Sepia Saturday 215: 15 February 2014



Alan from Sepia Saturday says:

Our theme image this week features a picture postcard view of Jamaica Street, Glasgow (from the National Gallery of Scotland stream on Flickr Commons). I am not expecting people to match the Glasgow theme, or indeed the Jamaica theme, although knowing the resources and imagination of Sepians, I wouldn't be too surprised if some people took up such a challenge. The thing that came to my mind when I first saw the image was the crowds : we always tend to think of crowded streets as being something new, something twenty-first century, but clearly that isn't the case.


Crowds, huh?

Well the first photo that came to mind was this one....

1954 Victoria Road Drummoyne, Sydney  - Queen's visit to Australia

On the back is my mother's handwriting as follows:



I Googled images of Victoria Road Drummoyne and found this link from 2011 - so we're looking at about 206 Victoria Road or thereabouts.  What was the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the white building at the very end is now the Drummoyne Medical Centre.  

Let's look at another photo from that time.

1954 Victoria Road Drummoyne, Sydney - Queen's visit to Australia

Here is my mother's handwriting again on the back


So if you were the photographer, you would have just turned a bit to the left to capture that view, if you know what I mean.  Once again a Google street view search shows that where Jack's photographic studio is now a Ray White office at 222 Victoria Road Drummoyne.  

So Jack's studios were called Alva Studios.  A search on Trove finds them in Drummoyne from c 1939.  There is an ad in 1934 for some canvassers to work for the studio but they were then based at 2A Hercules Street Ashfield and before that they were located in Orange.

Here is another photo.  This is not from the same set.  I'm not sure where this came from.  I suspect my father's collection or even my paternal aunt's collection.  I think it is of the Queen and I think it is taken near a hospital - possibly Concord Hospital.  See all the nurses?  I love the reflections of the legs in the shiny car surface.


No helpful information on the back of this photo just this


I have talked about my Aunt working at Concord Hospital before here.

This blog post seems to confirm it is the Queen yes?

If you want to see the car (not so shiny now), a Daimler Landaulette, you can check it out at the National Museum of Australia here.

I was part of a crowd once too.  Princess Diana and Prince Charles came to Brisbane in 1983 and we were all agog.  I worked for the ABC then in the Publicity Department and managed to secure a place smack bang in the middle of the Queen Street Mall together with the crew who were doing the Outside Broadcast.  It was terribly exciting.  I don't think I actually got to see her.  All I saw was the media scrum.

Here are some of the slides I took on the day..

The media wagon

Queen Street Mall and yes, that is a woman up a tree...

Janine Walker Talkback show host

The OB crew anxiously waiting

Here is a You Tube video that sums up the visit...




Last but not least, I searched Picture Queensland to see what else has attracted crowds.  I was much struck with the photos of the crowds that greeted Bert Hinkler when he came to Brisbane after flying solo from the England to Australia in 1928.  He was the first to do so.  The crowds look just extraordinary in these photos...


Link to Picture Queensland

The first photo is not very clear here so go and look at it here....George Street is unrecognisable...all those buildings have gone now.  We are looking at the corner of George and Adelaide streets...very sad to see such heritage lost.

Link to Picture Queensland

And here is the Queen Street Mall.  See the men sitting on top of the awning to the Wintergarden Theatre.  That's just about where I would have been watching Diana and Charles nearly sixty years later.



courtesy of Picture Queensland

Not sure which lane way in Brisbane this was...perhaps someone would like to hazard a guess.

Link on Picture Queensland

And this is the one I find most extraordinary.  Just look at all those people standing on the awnings.  Just incredible...

Here's a link to SLQ's blog with an account.

We were only talking about the miracle of flying yesterday at the Gym...how we take it for granted today...how we used to get dressed up to fly....

Here's a link to Bert's message to Australia at the time.  Looks like he got dressed up for radio too.





If you want to check out more crowds, go here.

