Archives In Brief 99 - Introducing Photo Investigator

Our photographic collection

From the 1870s the NSW Government agencies made increasing use of photography to document or promote their activities, record significant events and anniversaries, or encourage tourism and immigration. Fortunately, significant quantities of these photographic images have been retained as part of the NSW State archives collection.

State Records's digitisation program

State Records commenced a small-scale digitisation program several years ago. The aim of the program is to digitise selected photographs from its extensive collection of photographic images and make them more accessible to a wider audience via the website.

About Photo Investigator

Photo Investigator has been developed by State Records as a web-based tool to search and retrieve digitised images.

It allows the user to find individual photographs, to browse through a range of images, and to locate more detailed information on the records and their context through links with Archives Investigator.

Links with Picture Australia

Photo Investigator has now joined Picture Australia, a national gateway to digitised photographs and other images. This means that researchers anywhere can access scanned photographs directly through our website, or indirectly through Picture Australia.

Searching Photo Investigator

Photo Investigator has four search options:

Subject Search
The subject search allows you to browse through an alphabetical list of subject headings. It limits your search to the subject headings that have been assigned to the images.

Keyword search
The keyword search finds word(s) anywhere in the record. It allows you to search single or multi word phrases.

Series search
The series search allows you to browse through selected or a complete set of thumbnail images from the series that have been digitised.

Advanced search
The advanced search allows you to refine your search by using up to three keywords, and specifying a date range for the search.

Collections digitised to date

The following series are all accessible via the Series Search option.

Photographs of Public Buildings in New South Wales, NRS 4346

Subjects include departmental buildings such as the Lands Office Sydney and Government House, court houses, general hospitals, post and telegraph offices, police stations and barracks, psychiatric hospitals, mothers and babies welfare centres, State and convalescent hospitals and university buildings. The majority of photographs are of building exteriors, but there are a small number of images showing interiors.

Photographs of buildings in Sydney, NRS 745

These photographs, taken by private photographers for the City of Sydney Improvement Board, show buildings in need of repair or undergoing alterations, as well as views of streets showing the condition of awnings, signboards and walls of shops, hotels and private residences.

Daceyville Garden Suburb, NRS 5225

This series of images depicts the 'Dacey Garden Suburb' (Daceyville) when it was developed between 1913 and 1918. The images show scenes of the area before development, road building, the types of houses built, shops, as well as the Public School.

Maritime Services Board: Glass Negatives, NRS 9856

A selection of images from the Maritime Services Board glass negative collection. The images record the construction of wharves and adjoining facilities in Sydney Harbour, as well as housing and buildings in the Harbour area, including many of the warehouses. Also included are images of the many different types of ships and vessels which operated on the Harbour.

Scheyville Training Farm, c.1926, NRS 5529

These photographs illustrate various aspects of daily life of the people, many of them young men from Sydney and those arriving under various British immigration schemes, working on the Scheyville training farm near Windsor.

Baby and child health clinics and treatments, 1914, NRS 4873, 4880-82

These photographs document the introduction of formal programs and services for baby and child healthcare in Sydney.

Franco-British Exhibition, 1908, NRS 14086

This collection of lantern slides was shown at the Franco-British Exhibition in London, 1908. They include typical country scenes, 'model' NSW suburban homes of the period and illustrations of the Exhibition itself.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, 1923-1933, NRS 12685

This collection documents the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the turning of the first sod to the official opening and the early use of the bridge by the public. This is a large collection and the images are being added progressively.

Government House Stables, 1913, NRS 1728

These photographs document the early stages of construction to convert the Government House stables into premises for the Conservatorium of Music.

New South Wales Bushmen's Contingent, 1900, NRS 1254

This series contains photographs of the NSW Bushmen's Contingent prior to their departure for the Boer War.

Photographs displayed in NSW trains, c.1938-c.1969, NRS 12932

This collection of images was used to decorate the interiors of country trains in New South Wales from the late 1930s to the late 1960s. The images cover a wide variety of themes ranging from scenic country views to metropolitan Sydney and its beaches.

Photographs of the Eveleigh Workshops during the 1917 railway strike, NRS 15309

This series consists of photographs taken at the Eveleigh Workshops during the 1917 Railway strike. The photographs show the 'loyalist' individuals who were prepared to cross the union picket line to live and work on the railway premises during the strike.

State Rail Authority Archives Photographic Reference Print Collection, c.1850-c.1988, NRS 17420

This series of photographs cover a wide variety of subjects relating to the activities of the various agencies responsible for railways in NSW. The subjects covered include, but are not limited to, the following: Railway Refreshment Rooms, Ambulances, Locomotives, Royal Tours and Railway Stations. As this is a very large collection, only a sample of images will be selected to highlight each subject.

Copy service

You may order copies of the images displayed in Photo Investigator by 'ticking' the order box under the thumbnail image and selecting 'Order Form' at the end of the page. This will take you to the online order form.

Copies of digital images are provided as high resolution (600 dpi) jpg files on CD. The cost of the service is $25.00 for one image and $5.00 for each additional image (includes postage and handling and the cost of the CD).There is an extra $3.65 fee for overseas order to cover postage and handling.

Further information on the copying service is available.

For further information concerning copyright please refer to Archives in Brief 74.

© State of New South Wales through the State Records Authority, 2003.
This work may be freely reproduced and distributed for most purposes, however some restrictions apply. See our copyright notice or contact us.