Historical information
Sandra Pullman visited the Melbourne City Council Exhibition, 'Melbourne Parks and Gardens Through the Magic Lantern' in November 2012. Lex Nieboer, former Burnley student graduating in 1975, found a large number of glass lantern slides in a store room and took them home as he was concerned they would be thrown out. His family has a long tradition of being involved in photography, so he understood the value of the slides. He donated the ones that were of Melbourne City Parks and Gardens to the Council and they used them in their exhibition. Sandra contacted Lex and arranged with Jane Wilson (Archivist) to visit Lex on 12 April, 2013 at Wilson Botanic Park, Berwick where he works. After Lex showed them the slides, he, very generously, donated approximately 300 slides back to the Burnley Archives. There was already a collection of almost 100 glass slides in the Archives. They were in a wooden box containing glass lantern slides with label on outside, "Slides of Horticultural Objects and Views." Inside lid is handwritten, "Mr Bailey Botanic Gardens Adelaide." (John Frederick Bailey, Director Adelaide Botanic Gardens 1917-1932.) and, "Mr Isaac 9 pla? 2 ficifolia." (Probably Mr Isaacs Mayor of Adelaide 1917.) Also, "Purchased from Estate of Reeves Late Malvern Gardens, AWJ." (F.L. Reeves, Malvern Council's Park Curator in the 1920's died in 1933. AWJ, A.W. Jessep, Principal Burnley Horticultural College 1926-1941.) These were numbers 61-85 "History of the Rose." Geoff Olive, former Staff member, remembered taking a number of glass slides to a photographic processor to have 35mm slides made from them. 60 of these are also in this collection. Also see B10.0057 for Melbourne City Council collection and, 11.0039, 12.0033 for photograph prints of lantern slides lost to the collection.
Physical description
Collection of approximately 400 glass lantern slides used for teaching at Burnley Horticultural College during the first half of the twentieth century. Some were made specifically for Burnley. Some images would not upload. The images include: overseas views of gardens, historical sites and geographical features (some hand coloured from Japan); a series of hand coloured images of roses with notes for teaching the history of the rose; school gardens of the early 1900's; fruit and vegetables; miscellaneous horticulltural; Australian native plants; cells; 'Living Races'; plants, trees and grasses; parasites, organisms and fungal diseases; miscellaneous horticultural scenes; parks; cattle; agricultural data.
