Erroneous Ambitions: A geo-temporal analysis of the colonial project

Timothy Williams is enrolled in the Creative Writing PhD program in the School of Culture and Communication at The University of Melbourne. His research is on video games and adaptive storytelling.

Not that the map itself is an explanation, of course: but at least, it offers a model of the narrative universe which rearranges its components in a non-trivial way, and may bring some hidden patterns to the surface. (Moretti 53–54)

My approach to the Commercial Traveller’s Association (CTA) digitised image collection at The University of Melbourne Archives was to search for the narrative of the collection. With inspiration from Franco Moretti I opted not for the instinctual close-reading but for the distant reading and a search for narrative through geography and time.

The CTA collection spans a period of forty-two years (1919-1961), with many photographs intended as tourism brochures for travelling sales-people. I waded into the greyscale depths and selected two years separated by twenty-five years of national progress: 1921 and 1946. A geo-temporal analysis of these two years shows how Australia’s international image underwent a shift from natural majesty towards industrial hub in documenting the nation with pictures.

This link provides access to a custom map I created to document this geo-temporal analysis.

Gordon River on the west coast of Tasmania. Commercial Travellers Association, 1979.0162.03141
One of the many forested waterways featured in 1921. This is the Gordon River on the west coast of Tasmania. Commercial Travellers Association, 1979.0162.03141

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‘Tourist Gaze’ and Society

Kiyomi Misaki is a PhD student in Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, researching Japanese society and culture through fieldwork and Action Research.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, 1932
Figure 1: Two masterpieces of British Engineering – RMS “Strathnaver” and Sydney Harbour Bridge., 17 August 1932. Commercial Travellers’ Association, 1979.0162.02909

The collection of the Commercial Travellers’ Association (CTA) provides various images correspondent with historical events such as the Great Depression, the World War and the period after the war. Across the whole collection, beautiful scenery and leisure activities drew my attention and as an international student, an idea came into my mind: what do these images tell about society in Australia?

Competition of life savers, carnival Bondi Beach, 1933
Figure 2: Competition of life savers, carnival Bondi Beach, Sydney, NSW, 13 September 1933. Commercial Travellers’ Association, 1979.0162.02444

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An Inhabited Space: Helmut Newton’s Lovers

Richard Sowada is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne’s School of Culture and Communication. His thesis examines the relationship communities have with the screen industry through architecture, technology and places of reception and they way in which they can influence sector development.

The images described in this post are still in copyright and cannot be published. Researchers may access the originals in the Baillieu Library Reading Room. 

Many elements in the photographic collection of the Commercial Traveller’s Association share an eeriness. In their composition, there’s a sense of a crime scene without a crime. We see scenic locations without tourists. Restaurants without diners. Bars without drinkers. Kiosks without customers. Offices without clerks. Schools without pupils. Cities without people.

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The Spirit of Sacrifice: The First War Memorial in Australia

Yang Wang is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute. Her thesis analyses the political discourse of shengtai wenming (Ecological Civilisation) in China. 

For South Australians, honouring and remembering the servicemen and women who made great sacrifices for the country during wartime, especially the First World War, is an indispensable part of their cities and towns. The National War Memorial located in Adelaide is such a mark of honour to the nearly 35,000 South Australians who served in the First World War and 30,000 who served overseas, with more than 5000 lost lives (King, 2013, p.170). Proposed in March 1919 by then Premier Archibald Peake, with the unanimous support of parliament, the government of South Australia determined to build the first memorial to the First World War in Australia. Designed to commemorate not only South Australian soldiers but all Australian servicemen and women, the memorial was named the National War Memorial, and after a decade’s efforts, was finally unveiled on ANZAC Day 25 April 1931, with an estimated 75,000 people, including 5,000 veterans attending the ceremony. Thereafter, the National War Memorial has been one of the most significant cultural, historical and tourist sites in South Australia.

National War Memorial
National War Memorial and King Edward’s Statue, North Terrace, Adelaide, 1936. Commercial Travellers Association, 1979.0162.02835

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‘Oh What a Horrid Tale to Sound’: The grisly world of broadside ballads

New acquisitions to the Baillieu Library Print Collection.

From podcasts, to YouTube channels, to Netflix documentaries, and feature films, the modern world loves to enjoy a tale of true crime. Combining the adrenaline rush of being spooked during a horror movie with telling reflections on the darkest side of human nature, it can be captivating to peek into tales of violence and woe. However, this fascination is far from exclusive to our contemporary society. In early modern Europe, particularly Britain, and later America, for a very small cost one could purchase a broadside ballad. Produced en-masse on extremely cheap paper, these single sheet missives were most often printed in two columns under a woodcut pictorial heading. They related recent and topical events in verse form, providing an affordable and entertaining resource to learn of current affairs [1.].

Broadside ballads were one form of what is known as ‘street literature’ and, as is still the case today, the more salacious the story the better it sold. Best-sellers often told of crimes and executions, and some editions are said to have sold over one and half million copies [2.]. Ballads such as these, telling of the heinous crime in question and how the accused met their end, were sometimes known as ‘good-nights’, in reference to all those involved who went into their eternal sleep. Certain popular tunes would be attached to the printed lyrics, the ‘hanging tune’ known as Fortune My Foe was often used for good-nights [3.].

Printed by John Marshall and Samuel Hazard, The execution of Wild Robert: Being a warning to all parents, 1795, wood engraving and letterpress.
Printed by John Marshall and Samuel Hazard, The execution of Wild Robert: Being a warning to all parents, 1795, wood engraving and letterpress.

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