Australia's History in Glass

Fairfax Media has donated a collection of about 13,000 photographic glass plate negatives to the National Library of Australia. The photographs, taken by Fairfax photographers between 1908 and the mid-1930s, will be restored and put into digital form in a partnership between Fairfax Media, the National Library and the government's National Cultrual Heritage Foundation, which contributed $425,000. This is Australia's rarest collection of photojournalism and provides an insight into times long past including images of depression-era dole queues, the first Anzac Day march, life on Sydney's streets, as well as the intricate art of glass plate photography. The collection is particularly significant for Australians' understanding of the early 20th Century, as it provides a complete archive of photojournalism during the era. Cataloguing the collection will offer a better opportunity to access and appreciate the collection, which will be available from mid 2013.
Photograph: Spit Bridge c. 1935.