Postcards from New South Wales, Part 1

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Some pics and commentary sent to me this week by Leo. Thanks amigo.

Some additional comments and images by me at the end of items.

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Postcards from New South Wales

The Great Railway Zig Zag was the subject of numerous old postcard views – two of them are presented here.

Additional comments:

The Zig Zag railway at Lithgow was so named in that it moved up the steep slopes of the Blue Mountains by a series of zig zags:

It operated between 1869 and 1910. Parts of it remained operable for historical preservation and tourism between 1975 and 2012, when accreditation issues forced suspension. The railway was aiming to resume services in October 2013, but was then severely damaged during the 2013 NSW bushfires and then subsequently by torrential rain. Repairs continue with a view to recommencing in 2017.

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A nice early view at Bombala.

Additional comments:

Bombala is located 485 kilometres (301 mi) south of Sydney and 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Cooma. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "Meeting of the waters".

Some additional Bombala images:

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Something a bit different from mainstream railway scenes!

Additional comments:

The reason the handwriting on the photographs looks a bit clumsy is that the old photographs were taken using glass plates. The writing is on the back of those plates and therefore was done as mirror writing. 

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The majority of old postcards are undated – an intentional omission by publishers to maintain 'currency' for as long as possible!

Another example of an undated view at Katoomba railway station.

Additional comments:

Another view of part of Katoomba Railway Station showing the Carrington Hotel in the background. C1890. Note the turn-around (or whatever it’s called) for locomotives in the foreground.

The station opened in 1874 as Crushers and was renamed Katoomba in 1877.

From Wikipedia:

Kedumba or Katta-toon-bah is an Aboriginal term for "shining falling water" or "water tumbling over hill" and takes its name from a waterfall that drops into the Jamison Valley below the Harrys Amphitheatre escarpment. Previously, the site was known as William's Chimney and Collett's Swamp. In 1874 the locality was named The Crushers after the name of the railway station that served a nearby quarry. The name Katoomba was adopted in 1877 and the town achieved municipality status in 1889.

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No additional caption needed!

(Additional caption below).

Additional comments:

I used this station twice a day during my Law School days. The days of my youth . . . as George Bernard Shaw said, Youth – what a pity to waste it on the young.

The station opened in 1926 and, as far as I know, still looks as it does above.

That's not me in the pic above.

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A scene from the days of steam suburban trains in and around Sydney.

Additional comments:

The card says that it is a depiction of Lavender Bay.

From Wikipedia:

Lavender Bay was named after the Boatswain (bosun), George Lavender, from the prison hulk "Phoenix", which was moored there for many years. The bay was originally called Hulk Bay and sometimes Phoenix Bay. On 30 May 1915 Lavender Bay railway station was opened to take the place of Milsons Point railway station. This only lasted for seven weeks, as passengers refused to alight here and demanded that trains stop at Milsons Point.

Some notable Lavender Bay residents:

• Sir Donald Bradman lived in the harbourfront Bay View Street, and was one of the first few Australians to get a private telephone number while living in Bay View Street.

• Artist Norman Lindsay lived at 'Heidelberg' at 9 Bay View Street.

• Artist Brett Whiteley lived in a house overlooking the Bay. His wife Wendy Whiteley still resides in the house.

Some modern Lavender Bay scenes:

Lavender Bay wharf

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Just for a change – a steam tram rounds the curve into Argent Street, Broken Hill.

Additional comments:

Interesting to note that there is not a car, horse, carriage or person in sight.

Broken Hill, an isolated mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, has been referred to as "The Silver City", the "Oasis of the West", and the "Capital of the Outback". In 1844 the explorer referred to a “broken hill” in his diary, the name by which the area came to be known. Silver ore was discovered on this broken hill in 1883 by a boundary rider named Charles Rasp. The "broken hill" that gave its name to Broken Hill comprised a number of hills that appeared to have a break in them. The broken hill no longer exists, having been mined away.

Broken Hill helped shaped modern Australian society thanks to early workers fighting for their rights and safety. Broken Hill even created the eight-hour working day

Modern day Broken Hill

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An old colour-tinted view at Tamworth. The dress fashions may offer a clue as to the date of this scene.

Additional comments:

Unlike the previous photograph, this does feature people and even has a horse . . . on the footpath (read “sidewalk” for American readers).

Another item of interest: note the framework behind the people. That also appears in the previous postcard pic, bottom left, and appears to have been used to hold advertising on canvas. . . the forerunners of billboards.

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More in future Bytes.