A Glimpse into Farming in New South Wales

Alhassan Shaibu is a PhD candidate in the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute. His thesis focuses on the interpretation and application of Islamic legal texts: and the contributions of the Hanbali jurist Ibn Qudāmah (d.620/1223).

The Commercial Travellers Association (CTA) aimed to support the wellbeing of salesmen travelling across Australia, but alongside their business trips, the organisation kept accounts of rural and regional developments along their trading routes. This article discusses the state of agriculture in New South Wales (NSW) during the 1930s based on the collection of photograph commissioned by the Commercial Travellers Association of Australia that operated for about 134 years (1880-2014) (University of Melbourne Archives).

Continue reading “A Glimpse into Farming in New South Wales” →

‘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.

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?

Continue reading “‘Tourist Gaze’ and Society” →

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.

Continue reading “An Inhabited Space: Helmut Newton’s Lovers” →

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.

Continue reading “The Spirit of Sacrifice: The First War Memorial in Australia” →