Historical information

The location of this photograph is disputed by historians, but the consensus is that is shows the early use of Flagstaff Hill by the Warrnambool Garrison.

This photograph is very similar to one on file in the State Library of Victoria (SLV). The photograph in the State Library's collection is clearer, and is in black and white. It also has an inscription below it "Lady Bay, Warrnambool, 1878'. The inscription on the lower left of the SLV's photograph looks to be the same as on Flagstaff Hill's copy. The photographer is unidentified.

Significance

The photograph is significant to Warrnambool's local history. It is connected to the 1870's defence of the Port of Warrnambool, and to southwest Victoria's coast.
The photograph can be used as a comparative tool for measuring the changes in the landscape and the harbour.

Physical description

Photograph, sepia, on card. Unknown photographer. View towards Lady Bay, Warrnambool. A gentleman is seated on one of two cannon carriages with cannon, on a hill above a picket fence. A moored sailing ship is in the bay. Hills are in the background and la building is on land to the right. The photograph is mounted on card with a brown, hand coloured border on the front. The corners on the card are rounded. the reverse has round marks in the corners indicating that the photograph has been previously mounted, perhaps in an album. There is a purple stamp and some pencil inscriptions. A handwritten pen inscription is on the lower left corner of the front.
[(1b) This black and white photograph is a copy of the original and has been printed on larger paper.]

Inscriptions & markings

Front: "[undecipherable] / photo"
Reverse in pencil: " REG. NO. 2172.1 / ORIGINAL"
Reverse, stamped: "Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village"