Appleland invitation

Appleland: Fragments of Tasmanian Lives

No writing on the back of this one.

Fascinating military photo of planning for the Australian paratrooper mission into the Markham River area in New Guinea during the Second World War. The Australians were supported by American paratroopers of the 503rd Parachute Regiment in September 1943.

On the back:

“Lt Maker (right)

Seargent Angus (left)

At work on model of Markham River, New Guinea

for area briefing paratroopers

for parachute landing”

What is also fabulous is that a shopping list has also been written on it too…

Including: apples, lettuce, preserved fruit, camera, dripping, 1lb salt, apron, vegetables (no potatoes), carrots, parsnips, cauliflowers, dried peas, bacon, belgium crumpets (?), savs (?), and sausages.

Written on the back:

Zehan, Tas

Frances Wells

Later Corrigan

Written on the back:

“At Zehan, Tas

Frances Wells on right hand.”

Which begs the question; who is on the left?

A series of photographs that came from 3 unbound pages of the same album.

Great photographs found as part of an office load of Waterside Workers’ Federation (WWF) files thrown away. An interesting coincidence was one of our workers finding documents written by her own father while sorting through the find.

Resource Work Cooperative donated some fabulous ledgers dating back to 1905, some worker’s handbooks, and a handful more photos to the Maritime Museum of Tasmania.

Some interesting info on the WWF here. The WWF amalgamated with the Seamens’ Union of Australia in 1993 to become the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

Some of you may remember the “Welcome to Appleland” exhibition at the Carnegie Gallery in 2002. The exhibition was very popular and there were many disappointed people who found out about it too late.

So get the dates into your diary and don’t miss out again!

Opening night is Friday the 23rd October at 6pm. Hope to see you there!

Beautiful portrait of two sisters? Late 1800s or early 1900s?

Nothing written on the back of this one.

All the pictures on this website have been salvaged from McRobies Gully Waste Management Centre in South Hobart, Tasmania by Resource Work Cooperative.

Without this, quite simply, all these photographs would now be in landfill – buried under tons of household garbage, building waste and mud. There are many reasons why these photographs may have ended up being discarded, adding to the story behind each photograph; and some were dropped off directly to us, in hope they would be of value to someone.

There is something quite sad about seeing photographs of people’s lives thrown away – memories and moments of time caught in a photograph discarded. Often these will be the only thing left of someone’s life. Who were they? What are their stories? What brought them to Tasmania? What lives did they live here? Were they happy?

Over the years Resource Work Cooperative has salvaged an enormous number of photographs. Some have been sold (at the Tip Shop or Collectables shop) but many have also been archived. In May 2002 Resource organized an exhibition called Welcome to AppleLand at the Carnegie Gallery, Hobart, where a wide variety of pre-1950s photographs were displayed . It was a great success. Many people found relatives in the photos and were allowed to reclaim the photographs for themselves. While even more enjoyed the fascinating insight into the lives of the people and places of Tasmania’s past.

Not all the photos will be of Tasmania but they must at least have had some connection to the Apple Isle; after all it was here in Hobart that they discarded or donated.

If you can help fill in the blanks or identify people or places please let us know… if you find your own relatives also get in touch… we hope you enjoy what we have saved from being forgotten…