lifeasdaddy

Sydney then and now: Martin Place

Martin Place, Sydney.

Then:

State Records NSW Digital ID: 17420_a014_a0140001110   "Construction of tram tracks at Martin Place, Sydney" (Photograph used with permission of the State Records Authority of New South Wales)

The photograph is undated, but the Holden motor car in the centre foreground of the photograph suggest that it was in the late 1940's to early 1950's.  General Post Office (GPO) Sydney is the substantial building in the right foreground. The air compressor in the right foreground looks like the same model used to construct the wharf at Bennelong Point in 1950.  However there were tram tracks along George Street in this position well before the 1940s, so this is probably a major track repair.

The Cenotaph can be seen in the centre of Martin Place, in the middle distance behend the tree.

and Now:

Pamplona, the running of the bulls, best ever photoset.

On the Big Picture blog here.

And my favourite from the comments:

That photo of the bull leaping over a pile of people is wild! It's hilarious to see them holding up their digital cameras and phone cameras as THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE CRUSHED. The whole event is fascinatingly ridiculous and yes, grotesque.

Posted by Jabo

Centrepiece for Royal Buffet, 1954

Centrepiece for Royal Buffet, originally uploaded by Old Parliament House.

To celebrate its 75th birthday, Old Parliament House called for people, from across Australia, to send in their pictures and stories of the House. The response forms a remarkable collection that tells an unofficial history of this Old Parliament House, and many are now displayed on Flickr as part of Old Parliament House's Photostream "In The Picture" .

This photo was entered by Anthony Scarth ‘The cake was a centrepiece for the Queen's Royal Tour banquet in 1954. Every one of the roses’ details were hand made and finished. Arthur Mueller was a marvellous pastry chef. It took at least 10 weeks to make and was made mostly by Arthur and I helped.’

Mr. Scarth's pride of workmanship is plain.

There's something about working on or in some of our iconic buildings.

The most recent issue (June 2008) of "About The House" magazine has a feature about the 20th anniversary of the opening of the new Parliment House building including interviews with many of the people who built it. Undoubtedly it was one of the high points of their careers.

Interesting to reflect too that 54 years after this photograph was taken Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabth II is still going strong.

My boyhood hero: World bantamweight boxing champion Lionel Rose.

World bantamweight boxing champion Lionel Rose in training, 1968, originally uploaded by National Archives of Australia.

Citation NAA: A1500, K18448

Lionel Rose won the title by defeating Fighting Harada in February 1968.

I remember watching the fight on television. We lived in Pascoe Vale South, not far from Essendon where he trained in the gym of his trainer and mentor Jack Rennie. What brought Rose even closer to home was his friendship with Maurie Greene who owned the butcher shop 3 doors down from our place in Anderson Street.

Mr. Rose was a regular visitor to Maurie's house behind his shop, as they were good friends and used to go on shooting trips together. I have vivid memories of Mr. Rose driving a huge (by then Australian standards) American car in and out of the laneway behind our place.

He wore army surplus greens for his hunting trips, and used to stop and chat with my brother and I. He would also sign autographs for we kids, and others in the neighbourhood who heard he was there. He also sometimes came into the shop run by my Mum and Dad, and Dad remembers him as a nice, quietly spoken man.

After his victory over Harada the enormous trophy, which was much bigger than I was, went on display in Maurie's shop and I remember my Mum taking me to see the trophy.

Like many pugilists Mr. Rose later fell on hard times - but he was my boyhood hero, and I still remember his kindness to my brother and I.

I've just looked up a photograph of the trophy, and it was every bit as big as I remember, here it's pictured in a Moomba parade float:

Mr. Rose was King of Moomba in 1973 and Australian of the Year in 1968.

  

Another Melbourne memory:  The headquarters retail store of the McEwans' hardware store in Bourke Street used to have a walk of fame, somewhat like Grauman's Chinese theatre, where famous Australians or visitors to Melbourne would be persauded to leave imprints of their hands and feet in cement.

Lionel Rose left his hand prints by pressing his clenched fists into the wet cement.  Later, I and I'm sure many Melbourne boys would go there and press our fists into the impressions to see how ours measured up to those of the great boxer. 

I understand that now that Bunnings have taken over the store that these have been moved to a wall inside the Bourke Street store.  I'll have to try them for size the next time I'm in town.

Added:  Here's a nice piece written in 2005 by that most Australian of writers Barry Dickens with whom I share a hero.

Mrs Petrov enjoys the beach, 1954

Mrs Petrov enjoys the beach, 1954, originally uploaded by National Archives of Australia.

Citation:  NAA: A6285, 9.

Here's a great photograph from the trove at our National Archvives.  Life in the lucky country obviously agreed with her.

Mr. and Mrs. Petrov famously defected from the USSR to Australia in April, 1954.

The only other photograph of her I have seen was of a very distressed woman:

(NAA:  A6201, 62 )

Evdokia Petrov at Mascot Airport, Sydney, being 'escorted' across the tarmac to a waiting plane by two armed Russian diplomatic couriers

A mystery ship: H.M.S. Undine (<1901 version)

I love the composition of this photo.

It shows H.M.S. Undine in Sydney Harbour taken through an archway of Fort Macquarie.  (Tyrrell Photographic Collection, Powerhouse Museum) Construction of Fort Macquarie commenced in 1817 and was completed by our great colonial architect Francis Greenway in 1821.  It stood until it was demolised in 1901 to make way for an electric tramway at Bennelong Point.  Australian readers will be familiar with the site, and the rest of the world knows it as the Sydney Opera House.

