Trove Tuesday: Dr Robert Thomas Auld

Looking for a post for this weeks Trove Tuesday, I came across the death notice of Dr. Robert Thomas Auld that was printed in the Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser:

Source: Family Notices. (1883, December 11). Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser (Grafton, NSW : 1859 - 1889), p. 2. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62141447

Further searching revealed a short obituary that appeared in The Queenslander on 29 December 1883:

Source: Country News. (1883, December 29). The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), p. 1030.
Retrieved October 22, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19795445

Robert Thomas Auld married Mary Webb Clarke in May 1851:

Source: Family Notices. (1851, May 3). Bathurst Free Press (NSW : 1849 - 1851), p. 5.
Retrieved October 22, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62215138

The death for Mary Auld was recorded in The Sydney Morning Herald in April 1907:

Source: Family Notices. (1907, April 30). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 6.
Retrieved October 22, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14832824

John Walker and two unknown individuals by Robert Baxter [carte de visite]

Photo details:

Title John Walker and two unknown individuals by Robert Baxter Date 1880 Collection Georgina Auld nee Muir photo album Digital ID apc-000079 Photo Type Carte de visite Mount Size 63 x 106 mm Mount Thickness 0.620 mm Mount Colour Cream Mount Edges Straight Mount Corners Square Mount Border Single black line Image Size 57 x 98 mm Technology Albumen Features Front Imprint None Back Imprint Small sized, text and artwork

Front face Rear face

Front face:

John Walker and two unknown individuals by Robert Baxter (front face) [Auld Photograph Collection apc-000079-s1]

Larger version on Flickr

Originally I had marked the photograph as unknown, but by making comparisons with other photographs in the album, I believe the individual on the left to be John Walker. A previous blog post on John Walker by David Scott [Carte de visite] shows John Walker in 1876. Research by +Paul Cooper has revealed that Walker arrived in New South Wales during 1876.

This particular photograph appears to show a slightly older Walker. A close-up comparison follows and shows John Walker in 1876 (left side) compared to John Walker in this photograph (right side).

Close-up comparison of John Walker
[Note: click on image for larger view]

For dating purposes and based on the above comparison we could assume approximately five years plus or minus two years between photos.

Rear face:

John Walker and two unknown individuals by Robert Baxter (rear face) [Auld Photograph Collection apc-000079-s2]

Larger version on Flickr

Imprint on rear face is medium sized and includes both text and artwork. Inscription of the text reads as:

ROBERT BAXTER
Artist - Photographer
YOUNG.

Researching the photographer Robert Baxter has been elusive, but Sandy Barrie's fantastic book and resource titled Australians Behind the Camera - Directory of Early Australian Photographers, 1841 to 1945 has been invaluable.

It appears Robert Baxter was a travelling photographer who operated under his own name throughout the period 1870 to 1903. He is recorded in the following regional towns of southern New South Wales - Campbelltown, Yass, Coma, Queanbeyan, Young, Merimbula and Wollongong. In regards to operating from Young, where this particular photograph was taken, there are two time periods listed in Sandy Barrie's publication - December 1873 to January 1875 as well as during the year 1880.

Taking the dates that Robert Baxter was in Young and overlaying the information when John Walker arrived in Australia, we can date the photograph to the year 1880.

Additional references

• Barrie, Sandy (2002). Australians Behind the Camera - Directory of Early Australian Photographers, 1841 to 1945. S. Barrie. Sydney South.

Trove Tuesday: Exploding lemonade

An unfortunate incident occurred to Reverend John Auld whilst attending the Presbyterian General Assembly during 1896.

Source: NEGLECTED AILMENTS. (1896, March 11). Northern Star (Lismore, NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 3.
Retrieved October 8, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72568429

On wonders if the lemonade was a home brew...

Trove Tuesday: For sale

Have you ever wondered what your relatives sold?

For sale

A search by the Advertising category within the Victorian newspaper Alexandra and Yea Standard and Yarck, Gobur, Thornton and Acheron Express on Trove, reveals some interesting items that were offered for sale in 1945.

Source: Advertising. (1945, June 15). Alexandra and Yea Standard and Yarck, Gobur, Thornton and Acheron Express (Vic. : 1908 - 1949), p. 3. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64708015

What was the background for this sale?

The above items were offered for sale in June 1945. My great grandparents, William Wallace Auld and Rose Helena nee Miller, moved to Merton Victoria, circa 1936. This was a particularly hard time for the family as their daughter in law, Sylvia Auld nee Masterton, had passed away on 17 December 1935 as a result of a dreadful accident that occurred at the family home in Forbes, New South Wales. The accident in July 1935 was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald and reads as follows:

YOUNG WOMAN BURNT.
FORBES. Tuesday.
Quickly enveloped in flames when her dress caught alight at her farm home, Mrs John Auld, a young woman, of Grawlin Plains, near Forbes, ran towards her husband, who was working in stockyards near the house. She fainted before reaching him. After treatment by her husband, she was rushed to hospital.
Mrs. Auld was standing with her back to an open fire in a grate when she smelt burning cloth. She looked round and saw the flames spreading round her. It was some minutes before her husband heard her screams and came to her assistance. She was badly burned about the arms, legs, and shoulders, but her condition is not serious. 

Source: YOUNG WOMAN BURNT. (1935, July 10). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17203433

With a grief stricken son and three young children to look after, the family moved back to Rose Helena's hometown of Merton in Victoria. In November 1943, William Wallace Auld passed away after an illness of
Emphysema, Chronic Bronchitis and Cardiac Asthma, no doubt all relating to his years working as a baker.

It was after these events, with Australian in general just coming out of it's slow recovery from the Great Depression of the 1930s, that the family was looking for that extra little bit of cash and offered the items for sale.