Can you date this photograph? [Kendall St, Cowra]
Posted on October 19, 2009 by Rhonda Campbell
A moment in time…..
This photograph is from NRS12932 Original Prints of Photographs used in NSW trains. The photographs were used to decorate the carriage interiors of country trains.
This photograph shows a very busy downtown Cowra with parking spots at a premium. Some business names can be seen as well as a number of models of cars. We are hoping that all these clues will help reveal the time period when this photograph was taken. If you look closely you can see crowds of well dressed people congregrating on the footpath….I wonder if this was a typical day in Cowra or was it a special occasion?
Larger version available on Flickr
Kendall St, Cowra
We have many other undated photographs in Photo Investigator and on our Flickr account. If you know the dates or any other interesting facts about these images please let us know.
Also of interest:
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Rhonda,
With the kind help of a Flickr friend we have managed to narrow the date to between 1924 and 1937. Paul Hagon suggested we try to “match up the number plates of the cars with when the plates were issued”.
A quick search of Wikipedia lead me to this information:
“…From 1910 to 1937, number plates [in New South Wales] were in numerals only. Prior to 1924, these were issued with black lettering on a white background, until recalled and subsequently replaced with the reverse colour format: white lettering on a black background. …In 1937, letters in numberplates were first introduced…”
As the number plates in this image are white on black and numeric only, can we assume the date is between 1924 and 1937?
Hi Anthea and Paul
Great detective work! I never would have thought to look at the number plates to identify the date of a photograph.
Paul has a good point about the number plates. That point makes me wonder if old number plate records lay in Records NSW.
My first guess looking at the cars is early 1930s. Hopefully the car expert who commented on the Audley weir photo can tell us more.
I agree that this is a special occasion day. The number of cars and the density of their parking makes it seem likely.
I’ll see if I can find some Cowra local history books. Maybe the same pic will show.
The car driving along the road is a 1937 V8 Ford Tudor Sedan: “The 1937 Ford featured a more rounded look with fine horizontal bars in the convex front and hood-side grilles. The front grille was V-shaped, rather than following the fenders into a pentagon shape, as on the 1936 model. Faired-in headlights were a major modernization found on both the Standard and Deluxe trim versions.” (Wikipedia).
A quick glance at other cars parked along the main road, should make the Ford 1937 the youngest car in the photo. Every other car (in the photo) has the headlights mounted apart from the body, also suggesting that the Ford V8, in this case is ahead of time.
As mentioned above, the number plates in NSW were redesigned in 1937; this suggests that all cars in the photo with visible number plates were registered or reregistered after 1924, but before 1937. Unfortunately the Ford Coupe has no number plates on the front, so we cannot determine when the registration was made.
But – the happy owner of the Ford must have driven directly from the Ford factory in Geelong, Victoria to Cowra, if this photo was taken early in 1937. I suggest that we start looking for that special occasion, between 1937 and 1940 that gathered people in Cowra.
One special occassion in 1937 that may have caused large gatherings of people in all towns in Australia was the coronation of King George VI on May 12. Perhaps Mick Reed could take a look at the shadows in the photograph to determine if it is the 12 May 1937.
The exact model specification for the Ford car is:
1937 Ford V8 78 Standard Fordor Sedan
The car was manufactured from 1937 to 1940.
I’m working on getting the exact height and length of the car.
This might help analyzing the shadows on the photo.
A lot of those cars are 37-38 period, so it cannot be as early as 1924.
The Stromberg-Carlson sign is rather interesting, didn’t they make TV’s ?
Thanks Niels, that sounds very specific and also narrows the year range yet again. In fact, it may narrow it to 1937 [see first comment about number plates]
Robert, according to Wikipedia, Stromberg-Carlson was established in 1894 and “along with four other companies, it controlled the United States national supply of telephone equipment until after World War II.” They also produced “military communications gear, institutional sound systems, and high-end stereophonic equipment….Radio and television receivers, loudspeakers, paging systems, commercial sound amplifiers, and microphones”
G’day re the Kendall Street photo; my Auntie told me that all the schools marched , in 1937, to celebrate the coronation of the new King. Her friend still has the medallion given to all the schoolchildren. So, it is possibly a photo of that event. Also the Cowra Family History Group have in their possession, the ‘Pardy’ photographic collection,of which this photo may be one.
Thanks Judi, It would be interesting to know if the CFHG do have similiar photographs. I bet that medallion is a treasured possession!