NRS-14086 | Lantern slides of NSW and the Franco-British Exhibition

Full description

These slides include typical country scenes and suburban homes in New South Wales. Some of the images show the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition of Science, Arts, and Industries held at Shepherd’s Bush in London. These slides include some of the New South Wales exhibits and a number of main buildings in which the Exhibition was held.

The slides of New South Wales scenes include views of sawmills, dams and irrigation areas, forests and scenes of dairy farming, and activities associated with the timber industry such as timber felling and hauling. The slides also include diagrams and graphs showing the value of production in various industries, population rates in New South Wales, and the amount of money deposited in the state's Savings Banks.

All slides are 0.8 x 0.8 centimetres in size and two are coloured. Many of the slides have clouding of the emulsion, although the image is intact. All slides are alpha-numerically numbered from a previous numbering system probably by the agencies responsible for the records’ creation - the Intelligence Department, and the Immigration and Tourist Bureau. Many slides are labelled with additional numbers, however the purpose of this secondary numbering is unknown. The slides were housed in four wooden boxes. Each box has grooves for 36 slides. Two are labelled "Intelligence Department Sydney" (labelled D1-36 and E1-36; containing original numbers E7-E191, M61-64, N228A-N275 and B118, C88-C124, D74-D108) ; and two are labelled "Immigration and Tourist Bureau Sydney" (one labelled C109-144: containing original numbers C109-143, M134, N292-N317 and another labelled N1-36: containing original numbers N1-N36). Except for the last-mentioned box, the numbers on the slides have very little relation to the numbers on the labels. In fact, for the first mentioned box, they have no relation at all. However, the box with original numbers from N1 to N36 contains almost all its original slides, which are of the Franco-British Exhibition. These are views of the main buildings and of some New South Wales. exhibits. The views in the other three boxes are of New South Wales, mainly outstanding suburban homes and typical country scenes. The original glass negatives from which the lantern slides were copied are part of the Government Printing Office Glass negative series NRS4481.

The Franco-British exhibition was opened on 11 May 1908 by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, although it was another month before many of the pavilions were completed for public attendance. (1) The Exhibition opened to the public on 11 June and His Majesty the King and the French President visited the Australian Court on the same day. Each Australian state had a section within the Australian court.

The aim of the Exhibition was "to strengthen the cordial understanding between the French and British peoples". (2) Countries participating in the Exhibition included the British Isles, France, and colonies of each of the two countries. One of the main aims for NSW in attending the Exhibition was to increase the State’s profile overseas so as to attract new migrants and entrepreneurs "who might use their material resources in exploiting the almost untouched fields of Australian industry." (3)

The first consignment of exhibits arrived in Britain by ship on 10 February 1908 and subsequent shipments continued until late June (after the Exhibition had opened). (4). Australia’s exhibits numbered 171 and were representative of the country’s primary industries and manufacturers. There were exhibits for the following industries: minerals, pastoral, agricultural, wine, and timber. Examples of goods manufactured in NSW included glass, pianos, leather goods, woollen products, and agricultural machinery. Exhibits were divided into twenty groups and over 100 classes for judging. (5)

The main Exhibition buildings were extensive and highly decorative. Most contained towers, minarets, or domes and the buildings’ white facades led one journalist to call the Exhibition "The White City", a name by which "it was afterwards almost universally known." (6) A prominent feature of Australia’s pavilion was a sixty feet dome with "Australia" emblazoned upon it. At night the dome held huge electrically-lit signs aloft, "which announced to the immense crowds of sightseers that Australia was to be found below." (7) Australia’s building faced Colonial Avenue along with those of Canada, New Zealand, Crown Colonies, India, Algeria, Tunis, and Senegal.

Buildings included the Palace of Music, the Palace of Arts (divided into two sections - British and French), the Palace of French Applied Arts (and a British equivalent), and the Machinery Halls. There was a Decorative Arts Palace, the Palace of Women’s Work, many restaurants, cafes, bandstands, and post-card stalls.

Attendance was estimated between 20,000,000 and 40,000,000 during the six months the Exhibition was open. (8)

FOOTNOTES
1. Final Report of the Executive Commissioner for New South Wales at the Franco-British Exhibition, Parliamentary Papers, 1909, vol. V, p.12. According to the Franco-British Exhibition Illustrated Review 1908, the Exhibition was opened on 14 May 1908.
2. ibid., p.13.
3. ibid., p.17.
4. Report of Messrs Coglan, Barling, and Davis, Commissioners in London for the State of New South Wales, Parliamentary Papers, 1909, vol. V, p.19.
5. Final Report of the Executive Commissioner for New South Wales at the Franco-British Exhibition, Parliamentary Papers, 1909, vol. V, p.17.
6. ibid., p.13.
7. ibid., p.12.
8. ibid., p.13; p.17.
Please note the Final Report of the Executive Commissioner for New South Wales at the Franco-British Exhibition and the Report of Messrs Coglan, Barling, and Davis, Commissioners in London for the State of New South Wales in the Parliamentary Papers, 1909, have been numbered together.

No full list of the photographs displayed in the Franco-British exhibition is included in the Commissioner's report.

It appears that the images may have been used and later added to for tourism and promotional purposes.