A new photo from the Powerhouse Museum every day
This stereoview is from one of William Hetzer’s earliest sets showing George Street in Sydney. Using the zoomify on our collection search you can see the London Hat shop featured on the corner and in the middle of the stereoview is the ‘Clapham House Boot and Shoe Mart’. This particular view was taken with a commercially produced twin lens stereo camera.
Stereoview by William Hetzer
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Until the 1980s state and federal governments actively encouraged farmers to completely clear land of native vegetation. Some Crown grants and leases even said that land must be cleared. This led to soil erosion and dust storms, local extinctions of plants and animals and, in some cases, dryland soil salinity.
Many farmers are now revegetating up to 30% of their farm’s area to try reverse the damage, raise soil productivity and increase biodiversity.
Photography by Charles Kerry Studio
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Post by Sandra McEwen, Principal Curator
This image was taken last week when the Museum hosted five members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, soprano Trisha Crowe, and the Special Olympics dance crew for the Spoonful of Music concert, part of the MBF music4health concerts. The concert was part of the celebrations for the International Day of People with a Disability. Invitations were extended to people living with a disability, and we were especially pleased to be able to welcome our Thinkspace Special Access Kit music workshop participants as VIPs for the event.
The event kicked off with an improvised performance from one of our Thinkspace groups, King Andrew and the Buffalo. The band played with obvious passion and a real love of music, and it was wonderful for them to share with an audience some of what happens in our workshops on Wednesdays. Trisha Crow and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra then took to the stage, in a performance which encompassed the whole audience. We sang, we clapped, we played musical instruments along with the musicians, and members of the audience were invited to conduct and perform from the front as part of the performance. With well over 200 people in attendance, it was just a little bit “magic”, and one of those unforgettable experiences for those who were lucky enough to attend. Our VIPs were delighted with the event, and have been asking when we will be hosting another concert.
Photography by Sotha Bourn
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Post by Joy Suliman, Thinkspace Manager
This photograph shows a beautiful new book published by the Sempre Con Te community project in partnership with the New South Wales Migration Heritage Centre .
Sempre Con Te (Always with you) is full of wonderful photographs and we will be sharing some of these with you on Photo of the Day in future posts. This book tells the fascinating and very personal stories of Italian women who migrated to Sydney’s Northern beaches during the early 20th century. The stories come from nine women, all from the harsh rural area of Calabria, who came to settle in the Northern Beaches suburbs of Dee Why, Beacon Hill, Brookvale and Narrabeen.
The book is available in the Powerhouse online bookshop.
Photography by Paula Bray
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This photograph shows the Colonial Courts starting with, the South Australian leather-work exhibits, then the Victorian and New South Wales galleries. The photograph was taken from the space behind the galleries that lined the nave and transept where the extra height and windows illuminated the displays that lined the exterior walls of the ‘Garden Palace’. The letter press accompanying this photograph comments on how the large number of exhibits had led to a not entirely satisfactory crowding of the displays.
Photography by Messrs Richards and Company
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Post by Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator
Just before our exhibition, The 80s are back, opened we asked members of the public to attend a community, cube puzzle, title wall construction session in the foyer of the Museum. We gave members of the public a sheet with instructions on how to make the exact cube construction that would be joined with all the other cubes to make up the title wall to the entry of our exhibition. The morning was greatly enjoyed by the public with a diverse group of people showing up to be involved.
You can see more photos from this session here
Photography by Emma Bjorndahl
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In the late 1800s governments realised the survival of the Australian colonies depended on the expertise of farmers. Ploughing matches were organised to encourage excellence, and to inform farmers about new practices and machinery. The matches were competitive, but also had an important social role.
Ploughing matches, and the exhibitions held with them, were forerunners to Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. ‘The Show’ still plays the important roles of bringing farmers together and showcasing new technologies today.
Photograph by Charles Kerry Studio.
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Post by Sandra McEwen, Principal Curator
This wonderful image was taken by one of the members from our Modern Times group on Flickr. I love the short depth of field used in this moody night shot with the focus concentrating on the hat at the front of the shop window. I have shown this photographers work on Photo of the Day before with this great untitled shot of a twin lens reflex camera, also a great example of the use of short depth of field.
This was shot using film with a Rolleiflex, revealing the wonderful 6×6 square format that you don’t get to see much of these days.
Photography by Cyrus
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Last night was the official opening of our new exhibition The 80s are back that celebrates the decade of extravagance through music, fashion, film, sub-cultures and much more. To celebrate this exhibition opening last night we had Pseudo Echo and GANGgajang playing some of their classic hits from the 80s, along with Penny Clifford, 80s drag divas Cindy Pastel, Miss 3D and friends, including Chris Da Bonnafin (in a Xanadu-inspired performance) and DJ Stephen Ferris.
There were some rather extravagant and colorful costumes worn by people to celebrate this rather flamboyant decade, including this great one.
We were shooting some short snippet vox pops at this opening about what the 80s means to people and we will be sharing these with you here. There is also a visitor feedback kiosk in the exhibition space where you will be able to record your own memories and share them in our special channel on YouTube.
Photography by Paula Bray
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This photograph of an eclipse of the sun was taken using the Sydney Observatory astrograph which was set up on the racetrack at Goondiwindi, in Queensland, to observe the 1922 eclipse of the sun. This eclipse which occurred on 21 September passed across the centre of Australia providing optimum conditions for observations.
The scientific community used this opportunity to confirm Einstein’s prediction that light passing the sun would be bent by gravity, by 1.76 seconds of arc. As a result a number of eclipse expeditions made their way across Australia in August 1922.
Photography by photographer James Short, used at Sydney Observatory, Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia, September, 1922
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Post by Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator
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