P.S. I'm a bit excited that there is now a bit of a crowd on this blog!  I have reached the magic number of 50 followers....hoorah!!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I find it interesting this week that first Wintergarten then Wintergarden has turned up in the photos. We have an old building called Wintergarden here in Geelong too. Lovely old building that has been done up with a balcony all around the inside. I must try and find out how this name came to be in use in different parts of the world.
The crowds you found are quite incredible. I don't even like busy streets never mind turning out for an occasion like any of these. And don't Charles and Diana look young? I suppose I did once.
Anne Young said…
I really enjoyed how you wrote on this theme - do you think the Royals will get such crowds when they visit this year? I am glad you found people admiring something other than the Royal family or sporting heroes.
Postcardy said…
I especially like the 1954 Queen's visit photos.
Bob Scotney said…
A crowd of pictures showing crowds make quite a collection. I not keen on being in a crowd I must confess even at a football match.
Little Nell said…
You can always depend on a crowd when there is a royal visit; everyone strains to catch a glimpse of whichever one is doing the duty tour. How lucky you are to have such a good picture of the Queen in your own collection.
Little Nell said…
Hi Alex I wonder if you realise you have word verification switched on still. It’s actually often numbers now, and sometimes very blurry, playing havoc with the eyesight! There appears to be a consensus amongst Sepians that comment moderation on any post over seven days has done away with spam. Won’t you consider removing word verification and giving comment moderation on its own a try instead? Three more Sepians have removed it this week as they didn’t realise it was switched on.
Wendy said…
It's easy to feel the excitement of all those people waiting for a glimpse of the queen, of the princess and price.
Caminante said…
I really don't like crowds, but I too saw the Queen in about 1954 when she visited Lancaster, my home town. I could put up with the very calm well-wishers in your photo of her, but the crowds welcoming Bert Hinkler would have made me most uncomfortable!
Alex Daw said…
Aren't they just extraordinary crowds? Makes the mind boggle.
Alex Daw said…
Thanks Wendy. Indeed, the excitement is quite infectious.
Alex Daw said…
Thanks Little Nell. I do realise that I have it switched on. I have experimented with turning it off before but to my great regret. I'm sorry to be such a pain to everyone but the spammers are worse than ever I'm afraid and I haven't got the patience or time to deal with them.
Alex Daw said…
Yes, I'm wary of crowds Bob. Always frightened that they'll turn ugly.
Alex Daw said…
Thank you! I like them too...particularly to track down exactly where in Victoria Road it was taken.
Alex Daw said…
I have a vague memory of Wintergarten being something like the Folie Bergeres or to do with ice and being dancers....let us know when you find out won't you?
Alex Daw said…
Dear Sheila - I can't believe it was all so long ago...so I must be getting old ;)
Alex Daw said…
Thanks Anne...I'm not sure. I think perhaps they will. Even just a couple of years ago when the Queen visited Brisbane, thousands filled the apartment blocks by the river just to catch a glimpse of her passing by. There were parties galore and lots of celebration but when it actually came time for her barge to pass, all were quiet and hushed. It was quite extraordinary.
La Nightingail said…
The photo of Queen Elizabeth at the hospital is lovely. I can't imagine what it was like to suddenly become the Queen of England at such a relatively young age - 25. What a tremendous responsibility!
Mike Brubaker said…
I think you win a prize for the most photos of excited crowds this weekend. I checked on the museum link to see the Daimler Landaulette and was startled at its seedy condition. I didn't think a luxury car would ever get that much abuse or neglect to reach such a dilapidated condition.
Little Nell said…
I wonder why you’re attracting them Alex! A fourth Sepian has switched it off now with no known problems. Come over to the FB page to chat about it with your friends.
Alex Daw said…
Same. I could never have done it.
Alex Daw said…
Mike I was quite shocked too. I could be cavalier and say "It's a harsh old country Australia" but on reflection I wonder if the Museum is making a statement too....conserving it in its dilapidated state. It's a good talking point huh?
Alex Daw said…
Hi LIttle Nell - no need to chat about it. I'll turn it off again once more and see if things have changed - just for you mind because it annoys you so much and I hate annoying people. Unlike spammers.

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