There’s no doubt, photos are fascinating! Anzac Cove jpg resized

We can be drawn to an image because of its technical excellence or the way it’s been composed. There may be a fascination with the subject or an intrigue as to the context or identity of the photographer. Then too, the provenance of a particular copy of a photograph may be the primary interest because of the story it reveals.

Some fourteen years ago, I found myself drawn to a particular photograph in the pictorial collection of the Battye Library. Recently though, my interest in it has widened considerably. Let me explain….

Gift of a rare book - Who was Mrs Matters?Brian Croker

WAGS Foundation member Brian Croker was recently given a copy of the very rare book, Australasians who count in London and who counts in Western Australia written by Mrs. Leonard W Matters.

Brian indexed the content and generously shared his work with WAGS. The index can now be viewed on the Society’s website and a digital copy of the entire book can be freely viewed on the website of the National Library of Australia. Anyone interested in Australian and especially Western Australian social history, will find it a fascinating item.

Australian Newspaper digitization Trove

Last week in one of the WAGS Forums, I posted details of several new Victorian newspaper titles which had been added to Trove.

The response from one of our members was but what about "The Mount Alexander Mail"!

What about it indeed...

There would be few among you who haven't heard of Trove, an initiative of the National Library of Australia and most would use it to access digitized Australian newspapers.

Lewisham Cemetery c1900

Deceased Online...

I noticed recently that the subscription website Deceased Online had added burial and cremation records for the London Borough of Lewisham to its collection. Had this news arrived six years ago, I would have been scrambling for the credit card to transact a ‘pay per view’.

Now, that news only prompts vivid memories of a long drawn out hunt some years ago  ….. let me explain

Your help is needed Who are they??

Can anyone identify any of the men featured in a photo from my grandparents' collection?

The man in the centre of the photo appears to be the focus of the group. He's the only one seated and has a certificate or document in his hand and the hand of an official looking man on his shoulder.

My grandfather, William Hassell is squatting in the front row, far right.