Arrival of the station mail

One of the many staged images of rural life created by the Charles Kerry studio, this photograph had a narrative purpose. It is an image of rural isolation that shows the importance of contact with the outside world.

In late 19th and early 20th century Australia, the postal service was, for many, an essential link between their isolated rural existence and the wider world. As well as an opportunity to receive news from afar, the arrival of the mail on a remote station may have been an important social occasion.

Photography by Kerry & Co. Tyrrell Collection, 85/1284-2926
No known copyright restrictions

Tags: country life, hats, postal services, reading

The Powerhouse Museum's Photo of the Day blog features a new image each day, chosen from the Powerhouse Photo Library.

The majority of these images have been taken by Museum photographers for a variety of purposes such as for exhibitions, of objects in our collection, events, behind-the-scenes and location shots. We also feature many images taken by our Flickr community and from our visitors. We hope you enjoy the photographs and stories.

The licensing of each image varies however we are trying to release as many as possible under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 license.