Do you have old postcards from trips away, pre-digital cameras and mobile phones, when family and friends would send one while away? Don’t throw them away as apart from the details on the back, the actual photo could show you what a place was like, years ago. I’ve a collection of early 1900’s postcards, like the one above and have done some research on what happened.
Old postcards can give you a glimpse as to what a place was like when ancestors lived there.
Vessels in Distress, Ulladulla, 1912.
This photo made me curious as to when this had happened. Using Trove, I searched for ‘vessels in distress, Ulladulla’ and was (pardon the pun), swamped with results. Narrow the search was a good idea and I found several articles about what I think are these two vessels.
If my research is correct they are, closest to shore the Seagull and further out the Bellbownie/Behborrie Bellbownie/Behborrie was a steamer and the Seagull was a small tender.
This small article describes what happened.
Hobart Daily Post (1908-1918), Friday 26 July 1912, p5.
I then turned my attention to who had taken the photo. On the back was, ‘Issued by H.C. Blackburn, Storekeeper, Milton.’
I found that Henry C Blackburn died Friday 27 July 1923 at the home of his daughter Mrs D Briggs. He was 79 years old and had been a storekeeper at Milton for 55 years. He also had three sons, Harry, Ernest and Eric, all living at Milton. (Daily Telegraph, Monday 30 July 1923.)
I don’t know if he did take the photo but a search of Trove did turnup others that he had taken.
It certainly reads like a severe storm hit Ulladulla that day!