Now, the ship is H.M.S. Undine.  My internet searches thus far have turned up a Royal Navy submarine H.M.S. Undine (N48) which was launched in 1937 and a destroyer H.M.S. Undine (R42) which was launched in 1943.  But I can find little about Sailing Schooner H.M.S. Undine except for this photograph and one other photograph about a gathering of ships in Sydney Harbour during 1887 to celebrate the jubilee of Queen Victoria's reign.

I think I'll have to ask my friend Mac Gregory if he knows anything about the schooner H.M.S. Undine.

Added:

Mac Gregory has supplied some useful information indicating that the HMS Undine pictured above was a schooner previously in civilian service as Morna.  She was purchased by the Royal Navy in 1881 and sold in 1888. 

Therefore, the photograph above dates from between 1881 and 1888.

Here's Mac's reply to me, slightly edited;

Here is all I can find about HM ships that carried the name of Undine.

Number 3 in the list below is the only one that seems to fit, according to the Queensland papers she was still in service on March 10, 1888.

Lovely photo of her, the photographer Henry King was around 1880-1900.

HMS Undine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Undine, after the Ondines of mythology:

HMS Undine was an iron paddle packet purchased in 1847 and sold in 1854.

HMS Undine was to have been a wood screw gunvessel. She was laid down in 1861 but was cancelled in 1863.

HMS Undine was a schooner, previously in civilian service as the Morna. She was purchased in 1881 and was sold in 1888.

HMS Undine was a coastguard vessel, previously named HMS Hawk. She was renamed HMS Undine in 1904 and was sold in 1906.

HMS Undine was a base ship, previously named HMS Wildfire. She had been launched in 1884 for civilian servce, at first as Hiawatha and then as Mizeppa. She was purchased by the Navy in 1888 as a screw yacht tender and renamed HMS Wildfire. She was converted to a base ship in 1889 and was renamed HMS Undine in 1907, before being sold in 1912.

HMS Undine was an R class destroyer launched in 1917 and sold in 1928. She was then wrecked later that year and the wreck sold for breaking up.

HMS Undine was a U class submarine launched in 1937 and sunk in 1940.

HMS Undine was a U class destroyer launched in 1943. She was converted into a Type 15 frigate between 1952 and 1954 and was broken up in 1965.

From the Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs General Advertiser, Saturday, March 10, 1888:

Only about six months ago Mr. and Mrs. John Brannelly left Brisbane on a visit to the old country. Our last issue contained a telegram announcing Mrs. Brannelly's sudden death on board the Iberia, just after the vessel had left the Melbourne Heads. Mr. John Brannelly is well known to many in Toowoomba, having been an innkeeper here for some years. The following account of Mrs. Brannelly's funeral we take from Wednesday's S.M. Herald: - The funeral of Mrs. Brannelly, who died so suddenly on board the R.M.S. Iberia when on her way from Melbourne to Sydney, took place yesterday morning. The facts of the case, which are still fresh in the minds of most people, may be briefly recapitulated. Mrs. Brannelly and her husband had been on a visit to Europe, and were returning home to Brisbane. About 9 p.m. on Saturday last, shortly after the Iberia had left Melbourne, Mrs. Brannelly was suddenly missed, and upon a search being instituted she was found in one of the cabins dead. Her death cast quite a gloom over the whole ship, for the deceased lady had made friends of all on board by her affable and winning ways, both in the saloon and out of it, consequently out of respect to the deceased a large number of people accompanied the body to its last resting place; among whom were noticeable Mr. Birrell, chief officer of the Iberia, Mr. Cook, the purser, Dr. Kerr, and the fourth officer, also the Rev. and Mrs. Mitten of Durham, England, who were fellow passengers. Mr. Stolterfoht, Mr. Brannelly, and four tars of the Iberia, also attended. The corpse left the Iberia shortly before 11 o'clock for Man of war steps. Upon passing H.M.S. Undine, that vessel brought her flags down to half mast. The body was interred at the Waverley cemetery. The deceased had been during the voyage under the doctor's care, but it was not thought that anything serious was the matter. Heart disease is believed to be the primary cause of the unfortunate occurrence.

Thanks Mac! 

lifeasdaddy - Errol Morris: The best blog post ever?

Jason Kottke reckons that this piece by Errol Morris may well be the best blog post he has every read.

Morris is blogging there on the New York Times site, and there are more than 700 comments to the post.

He talks about two almost identical photographs taken by Roger Fenton in 1855 during the Crimean War.

It's interesting. 

lifeasdaddy - Cool car for Mum, Dad, and the two kids.

We also followed a red Cadillac convertible, maybe  early 60's vintage.  The registration plate was "FINS".   A car which obviously only comes out of the garage for fine days and special occasions.  Like taking the kids for a drive.

When we stopped at the traffic lights I asked if we could take their photo.  The bloke was pleased.

lifeasdaddy - The women lesbians like.

AfterEllen.com has selected its Hot 100 list.  In response to the Maxim 100 list, they asked their lesbian readership to select a Hot 100.

Here's the AfterEllen.com Hot 100 list.  Nice photo editing.  I agree with more than 80% of the choices.

Maybe I'm a lesbian ...

[ tip from kottke ]

lifeasdaddy - Google's image problem with a school age kid.

I was walking through out local shopping centre today and saw this display of school children's work from the Killarney Heights Public School.  Something that's nice to see and I'm sure that the kids and their parents get a kick out of seeing their work in this public showcase.

Most interestingly, there was a particular piece of artwork, which must surely be of concern to the public relations managers of Google.  It had as it's subtitle, "My monster is named Google".