Historical information
Situated near Sweeney's Lane, the house in the picture was owned by the man who was Commissioner that looked after the Aboriginees - Ivy Reynolds. Labelled by Ivy Reynolds' mother who had a good sense of humour.
Significance
The Reynolds family were early settlers in Research.
The Reynolds/ Prior collection of photographs were taken by Tom Prior, the maternal uncle of Ivy Reynolds, around 1900 and the 60 photos in the album give a fine overview of many of the landmarks of Research and Eltham over 100 years ago.
lvy lived in the family home for many years at 106 Thompson Cres Research. Ivy's father, Ernst Richard Reynolds and grandfather, Richard Reynolds, lived at the same address. Ivy's father Richard worked for Mr. Trail on his property in Research. Reynolds Road is named after the family.
Mr Tom Prior (wife Eva) worked at the Melbourne zoo. He was very innovative and made his own camera, using the black cloth hood to exclude the light.
The photographs are a reminder of the rural nature of Research and Eltham and its rich heritage.
Physical description
Black and white photograph mounted in an album, the Reynolds/Prior Photograph Collection, this being one of 53 reproduced black and white images of early Eltham.
Inscriptions & markings
The Reynolds/Prior Photograph Collection, Presented to the Eltham District Historical Society, 14 June 2006 by Ross McDonald. A second copy was also presented to the Andrew Ross Museum, Kangaroo Ground
