Sepia Saturday's theme photo this week suggests space to think, rowboats, a single person rowing, a single woman, ocean ... *
I don't have a family photo of this spot but various branches of the family certainly spent a lot of time in the area. The Sims family had a holiday house, called Mitiamo House, in the spa town of Hepburn Springs in central Victoria. The Alford family stayed in a guest house when they holidayed there. Daylesford is nearby. The towns were originally established because of gold mining but the spa springs took over as the main attraction. Both towns are still very popular. Jubilee Lake was constructed in 1860 as a water supply.
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| Jubilee Lake, Daylesford, Australia (Old Postcard folder) |
And I'm including this photo just because it matches the theme and I have it in my collection. It appears to be some sort of water-based festival at Largs in Scotland.
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| Largs, Scotland (Postcard folder) |
And something out of left field. I have an album of tiny photos taken by an Australian soldier during World War 2.** I'm not sure who the soldier was as yet but he was stationed on Morotai and then Tarakan after the islands were taken back from the Japanese. Both are small islands in the Indonesian group. Coincidentally my father, Angus Wyllie, was also on Morotai during WW2 with the AIF's 'Z Special' reconnaissance unit.
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| 'Swimming Beach', Morotai Island, Indonesia, WW2 |
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| Tarakan Island, WW2 |
* Sail on over to
Sepia Saturday to see some other interpretations of the theme.
Great postcards. Maybe I will start collecting some too. Your last two photographs look quite calm and peaceful, especially considering that they were in the middle of WW2 - thankfully no bombs in sight!
ReplyDeleteJubilee Lake looks so lovely & peaceful. No wonder members of your family liked to go there!
ReplyDeleteI was intrigued by the photograph of Largs in Scotland - I have never seen it that busy.
ReplyDeleteInterested to see your photo of Tarakan. My Dad was stationed there in the last months of WW2.
ReplyDeleteDid you see the link to my Flickr photos at the end of the blogpost Jill? You'll find more Tarakan photos there.
DeleteEven the WWII photos look very peaceful.
ReplyDeleteThey do seem to be looking at some sort of program in the one with all the boats and people.
ReplyDeleteThose photos capture the ethereal sense of loneliness quite well - even though in many cases - like the Largs photo - they are full of crowds.
ReplyDeleteLove the one of Jubilee Lake - not that peaceful anymore, especially on weekends. Still a lovely place.
ReplyDeleteYour father is rather special.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have recognised Largs from that postcard. The jeep in the first WW2 photo looks as if it is parked for a quick getaway.
ReplyDeleteMy great uncle lived in Daylesford, so I love seeing pictures of the place in old postcards, esecially as that one looks to be his era. A very peaceful view too.
ReplyDeleteThese three sites almost look like they are from a movie set --- also set me to googling and tearing around on google maps.
ReplyDeleteAlways interesting to see locales from across the ocean, good post!
ReplyDeleteI love that first photo - it's positively idyllic!
ReplyDeleteLovely island photos. I'm drawn to the Largs, Scotland one - it looks poetic. The "Swimming Beach" reminds me of the beach scene in Twilight.
ReplyDeleteHazel
The water-based festival in Scotland reminds me of 4th of July at Smith Mountain Lake. Everyone comes by boat for the fireworks, and it's a crazy jumble going home. Officials enforce a no-wake zone during festivals like this. The boaters in Scotland look like they might have had a number of boat crashes.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures,
ReplyDeletethat 3rd one, on Morotai Island, is odd and interesting at once.
Thanks for sharing these with us.
:)~
HUGZ
I am loving all these beautiful and serene photographs.
ReplyDeleteWow, beautiful postcards! I can not decide which I like most, they are all very special.
ReplyDelete