As an officer of the New South Wales Infantry 1885 is present then presumably the other people are family and friends. The woman on the right has her umbrella up as a parasol.
Allan Cole says:
This photograph is probably taken mid morning when the sun is high and given the slowness of early film probably in the early part of the year. The experts at the University of New England could probably narrow down the date. If this is part of a Volunteer Encampment which seemed to be annual, when the date seems to have been chosen to between Christmas and Easter. As coastal or water scenes are absent it would appear to be inland.
Allan Cole says:
This group does seem to be of an officer and family and friends. The tents for officers were larger and better furnished at encampments. I suspect that this is a picnic group which may have taken place when an encampment was not supported by the colonial government. The land seems to drop off steeply on the left hand side where a fire has been setup.There is a blurred figure coming up the slope on this side of the fire and what looks like a portable toilet or guardhouse behind the first tent. In the background near the trees are what look like shoulder height buildings.
Allan Cole says:
As an officer of the New South Wales Infantry 1885 is present then presumably the other people are family and friends. The woman on the right has her umbrella up as a parasol.
Allan Cole says:
This photograph is probably taken mid morning when the sun is high and given the slowness of early film probably in the early part of the year. The experts at the University of New England could probably narrow down the date. If this is part of a Volunteer Encampment which seemed to be annual, when the date seems to have been chosen to between Christmas and Easter. As coastal or water scenes are absent it would appear to be inland.
Allan Cole says:
This group does seem to be of an officer and family and friends. The tents for officers were larger and better furnished at encampments. I suspect that this is a picnic group which may have taken place when an encampment was not supported by the colonial government. The land seems to drop off steeply on the left hand side where a fire has been setup.There is a blurred figure coming up the slope on this side of the fire and what looks like a portable toilet or guardhouse behind the first tent. In the background near the trees are what look like shoulder height buildings.
Jenny says:
Thank you to Alan Cole for pointing State Records in the direction of the NSW Volunteer Infantry encampments. Based on the helmet plates which were introduced in early 1883 the images appear to have been taken at Windsor.
Thanks to the comments of Bob Meade on flickr, an image that is related to these has been identified as Sergeants of the 2nd Regiment of the Voluntary Infantry, Easter Encampment, at Windsor in April 1884. http://archivesoutside.records.nsw.gov.au/staff-pick-soldiering-in-the-late-19th-century/
The above are some of forty images that State Records have grouped together on our flickr account because we believe they are of the NSW Volunteer Infantry at an Easter Encampment at Windsor, in either March 1883 or April 1884. See our Easter 2014 blog http://archivesoutside.records.nsw.gov.au/what-are-your-easter-memories-church-show-bags-and-chocolate-eggs-easter-encampments/
You can find a link to all forty of the images throught this article.
Thank you also to Sean Ryan for his detailed comments on the uniforms in the photos
http://archivesoutside.records.nsw.gov.au/australian-soldiers-in-black-and-white/4481_a026_000699/
http://archivesoutside.records.nsw.gov.au/australian-soldiers-in-black-and-white/4481_a026_000695/
Jenny