Summary

This photograph depicts a group of seven well-dressed people posing under the extended roof a long, corrugated-iron and weatherboard building. The group consists of a woman with four girls and two boys. The woman wears a long-sleeved print blouse with ruffled neck, long skirt and belt. The oldest girl wears a long-sleeved blouse of the same material, though a different style, and a dark-coloured skirt tied with a soft belt. Standing in front of her, the youngest girl, looking a little surly with arms folded across her chest, wears a light-coloured long-sleeved smock with dark stockings and low boots. The other two girls, one of whom is sitting on a canvas fold-up chair, both wear sailor-style dresses, dark stockings, and low boots. The older boy, standing behind the chair, is wearing a dark jacket over a light-coloured shirt. The younger boy wears a light-coloured shirt and shorts, both of which are soiled. The building they stand near appears to be very long, with five windows and four doors visible, and is constructed at ground level. The roofed area they stand under, probably a verandah, is of bare earth. A ladder can be seen leading up to this roof. Under the verandah are two more canvas chairs and a bicycle. The weatherboard wall on left bears some graffiti, with "M... Year... A.B" able to be discerned. This photograph was taken in North Queensland but the exact location is unknown.

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.