ladysmith

Herald Office, Sydney

from Powerhouse Museum

• 15 older comments, and then…
• beachcomber australia said:

  There is a wealth of information here with all those signs about the Boer War. I think it is October 1899 (at 11:55am according to the clock). It should be relatively easy to date exactly from old Herald (or Mail) headlines. The troops arrived in South Africa on 2 November 1899, presumably leaving Australia a few weeks before. War was declared on 12 October.

• beachcomber australia said:

  Wait up! One of the smaller posters (HERALD) mentions the siege of Ladysmith (started on 2/11/1899), something about Newcastle, and the Melbourne Cup - first Tuesday in November. I can't believe I bothered to look it up, but in 1899 the first Tuesday in November was the 7th. Which dates this picture as 8 (or maybe 9 or 10) November 1899, at 11.55am. Q.E.D. ! Or not?

• BobMeade said:

  Not yet. I think that any reference to the Melbourne Cup could also be in the lead up to the race. We may need to see a higher resolution pic of the segment of the photograph that shows the Sydney Morning Herald poster to determine if the day can be narrowed down some more. A viewing of the Sydney Morning Heralds for the period 2 Nov 1899 to 10 Nov 1899 may be reequired to confirm a date in that period for this photograph based uponthe poster information. Regardless, beachcomberaustralia you are doing a great job with your eagle eye.

• beachcomber australia said:

  @ Powerhouse Museum Collection - can you help with image enhancement for that Herald poster, and/or access to 1899 copies of the SMH please? I tried online but I don't think they go back far enough and Fairfax want $$!

• BobMeade said:

  Sydney Morning Herald newspapers for 1899 are available for viewing on microfilm at the State Library of New South Wales, amongst other places. I've checked the SMH for the period from Thursday November 2, 1899 to Saturday November 11, 1899. During this period, coverage of "The Transvaal War" as it was described usually began on pages ranging from page 3 to page 9. Amongst none of the sub-headlines on those days are the words "Siege of Ladysmith" used, however there are several sub-headlines during those days referring to Ladysmith. The Melbourne Cup was held on Tuesday November 7, 1899 and in the Sydney Morning Herald of the next day Wednesday November 8, 1899 on page 7 there is the headline "THE TRANSVAAL WAR" and below it the sub-headline "FIGHTING NEAR LADYSMITH" On page 10 of that same issue there is the headline 'VICTORIAN RACING CLUB SPRING MEETING - SECOND (MELBOURNE CUP) DAY - MERRIWEE WINS THE CUP" It then gives the dateline "Melbourne TUESDAY" The only other reference to the Melbourn Cup I read during the relevant period was an advertisement by the Sydney Morning Herald advising readers visiting Melbourne for Melbourne Cup that they could have the Sydney Morning Herald posted to them at any address in Victoria for 9d. The cover price of the Herald at the time was one penny. Beachcomberaustralia - you may well have been correct that this photograph was taken on Wednesday 8 November, 1899.