non-fictionThis booklet tells the story of Baranduda State School 2222 and was produced to celebrate its centenary. It also includes information about the history of the district and some of its pioneer families. Baranduda pastoral run was taken up in 1845 and it is thought that the name was derived from an Aboriginal expression relating to a swamp or a water rat. A few kilometres south-west there is the beginning of the Baranduda Range, of which the summit is Mount Baranduda. Baranduda was a rural hamlet with numerous German farm selectors, who came from South Australia. Beginning with the grazing of cattle and later dairying and sawmilling were added, serving markets in Wodonga and providing timber sleepers for railway construction. The primary school was opened in 1880.baranduda state school, education victoria, community history baranduda

Our Collection includes several photographs signed BONSEMA WODONGA or sometimes simply TBW. Thomas Peter John Bonsema was born in Wodonga in 1876 to Peter John Bonsema and Mary Ann nee Nash. His name first appears on the Electoral Roll for Wodonga in 1909 and on the Electoral Roll in 1912 he is listed as a photographer. His photographs capture many scenes and events around Wodonga and surrounding areas. Thomas Bonsema married Minna Louisa Jones in 1912. By 1914 he had moved to Chiltern, Victoria where he established Bonsema’s Photographic Studio. From this time onward many of his works bore the signature “BONSEMA CHILTERN”. As well as continuing to photograph landscapes and important buildings, Mr Bonsema was often the official photographer at school and community celebrations. He also sold many framed photographs and postcards from his premises at 68 -70 Conness Street, Chiltern. By 1943 Thomas John Bonsema had relocated to New South Wales and died in Beecroft, NSW on 14th July 1944. Some of his photographs are held in the Victorian State Library and Mitchell Library Sydney Collections.These images are significant because they are the work of a recognised photographer Thomas Bonsema who was born in Wodonga in 1876. A black and white image of a large group of people assembled for a community picnic at Baranduda, Victoria. BARANDUDA PICNIC TBWbonsema photography, thomas peter john bonsema, community history baranduda