Old prints from a tin owned by my late grandparents, spanning a period from the early 1900s to the early 1980s. Many of the oldest ones feature early life in Cunnamulla in far western Queensland where my grandad was the local baker for many years but before that worked as a ringer and roustabout with his brother, who owned a truck.
Trucks were the first motorised vehicles to reach the area and were a big deal back then.
Life was tough with floods and droughts and barely a tree in sight but they had a great community spirit by the looks.
My fave shots are my Nan and her friend in the awesome Spiderwoman costumes from the early-mid 1920s (she was born in 1909), some 40 years before the comic appeared. Talk about ahead of their time!
And the family all dolled up in their Sunday bests, standing in a wheat field. From the hats it must have been the 1920s or 30s.
Pioneer aviator Charles Kingsford-Smith features but I must confess I don't know a lot of the people in these pics so if you recognise anyone please hit me in the comments.
My dear departed mum Patti and my Uncle Kev, still going strong in his 80s, are in there. Amazing to think he started out in the horse and cart era but these days loves playing on his iPad. How the world has changed in his time.
St Brigid's primary school at Rosalie also appears. My Nan had a brief stint there as a teacher in the 1930s before she was called back home when her mum fell ill. Some of you may recognise that building, which is still there today, unlike most of Brisbane.