These 42 photographs show aspects of urban and rural life, resource use, farming and transport in Australia between 1890 and 1915. Most depict changing technologies and some of them capture events that still affect us today. They demonstrate how our actions can have long term consequences.
Most of the photos were taken by government photographers in New South Wales and come from the studios of Charles Kerry or Henry King, who ran two of Sydney’s main photographic businesses at that time.
The original images exist as glass plate negatives in the Tyrrell Collection of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Some of the plates are cracked or have broken corners. These imperfections form part of the image’s history and so are included in the reproductions. The Tyrrell Collection was donated to the Museum by Australian Consolidated Press in 1985.
The photographs may be reproduced and used for non-profit educational purposes.
Biodiversity
Farming & land clearing
Mining & rural infrastructure
People & industry
Transport
Urban places and systems
