littleessexstreet

Several of these photos and similar ones in the Powerhouse Museum Collection have dates hand written on them near the title. This is 27 September 1901 (a Friday). Perhaps the (unnamed and uncredited) photographer was commissioned by the NSW Government to record the Rocks after the bubonic plague outbreak in 1900, when planning 'resumption' of the area. The prints are in the State Records NSW (and now on Flickr); some of the glass negatives found their way into the Tyrrell collection. Not an earth-shattering idea, but it might help explain the existence and dating of these photos.

Thanks, I missed that handwritten date on the curb - will update the caption. This series - NRS 4481 - comes from the Government Printing Office; the photos were taken by (unnamed) departmental officers c.1870-c.1920. We added some "plague" photos to Flickr at the end of last year. They were taken by Mr. John Degotardi, Jr., photographer from the Department of Public Works.

Thanks State Records NSW for the plague photos link - lifeasdaddy let me know about them a while ago when discussing this photo - www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2844602875/ . The Degotardi pictures are wonderfully graphic and interesting, but to my (untrained) eye, they have a different style, composition, lighting, and content to this series (and those in the Tyrrell collection).

Those numbers (146, 148) look like numbers on the houses to me, in the size we can see here, rather than written on the photo?

Hi Speedy_MSD, I checked the larger version and the numbers have been handwritten onto the photograph - most likely added to the image along with the text on the curb. Other images in our collection also have similar identifying text. Thanks

"Plague" album Vol. V, "277 Corner of Cumberland and Little Essex-street". Digital Order No. a147277 acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/album/albumView.aspx?acmsID=413021&... See Thumbnail p.3

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Pubs of Australia, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection As beachcomberaustralia noted, this is one of John Degotardi Jr.'s "Plague Album" photos, so it can be dated to 1900.

pellethepoet beachcomber australia Thanks for the reminder! AB

This photo was recently determined to be part of the Rocks Resumption photographic survey, the title and date of the image has been changed accordingly Here is a map of the Rocks Resumption area (last one in the sequence)

[Ahem, Ocean WAVE.] See interesting comments here: www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2376889196/

Yikes! Typo amended.

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Pubs of Australia, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

No shortages of pubs around The Rocks, was there!

samdefranc Indeed!