Memories: a researcher finds their school photo in the collection
Finding a class photo
We love to hear your stories when you or your family appear in the archives. This story is from Kathleen, who was one of the little girls in this Kindergarten photo from Cooks Hill in 1951. Kathleen’s parents came from Rockhampton to live in Newcastle during the War. Her grandmother was worried about the ‘Brisbane Line’ – a proposal to concede the northern portion of Australia in the event of an invasion by the Japanese and later rejected by Prime Minister John Curtin and the Australian War Cabinet.
Kathleen’s family moved to Newcastle to be near her grandmother’s sisters and lived across the road from the Cooks Hill Public School. She attended the school between 1950 and 1953. Kathleen told us this photograph started her finding lots of memories, such as the children bringing beach buckets of coal to school to warm the classroom. In 1953 her other grandmother won the Queensland lottery Golden Casket. This win gave Kathleen’s parents the opportunity to move back to Rockhampton and settle.
Kathleen was delighted to come across this photograph as she doesn’t have many photos from her childhood.
We would like to thank Kathleen for sharing her story with us, and allowing us to share it with you.
About the school photo collection
School class photographs are usually taken by contractors and as such are not usually State Government archives. However, the History Unit of the Department of Education did collect photographs between 1963 and 1991. Most photographs show school buildings, pupils, teachers, or educational activities, with most including an identifying caption and date. The photographs themselves date from around 1850 to around 1991. These are part of our Collection and many dated earlier than 1955 can be viewed and downloaded from our catalogue. You can check if we hold photographs from your school days.
Search the catalogue by the series number NRS 15051 and the name of the school.
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School records
School student records guide
These records provide information about the admission of children to Government Schools, Orphan Schools and Industrial Schools in NSW.
Photo collections
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Electricity Commission
These photos record the power generation and transmission assets of the organisation and document the working conditions and social events of its employees
Maritime Services Board
A sample of the 4000+ digitised glass plate negatives from the Maritime Services Board
Government Printing Office Glass Negatives
From the late 19th century into the 20th century, photography played a significant role at the Government Printing Office, leading to a rich and varied collection of images depicting life in New South Wales
Purging pestilence – plague!
The Bubonic Plague hit Sydney in January 1900. Spreading from the waterfront, the rats carried the plague throughout the city. Within eight months 303 cases were reported and 103 people were dead
Lantern slides shown at the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition
Part of this collection of lantern slides was shown at the Franco-British Exhibition in London, 1908. Many of the slides are of typical country scenes such as saw mills, dairy farms, mining, and timber felling and hauling
Sydney Harbour Bridge
This photo series captures the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, from turning the first sod to completion, including the official opening and its initial use by the public
Public buildings in NSW
This album, dating from c1880 to c1940, was created by the Government Architect's office and includes a diverse array of important public and institutional structures
Royal National Park
Many of the photos in this series depict recreational activities around Audley, showcasing people boating, playing sports, bushwalking, picnicking, and taking part in ceremonies
Scheyville Training Farm
Scheyville was a training farm for young men selected from the Sydney area and those arriving under various British immigration schemes
Photos from the railways
With around 30,000 photos from various series, you can delve into a visual history of the railways, the workers, and the stunning landscapes of Sydney and New South Wales