Historical information

This image appeared in the Australasian Sketcher on 2nd July 1883. This issue had several illustrations relating to the meeting of the railways at Albury and Wodonga.

The item was accompanied by the following text:-
Wodonga consists of two principal streets lying parallel to each other seemingly desirous of outstripping the other in length and the straggling character of its buildings. After carrying on this contest for the length of three quarters of High Street, of which we give a view, bears off the palm. Between the township and Albury there is a distance of three miles, which in summer has the reputation of being the dustiest three miles in Australia. This distance is traversed by omnibuses and cabs, which ply between the two towns, and until the junction of the railways did a good business in carrying all travellers from station to station. The dwellers in Wodonga, who are Victorians to the backbone, complain severely of the disadvantages under which they labour, owing to the border duties, in comparison with their more fortunate neighbours in Albury, but though they grumble they have no intention of giving in, and confidently look forward to the brighter days which they say are in store for Wodonga.

In the lower right hand corner are the initials J. R. A. These are the initials of Julian Rossi Ashton (1851-1942). Ashton was born in England and emigrated to Melbourne in 1878 to work as an artist for the Illustrated Australian News. In 1881 he worked at the Australasian Sketcher and in 1883 moved to Sydney to work on the Picturesque Atlas of Australasia and the Bulletin.
He became an influential patron and supporter of Australian Art through his roles as trustee of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales. He was awarded the Society of Artists’ medal for distinguished services to Australian art in 1924, appointed as Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1930, and won the Sydney Sesquicentennial Prize for a watercolour in 1938. Ashton dominated artistic circles in Sydney for over 50 years. He established his own Art School in Sydney and became a teacher and mentor to many now prominent Australian artists.
Julian Rossi Ashton died on 27th April 1942

Significance

This item is significant because it depicts an early view of Wodonga and was created by a future prominent artist and influential patron and supporter of Australian Art .

Physical description

A print from a Wood Engraving which was published in the Australasian Sketcher 1883. It features a street scene in Wodonga.