Historical information

There are seven other copies of this photograph in our collection, mostly differing in the placement of the label and the cropping of the photograph. This is itself a copy of the original. One of these copies is also accessioned as VEMUP0456.2.

This c. 1907 photograph was taken from the intersection of Beaconsfield Road (now Kilvington Drive) and Station Road (now Puffing Billy Place), looking towards Emerald Railway Station. It looks past the Emerald Coffee Palace, a significant establishment serving coffee, wine, and more - a room in the back was even used as a visiting doctor's surgery. The Coffee Palace was, at the time, owned by the O'Connor family and run by Mrs Greatorex. At this time it was relatively new - the second centre of Emerald, around Kilvington Drive, mostly materialised thanks to the location of the railway station. The location of the railway is visible, but from this angle the station and tracks are not visible.

Note the posts in front of the Palace - used to tie horses in this time before cars became dominant. There are elevated wires visible running along the left side of the street, which resemble power lines but at this time are more likely to have instead been telegraph cables.

This copy was framed in the donor's home after being gifted to him by its previous owner, who bought it from an op-shop in Melbourne.

Significance

This photograph recounts the growth of Emerald's second town centre around the railway station.

Physical description

This item is a large, slightly yellowed, black and white copy of an older photograph. It depicts an unpaved street leading down a hill to a gate and fence, with several shops to either side. There is a lamp post on the street corner on the right, and a telegraph line running along the left side. In the background, the slope rises back up to a hill with fields and scattered trees.

Inscriptions & markings

Bottom-right: "STATION RD. EMERALD"
Building in the photograph: "EMERALD COFFEE PALACE"