1870

Wonderful very old photo.

I don't know if this is relevant, but the Sydney Morning Herald for Thursday 24 November 1870 had an article about the need and responsibility for insurance of wool bales stored in these warehouses. trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/13208517

Later by Charles Kerry -

Spot the differences! -

trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/108197538 - the Evening News, 12th September, 1877...per this item, a new warehouse/store was built in the gap between the Talbot Stores and the building next right in 1877...

trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70592536 - the Australian Town & Country Journal, 24th June, 1876...this illustration shows the gap still there...

trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/70457651 - the Australian Town & Country Journal, 12th February, 1870..two of the Blackwall Stores were extensively damaged by fire in February 1870...but they appear to have been rebuilt within 6 months or so...

14 years later...I spent a few days trying to establish the construction dates of the stores seen here...there's a little bit more info available on-line now...but not much...

The Blackwall Stores were owned by entrepreneur and political figure Edward Flood (1805-1888)...all the other stores seen here appear to have been owned by George Talbot (1802-89) and his son Paul (?1826-87)...both Flood and the Talbots ran stevedoring and wool pressing operations...they weren't wool brokers (the guys who bought and sold wool)...their main business involved pressing wool into smaller bales so it took up less space and then loading it onto the wool clippers...at the time pressing wool ('dumping') was something of a specialist operation and only a relatively few establishments had the large hydraulic presses which were required...

Edward Flood's Blackwall Stores were built between ca. November 1863 and mid 1865...

The first part of Talbots' stores (north of the Moore's Stairs passageway) appears to have been built in the later 1850s (completed by ca. 1858)...the second part (south of the passageway) appears to have been built in ca. 1863. I'm less certain re the next building...but it appears to have been built for the Talbots in ca 1867-68. From 1872 thru to the later 1870s it was used as a bond store and known as the New Bond.

I've put links to my various sources here
www.flickr.com/photos/193158484@N02/53810270223/
www.flickr.com/photos/193158484@N02/53810660685/

Script title says September 1870 (see note). Educated guess - photographer is Charles Pickering, under the direction of James Barnet, who is probably one of those gents with a top hat.

More - www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/magazine/onthisday/30-aug... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Intercolonial_Exhibition

YES! Pickering and Barnet were involved. Via The National Archives UK

Thank you and well spotted @beachcomberaustralia!

A wonderful composition only one of the ladies is looking directly at the camera, quality work.

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/fadedbluejeans] Oh, don't get me started on the "If onlys"! If I could go back in time, I'd make everyone attach full details to every photo ever taken... ;) I can't make out whether it's a cat (probably not too likely) or something like a muff or furry item of apparel...

The two ladies in black probably governesses, if that is the plural.

I'd say it was a cat, and one who wouldn't sit still And I see a lot of familial likeness amongst some - maybe they were all cousins

Renira1 Maybe you're right about the cat! And they could well be cousins... Haven't given up on this one yet! Someone out there may well astound by coming forward with information on this one.