Physical description
Fern gully in Sherbrooke Forest. A bridge with long log sides crosses a creek. Tree ferns edge the track.
Fern gully in Sherbrooke Forest. A bridge with long log sides crosses a creek. Tree ferns edge the track.
This album is made of strong cardboard now held together by ribbon and it contains 17 images taken around Belgrave in the early 1920s. The photographer is unknown but it could have been Charles Ladd, engraver, farmer, and amateur photographer, who lived with his family in Dewhurst. The photos are of local beauty spots in the Sherbrooke Forest, Lipscombe's Hill, Biffin's Hill and Selby trestle bridge areas. Several people appear in various photos and appear to be a group of family and/or friends.
Photo shows a bend in the road, Belgrave, most likely on Monbulk Road below Sherbrooke Forest. An unmade road crosses a small gully. A group of three or so young people are leaning over the bridge railing. The area is heavily treed.
A BEND IN THE ROAD hand-wriiten in ink below the photo on the album page
Sepia photo shows a track through bush at Belgrave. Tall gum trees in foreground. Treed hill in background with houses visible among the trees. Presumably taken from near Sherbrooke Forest.
Photo of a worker bringing in a log on a dray with what appear to be narrow steel wheels. Dray is being pulled by eight or ten steers or small bullocks. Heavy bush and tall, straight timber on side of the road. Most likely Sherbrooke Forest. Road bends to left behind team then possibly to the right, going up a small rise. The man could be well-known bullocky Bill Martin. He is dressed in a wellworn hat, a pale shirt with sleeves rolled up, and darker pants, and is carrying a long, slender stick or possibly a whip in his right hand.
Photo of the cover of Jacobson photo album. Cover is dull brown cardboard with a photo of Belgrave stuck on (now loose) and a dark pattern, possibly hand-drawn. Cover is now held together by two short white ribbons (not original).
"Belgrave" has been handwritten on the photo.
Photo which was originally stuck to Jacobson photo album. Photo shows a man in a dark jacket, pale shirt and pale hat, standing or walking along a road above two houses in a steep valley, probably the valley below Monbulk Road. Man is visible from waist up. One house is probably the house which features in other photos. The name 'Belgrave' has been hand-drawn on the top of the photo in an elegant script. The word is in black with a white outline.
"Belgrave' hand-drawn on the photo.
Photo of Belgrave township from Biffin's Hill (present-day site of Mater Christi School). Road running across front of photo is now Belgrave-Gembrook Rd. There is a sign on the side of the road advertising Biffin Hill Estate for sale. Belgrave main street is visible in background. c. 1920s
Ten cows, steers, or bullocks hauling logs to a sawmill (possibly McLaren's sawmill in Belgrave). Bullocky standing behind team with backs to camera. The team is on a manmade track, surrounded by bush but in sunshine. c. 1920s
Photo of Puffing Billy coming around the horseshoe bend at Selby and beginning to cross the trestle bridge, heading away from Belgrave. The engine is only part shown. It is hauling four open-sided carriages with canvas covers, and a further six or so enclosed carriages. There appears to be no wind as the smoke is hanging above the train. Railway infrastructure (barrier fences) can be seen in the foreground, and there are wires across the left side of the photo. c. 1920
Photo of Jacob's Ladder in Sherbrooke Forest. Looks to be water under the bridge at the bottom of the photo. Very steep wooden steps going up through ferns. There is a wooden seat halfway up the visible steps, to the right of the steps. There are three signs attached to a tree on the right side of the photo near the creek. The sun is shining on the ferns.
Groups of people are standing on Monbulk Road, up from Belgrave. In the background are four women abreast walking away. There are two men, a young boy and a woman standing together in the middle ground and two younger women closer to the camera, standing beside a cart (with only a large cartwheel visible). There may be another man speaking to them. There is a path going up the hill to the right, with fence posts on the high side and a closed gate at the top. On the left of the photo there is a house below the road. There are two water tanks which look new. It may be the same house as appears in other photos in this collection. Another building is visible in the distance.
Road from Belgrave to Monbulk. A woman stands on the road holding a stick. There is a creeper growing on the verge. Tall treeferns surround a house on the right side, below the road. The house has a verandah extending all the way around. There is smoke coming from a chimney which may be on the visible house or from one behind. c.1920.
Group of four people standing on Monbulk Road just out of Belgrave. Possibly Beauty Bend. Holiday makers, all well dressed. There is a wooden seat on the left side of road. There is a gully on the right side. The left side has heavy bush. A house roof is just visible beyond the bush. c.1920.
Ten or more cattle pulling logs to a sawmill (possibly McLaren's sawmill in Belgrave). The land around the track is cleared and it is heavily treed in the background. There is dead timber lying around and the land looks dry. c.1920.
Photo shows a team of cattle (bullocks, cows or steers) hauling a log down to the sawmill. A huge piece of timber is clearly seen chained to the dray. Heavy timber both sides of the road, most likely present-day Sherbrooke Forest. c.1920.
Photo of the falls in Sherbrooke Forest. Huge amount of large rocks in and around creek bed. Ferns grow up sides of banks. Low volume of water indicates dry season. At the top of the falls a man sits with another person who appears to be a woman. c.1920.
Photo of a woman of about sixty standing in a garden with a house in the background. The woman has thick grey/white hair swept back, and she is unsmiling and looking to her left. She is wearing a dark skirt and jacket with three buttons over a pale blouse with a frilled collar. In her hands is a twig or piece of grass or similar. There is a wedding ring on her hand. The house in the background is the same house as in other photos. The land slopes upwards and Monbulk Road is most likely hidden by the thick bush behind the house. Trees and bracken edge a cleared area of land. The house is probably located at present-day 20 Monbulk Road, Belgrave and is no longer standing.
Closer shot of house in previous photo with white-haired woman. The house is timber weatherboard with a tin roof. Three woman and a man stand on the verandah: the white-haired woman, who appears to be quite stout; a younger woman who appears in another photo; a man in a pale hat who also appears in other photos; and an elderly woman. They are all looking off to their left. The verandah has fancy timberwork. There is a deckchair. A water tank is on the left side of the photo with a sapling growing close to it. The house is surrounded by trees. c.1920.