Another group of photographs in NRS 15051, School photographs collection, are images from the Blackfriars Correspondence School.

Over the course of WWI the closure of smaller schools in rural areas led to the growth of the Correspondence School, a distance education method for children living more than 3 miles from a school. Teachers were based in Sydney and lessons posted to and from students at the school.

Many of the images in this group were taken during the Commonwealth Film Unit production of  “School in the Mailbox”, a film directed by Stanley Hawes.

Caption: Correspondence School – The mailman calls at a lonely NSW country home with letters for all, and State Correspondence School lessons for the youngsters. He will take away with him all completed exercises from the previous school delivery.
Digital ID: 15051_a047_003372.jpg
Date: c. 01/01/1946

Caption: Correspondence School – From the Commonwealth Film Unit production School in the Mailbox Directed by Stanley Hawes. With his pet lamb for company Robert has a Correspondence School reading lesson from his mother. All states conduct correspondence schools for country children and all children living more than 3 miles from a school are entitled to the lessons.
Digital ID: 15051_a047_003373.jpg
Date: c. 01/01/1946

Caption: Correspondence School – Lessons on their way from the State Correspondence School (Blackfriars), Sydney. Everyday P.M.G. mail vans make several journeys from the school with new lessons, and return with work sent in by distant pupils.
Digital ID: 15051_a047_003374.jpg
Date: c. 01/01/1946

Caption: Correspondence School – From the Commonwealth Film Unit production School in the Mailbox Directed by Stanley Hawes. Under the Blackfriars State Correspondence School’s headmaster’s guidance in Sydney is an enthusiastic staff of 190 teachers.
Digital ID: 15051_a047_003382.jpg
Date: c. 01/01/1946

Caption: Correspondence School – Among the State Correspondence School papers the mailman has brought to Bill’s country home in NSW, is the latest edition of the school magazine.
Digital ID: 15051_a047_003375.jpg
Date: c. 01/01/1946

See more images from the State Correspondence School.

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Organisation Name: History Council of NSW in partnership with Sydney Living Museums

Event Type: Talk / Lecture

When: Tuesday, 9 September 2014 from 06:00 PM to 08:30 PM

Where: The Mint, 10 Macquarie , Sydney

Cost: General $50.00 / Concession $45.00

Contact: Dr Mandy Kretzschmar, 02 9252 8715, Email: executive@historycouncilnsw.org.au or Book Online

The current embrace of former prisoners of war (POWs) of the Japanese as veterans who suffered undue hardships in the service of their nation belies a more complicated history. Focusing on the immediate post-war period until the 1970s, Professor Christina Twomey explores in her lecture the rare testimony from ex-POWs about how they experienced life in Australia after their return home. Many applicants to the POW Trust Fund (1952-77) certainly believed that captivity had blighted their chances and disrupted their capacity to find employment, connect properly with other people or to settle down and find happiness in work and family life. Whether imprisonment in war caused their problems, or merely compounded an existing structural disadvantage or personality failing, lay at the heart of the Trustees’ deliberations. The way Trustees chose to find an answer, which drew upon networks of information available from private charity and assumptions about who or what constituted a deserving case, demonstrates the limits of sympathy for damaged and broken men.

Time for a city based Can you date?

Here’s a shot of Martin Place in Sydney’s CBD.

Can you date this photograph?

Larger version on Flickr

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.

Post by Gionni Di Gravio

Over the Australia Day 2014 long weekend, I was contacted by Dr Judy Galvin, who completed her PhD back in 1983 on the Lettesi in Newcastle.

The Lettesi were a community of Italian immigrants from the town of Lettopalena, located in the Abruzzi region (Chieti province) of Italy.

Here is an introduction by Dr Judith Galvin, from the work “The Lettesi Story: A Community in Search of Place” pp. 5-7:

“The Lettesi in Newcastle are the extended family members of 145 households, where either one or both partners were born in Lettopalena, Italy. Most of this core group of first generation immigrants arrived in Australia over the seven-year period from 1950 to 1956 and after working in the cane fields, settled mainly in Hamilton, a working-class suburb, close to the heavy industries and port facilities of Newcastle.

The community evolved through a chain migration process that began with the arrival, in 1925, of Giacomo De Vitis. In 1927, Giacomo called his brother-in-law, Arcangelo Rossetti. In 1938 Arcangelo’s sons, Antonio and Giacomo, bought a cane farm in Proserpine where the brothers later purchased farms of their own. These farms became the focus for a major post-war exodus, sponsored mainly by Antonio, with assistance from Giacomo, and other Italian farmers.

• Read the full story at the University of Newcastle Cultural Collections blog

News of the presentation of the Carrington volumes to New South Wales has travelled to the Northern Hemisphere and the home county of the Carington family in Buckinghamshire.

Historic Buckinghamshire volumes presented to New South Wales

A fascinating Victorian archive of life in New South Wales (NSW), donated by the Carington Family of Buckinghamshire, has made its debut in Australia.

The current state Governor, Marie Bashir, was joined by other representatives of the NSW state government to unveil the gift.

Known as the Carrington Volumes, the 22 exquisite leather bound albums were presented to the third Lord Carrington upon his retirement from a five-year term as NSW Governor in 1890.

The captivating Victorian collection consists of 13 albums of hand-illuminated manuscripts, detailing expressions of gratitude and fond farewells from towns, cities and establishments visited by Lord and Lady Carrington.

Read more at Buckinghamshire County Council website

The story was also featured in the South Bucks Star

Serving Country: Centenary & Beyond

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held around the country each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The week is celebrated not just in Indigenous communities but also in government agencies, schools, local councils and community organisations.

To see what celebrations are taking place near you, check out the 2014 local NAIDOC events calendar or find some ideas on how to celebrate NAIDOC Week.

Here are a few archive/history themed links for NAIDOC week.

More Than Service: Black Diggers and The Great War

In commemoration of the centenary of the First World War the History Council, NSW and Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Research Centre, UTS, invite you to a symposium about the contribution of ‘Black Diggers’ to the war effort and how their service changed social and economic relations on the home front.

Records show that more than 800 Aboriginal men enlisted, eager to fight on behalf of their country: they served in this conflict on equal terms, successfully breaking down cultural barriers by forming friendships with those they fought side by side. The participation of Aboriginal Servicemen in the First World War held immediate implications for families and communities on the home front.

When: Thursday, 10 July 2014 from 10:00 am to 03:00 pm

Where: State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street , Sydney

Cost: General Free

Book Here

 Department of Veterans Affairs honours indigneous servicemen and women

As we approach the centenary of the First World War the Indigenous Champion Project is proudly honoring the service and sacrifice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Servicemen and women by sharing with you their wartime stories.

Read their stories

Finding Indigenous communities in the State archives

This site brings together all our resources that can help you identify, access and use State archives that relate to Indigenous people.

Learn more on the website

Now for a more urban based What’s the bigger picture?

Any clues as to where this photo might have been taken?