Historical objects – State Library and Tasmanian Archives Blog

Recently Digitised Material 2023

Read more to explore some of the newly digitised highlights from the Tasmanian Archives and State Library Heritage collections. To discover even more, you can also search our catalogue and Tasmanian Names Index or visit us on Flickr, YouTube and Instagram.

In this blog:

From my camera: Masterton photo album Launceston, 1908
Austin’s Ferry by George Boyes, c1830-40
Glass Plate Negatives and Lantern Slides of Bridport and north east Tasmania c1900 (Ref: NS787)
Photographs taken by T R G Williams of Scottsdale and north east Tasmania c1900 (Ref: NS786)
The Mount Bischoff Mail 1881
Photographs of ‘Tornado’ at Queenstown, 1918 (Ref: NS7240/1/1-11)
Rough sketches in V D Land by J W Mansfield, 1844
Aerial view of Sandy Bay and University of Tasmania 1962 (Ref: PH40/1/1093)
Lantern Slides of Neilson Alonso’s voyages to the Antarctic in 1927 and 1930 (Ref: CRO75/1/1-69)
Photographic albums of Beattie Jordan’s dance school (c1920-40). (Ref: NS648)
Album of Photographs of Tasmania compiled by RC Coulter, 1860-1920
Map including DEntrecasteaux Channel and Derwent River 1897. (Ref: MAP1/1/101)
Locket including hand-coloured photographs of W and L Arnold (Ref: NS7404/1/1)
Album of Tasmania (Ref: PH20/1/66)
Images of blankets and woollen cloth manufacture in Launceston, 1950-60. (Ref: ED330)
Lithograph of the trial of Jones of Pont-y-pool
Scrapbook of Henrietta Maria Garrett.
Plans, Architectural Drawings, Elevations and Sections of Public Buildings (PWD266)
Hobart from Knocklofty (aka Hobart seen from the west) / Melvin Vaniman (Ref: NS7407/1/1)
Photographs from the Launceston Manuscript Collection (Ref: LMSS726)
Photographs Taken by Ebenezer Cumings (1900-1904) (Ref: LMSS725)
Launceston Collection of Photographs of Ships (Ref: LMSS761)
Diary of Alexander Laing 1868] (Ref: NS906/1/1-3)
Laura’s Brookville diaries (1819-1894).
Prisoners Barracks, Hobart – Registers of Rations issued to Prisoners (1841-51) (Ref: CON96)
Letterbooks of Correspondence addressed to the Commandant, Launceston (1826-41) – (Ref: CSO36)
Report on Parochial Schools within Archdeaconry of Hobart Town by Arthur Davenport, 1849 (Ref: MM83/1/1)
Logs and other journals of ships on whaling and trading voyages (Ref: CRO82)
Oversize Chart of Convict Department Task Work of Female Convicts, 1852 (Ref: GO33/1/100)
Plan of cemetery, St James Colebrook, 1850 (Ref: NS6504/1/1)
Master Set of Burial Plot Maps, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, 1915-16 (Ref: AF86/1/1-2)

Conservation of a tastevin

The Conservation team was recently tasked with the treatment of a silver cup that belonged to a prominent Tasmanian, with links to a historic French fraternity. Read on to find out more about this unusual item and how it has been conserved.

91 Stories: Cabinet of Curiosities

Natural history collections are not only useful to scientists. They also reflect the life of the collector, his or her family, their connections, and the worlds they inhabited – even the state of their digestion! Ruth Mollison’s story about Morton Allport’s shell collection is a piece of detective work, a personal history, and an insightful (and sometimes unnerving) exploration of how one Tasmanian family intertwined art, science, reputation and obsession.

The Art of Mapping Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington

Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington is an integral part of the Hobart landscape. For the Muwinina people it is a place of cultural and spiritual significance, and a place of creation. Since the European settlement of Lutruwita/ Tasmania, the mountain has commonly appeared in visual and written descriptions of Hobart, providing a sweeping backdrop that frames the small town nestled along the river below. However, Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington is more than simply an iconic background; it has long been a source of resources for the town itself, including ice, timber and mining, amongst other things. Moreover, the mountain has long been regarded as a place of recreation and leisure, with picnics at the Springs and walks to its many waterfalls amongst its most popular activities. In 1935, Jack Thwaites (1902-1986) – a renowned Tasmanian photographer and conservationist- provided a wonderful description of Kunanyi/ Mount Wellington watching over Hobart, and alludes to the many ways in which the mountain draws people in…

Back to the office with a Victorian letter copying press

Earlier this year the State Library became the grateful recipient of a donated copying press. Initially described to us as a book press, our research uncovered its true magnificence as an invention with origins harking back to the Industrial Revolution.