Summary

This photograph depicts a woman posing side-saddle on a horse in front of a well-constructed timber dwelling with post-and-rail fences in background. This photograph was taken in North Queensland but the exact location is unknown. She wears a straw hat decorated with a large flower and secured to her head by a large, lightweight scarf tied under her chin. She wears a long-sleeved blouse of a dark material with light spots, a plain dark-coloured skirt with a belt, and gloves that appear to be of leather with a small gauntlet. The dwelling, set upon low stumps with ant caps, is of neat weatherboard with a corrugated-iron gable roof, awning window, and a corrugated-iron water tank to the rear. Adjacent, but only partly visible on right, is a well-roofed open verandah, set on low stumps with ant caps, with a short set of steps. Stored under the verandah are some sheets of iron and timber.

Though women riding side-saddle had been introduced in the fourteenth century in Europe, by 1905 Australian newspapers were reporting that women in England were "about to cut loose from the old silly Spanish delusion that a lady has not legs, and English maids and matrons intend to show ... that they are built on the same fashion, and possess two legs, even as a man does." New "ride-astride" garments were being advertised in England and it was anticipated that Australian women would not hesitate to adopt the style. By 1910 the Northern Miner, Charters Towers, claimed that the "divided skirt" had come to stay.

Early twentieth century houses in North Queensland mining towns frequently consisted of two rooms, often with balustraded verandahs front and back, and outbuildings such as kitchen, bathroom and toilet. Due to the high cost of transport and labour, the houses were commonly constructed by erecting a timber frame with belt-rails and braces, set upon timber stumps, with corrugated-iron gabled roofs, and cladding of corrugated-iron and perhaps timber. These simple constructions were often extended and added to over time.

The photographs in this collection were taken by the Reverend Frederic Charles Hall (1878-1926) during the period 1902-1909 when he was the Anglican Curate appointed to Georgetown in North Queensland. Hall's foremost hobby was photography. He used both a half-plate camera with tripod made by J. Lancaster & Son, Birmingham and a quarter-plate Austral No. 3 made by the Australian company, Baker & Rouse. Glass negatives from Ilford and Austral were used; developing was done by the photographer himself and printing by exposure to sunlight.