Summary

This photograph depicts a train making an out-of-station stop for a bush picnic near Blackbull Station on the Normanton-Croydon railway. It appears that the photograph takes place after the picnic and everyone is packing up and getting back on the train. Construction finished on the 151 km Normanton-Croydon railway in 1891 with services running four days a week until 1894 and then three days a week thereafter. This rail line has never been connected to any of the main rail lines in Queensland, though between 1906 and 1941, an added side rail ran to Golden Gate for mining transport. Blackbull Station is roughly 88 km from Croydon and 63 km from Normanton. As the train wasn't connected to the rest of the rail lines in Queensland, this train was able to stop outside of stations for these types of events.

Due to the isolation experienced by most of the residents in the Normanton and Croydon areas, bush picnics, organized by social clubs and church groups, were a popular outing. These picnics were often for both men and women, as this one appears to be, but sometimes a women's church group would organize a ladies tea out in the bush. While the events themselves were somewhat informal and social, everyone would wear their "Sunday best". The women all appear to be dressed in wide brimmed straw hats and either long skirts with lace or ruffled blouses or dresses with ribbon accents. The little girls appear to be wearing straw hats accented with ribbons and pinafores over their dresses. While social etiquette required arms, shoulders and legs to be covered, especially for women, the fabrics used would have been lightweight and durable, such as cotton and thin wool, in deference to the climate. The men appear to be wearing suits and hats. This group may be from St. Margaret's Church in Croydon.

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.