This book is a "snapshot" in time (1950s) detailing life in Australia covering a time when a "man's word and handshake" were his moral and quasi legal bond, and the now relative defunct saying "smoko" (having a "time out" from work for a cigarette and tea or coffee). The book spans an era where the male was still the "head" of the family even though for a majority of families the women took on the many "male only" roles during the World War II period. This shift in the leadership of the family hierarchy is mentioned, so ever slightly, (not to offend the still predominant macho male image) in both rural and city environments. The effects of the war, and later the push for women's emancipation and equality in both family, social, workplace and political areas of life, since this book was published, is now finally resolved. However there are still some sections of the recent migrate population where this male dominance is causing a few problems.The significance of this book is not only because it was donated by Mrs C. Roper ( from the Roper Family, a pioneer Kiewa Valley and surrounding Region family - originally beef cattle graziers) but also a Kiewa Valley resident and family, experiencing the shift in the social and economical life of post World War II rural Australia. The strong heritage link to this region of many families still residing within its boundaries, is a clear affirmation of the bond that the Kiewa Valley and its Regions have upon family unity. This unity within the rural environment is something that is attracting more and more families from sometimes alienating city life.This printed coloured sketched, or painted paper sleeve of the book is freely wrapped over a dark red hard cover. Into the front of the cover is pressed a standing pose of a farmer with long sleeves rolled up over his elbows. Behind him and to the right are what appears to be three sacks of wheat and next to him is a merino sheep. To the left and down are two dogs one with a fox in its jaws. The book contains 240 pages, 300 illustrations in gravure and 25 pictures in full colour. The inside fly leaf is a colour photograph of a rural scene with dirt road running in the centre and to the left a farm house and a five bay open storage barnOn the tittle page is a signature "C Roper"country life, australian "outback", rural industries, life on the land, swag-man of the bush

Henry Beater Christian (1886-1962) , was a descendant of one of the earliest settler families in Kew. Employed at the Kew Asylum as a 'public servant', he was a skilled amateur photographer, photographing numerous scenes in Kew and on his travels around Victoria. The majority of his photographs date from 1916 to 1929. His finest photographs are housed in two photograph albums. Digital copy of a photograph from page 15 of the 47-page photograph album containing 261 gelatinous silver images, loaned by Diane Washfold with permission given to digitise and hold a copy in our collection. The first and last pages in the album document the Yarra River at Studley Park and at Kew. The remainder of the album includes photographs of walking and car tours in rural Victoria including 'wilderness' areas in the Grampians, Gippsland and the High Country. Six album pages document a camping trip by Henry Christian to the Grampians in September 1924. The photos include pictures of lookouts, and natural features including rock faces and waterfalls, as well as his camp site. This is a photo of a man in the distance on a bush track who is looking over his shoulder at the camera. He carries a sack and has a swag on his back. This may be Henry Christian or a companion."Grampians"henry beater christian (1886-1962), landscape photography, christian-washfold collection, photograph albums, grampians, gariwerd