Help fill photo gaps in city’s history

THE Ballarat Historical Society will mark their ninetieth anniversary in July next year with the release of a photographic book depicting the city’s history post-1933.

The publication will feature old black-and-white shots, good quality colour photos, and more recent digital snaps, but president Marion Littlejohn said they need some assistance from the community to fill in some gaps and make it happen.

“We have hardly any photos from the World War Two period, even though Ballarat had trenches dug in all the schools, and the Americans were here camped in Victoria Park,” she said.

“We’d also like some more photos of businesses that have come and gone, like John Valves, little corner stores, and more 1930s shots from before the war.

“Once photography became cheap and everyone was doing it, people stopped saving photos and donating them to museums, so if anyone in Ballarat has photos that tell a story, include interesting action or an interesting background that mightn’t be archived anywhere else, we’d love to see them.”

If you have any significant black and white photos or good quality colour shots, they can be donated or lent to the Society via PO Box 2292, Bakery Hill, 3354, or emailed to [email protected].

Even if your photos don’t “make the cut” of the book, they will be digitised by the Society for their collection.

In the meantime, the Society is seeking donations and grants to produce and publish the book to ensure it can be sold for an affordable price to community members, and will be easily accessible.