10 June 2009

Canberra 1959 - In Colour!

| johnboy
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[First filed: June 09, 2009 @ 10:47]

Janed has been digitizing her father’s slides and sent in these ones for your enjoyment.

They were taken in 1959 in Civic and on the top of Red Hill. The orange clad lady is Jane’s mum.

Slideshow below.

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old canberran said :

That first Red Hill shot was taken from almost the same place as one I sent in a while back. St Andrews church stands out quite well and it’s a shame they cut down the trees in Civic between the Sydney and Melbourne buildings. Those were the days when Canberra was a great place to live. Thanks for the slide show. I have a feeling I know that lady in the orange jumper.

It’s not the first time you’ve mentioned that Canberra sucks these days. Can you elaborate? Was it the Gungahlin McMansions or the Private Bin closing that was the final straw for you O.C?

Thanks for all the great comments. I agree- preserving photographic history and images like these are so important. Dad (Teki Dalton) took these of Mum (Margaret) and others on a trip from Sydney to the snow. They moved here in 62 to manage F.W Cheshires purpose built bookshop in Garema Place-where Land Speed is now. He has some great stories about Garema Place back then and up to the 80’s-chauffeured Prime Ministers parking outside when there was a road there and ASIO taking photos of demonstrators in Garema Place from the upstairs office window-where Raven is now…!

bush goddess2:45 pm 11 Jun 09

Fascinating to see how few trees there were back then which supports the original description of this area as ‘a treeless plain’.
Quite amusing then, when I hear some ‘ecologists’ sprouting that, post bushfires, the area will return to its former state….?
When talking history, images such as these are invaluable as they record the landscapes as they were prior to [intense] white settlement and demonstrate how we humans substantially alter our environments…..sometimes for the better but frequently to the detriment of other species.

I assume the 3rd Red Hill shot is looking over Woden? But great slides, thanks

Interesting to note that the distance to Melbourne hasn’t really changed, but the Sydney road is a lot shorter now.

old canberran4:44 pm 10 Jun 09

That first Red Hill shot was taken from almost the same place as one I sent in a while back. St Andrews church stands out quite well and it’s a shame they cut down the trees in Civic between the Sydney and Melbourne buildings. Those were the days when Canberra was a great place to live. Thanks for the slide show. I have a feeling I know that lady in the orange jumper.

mariah scarey11:49 am 10 Jun 09

Many thanks ! More please.

Just beautiful!

Canberra was great before it got cluttered and congested. It’s changed so much and it’s sad where it’s going.

Thanks, just as I remember it.

Wow, so green back then too. Thanks for sharing them, how lovely it would be to go back to those days!

It wasn’t so different when we moved here in ’69. Lovely to see that again!

what a gorgeous country town! Tnx heaps 🙂

GottaLoveCanberra3:29 pm 09 Jun 09

For someone my age, it’s just creepy!

I love seeing old pics of Northbourne Avenue. No traffic lights, no 3 lanes of heavy traffic in each direction. It just looks like the main street of some little country town.

GardeningGirl2:28 pm 09 Jun 09

Great pics. Thank you for sharing.

Holden Caulfield2:00 pm 09 Jun 09

Thank you. 🙂

Look how uncluttered the streets were back then… Thanks for the photos. Love it.

God I love posts like this. Love seeing these photos! Thanks!

Fantatsic shots! Thanks for posting them JB – Especially the Red Hill Shots – I have some poorer quality panoramic shots from Mount Ainslie circa 1976 – I’ll dig them out

Ditto everyone’s comments. I found it interesting seeing what Canberra looked like when I was 2! Thanks a lot

I’ll have to watch it at home, blocked here. The main shot though, gosh that brings back memories!

Wow. Just . . . wow. Thanks for sharing them.

Wow. Cool pics. Thanks for sharing them.

Wow. That’s so weird seeing those pics. Thanks for sharing.

Wow. Fascinating photos. Thanks for sharing them.

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