide range of photographs relating to South Australia’s immigration and settlement history. Many different community groups, individuals and significant sites are represented in this collection. Many of the photographs are Museum copies of originals still in the possession of their owners. Apart from images sourced from individuals, cultural organisations, the United Nations and the Advertiser newspaper some come from the State Library collection. 4. National Motor Museum Birdwood Curators at the National Motor Museum can identify motor vehicles and bikes from photographs and this can be a helpful guide in dating your photographs. With photographs of early vehicles where the number-plate can be seen, they can often tell you the name of the owner and when the vehicle was first registered.  Primary
Industries and Resources South Australia Primary Industries and Resources South Australia is an agency of the Government of South Australia and one of its divisions, Minerals and Energy Resources maintains an online database of images relating to mining. The selected photograph can be ordered and purchased online. SA Police Historical Society The police archives is an outstanding record of policing in South Australia and includes some excellent photographs in its collection. These have been sorted into categories: transport, weapons, uniforms, outback service and women police. A few of the photographs in their collection can be viewed online and purchased by downloading an order form or emailing a request.To see the bulk of the collection requires a visit to the Police Museum on the cnr of Gaol and Port Roads Adelaide on a Wednesday or Thursday. Photograph from the collection of the SA Police Historical Society with permission: H15030.  Royal
Agricultural & Horticultural Society of South Australia ArchivesThis collection focuses on activities conducted at the Royal Adelaide Show and some other events held at the showgrounds. While there is a web presence, to access this collection one needs to contact the Adelaide Showground on (08) 8210 5211 during office hours. Australian Cemeteries Australian Cemeteries is an online web site covering all Australia and not just South Australia and it has many images of headstones in many cemeteries. It is a very slow site to open but the lengthy wait is worth the effort if you find that the particular cemetery of interest to you has an attached set of headstone photographs provided by one of the many volunteers associated with the site. Some cemeteries without online images have a designated volunteer who will procure the headstone photograph sought. Note that this site does not list all the SA cemeteries and for a more comprehensive listing visit Adelaide Proformat's site. Google images Image hunters should not discount Google as an agent to locate the vast numbers of photographs on the web. Google also holds the Life magazine photographic archive. Photo above from the Life Magazine Archive at Google: Troops marching down Rundle Street, 14 Nov 1914.  National Library of Australia The National LIbrary of Australia holds a large number of photographs on South Australian subjects. Using the online catalogue will reveal their collection which is partly digitised and can be viewed online via the catalogue. Lutheran Archives The Lutheran Archives is the official repository of historical material relating to the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA). It holds records of the present LCA, as well as records of the earlier Lutheran Synods in Australia that amalgamated to form the present LCA.The photographs in this collection located at 27 Fourth Street Bowden mainly include churches, schools, missions, pastors and teachers. The material can only be accessed by visiting the collection. In closing this article it is necessary to point out one significant issue that is not all that clear. Many of the above agencies allow web access to view their images, albeit in a low resolution, and yet claim copyright. Some allow images to be used for private research only. For most material, copyright lasts for 70 years after the end of the year of the creator’s death, or 70 years from the end of the year the material was first made public. There are shorter periods of protection (50 years from making or 50 years from first publication) for material made for, or first published by, a Commonwealth or State government department or agency. If the author died before 1955, however, the copyrights in works published in the author’s lifetime have expired. This is because the copyrights had already expired when the copyright periods were extended on 1 January 2005. [Copyright Council] . |
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