© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Vintage Photographs and Photography

Read more about the article Fatal Meteor jet crash at Williamtown, NSW, 1957
Gloster Meteor jet fighters on service with the RAAF in Korea.

Fatal Meteor jet crash at Williamtown, NSW, 1957

Recently, while I was visiting old acquaintances Doug and Peggy Paton, Doug mentioned a terrible plane crash he said he witnessed while he was a member of the Royal Australian Air Force, working at Williamtown fighter base north of Newcastle. Doug said the plane crashed while landing at the base, and he feared at one point that it might have smashed into the building where he was working. It was around meal time, he said, and there were few people around. Doug Paton in his RAAF uniform in the 1950s. He showed me some photos he…

Continue ReadingFatal Meteor jet crash at Williamtown, NSW, 1957
Read more about the article On ya bike! A gallery of bicycle pictures

On ya bike! A gallery of bicycle pictures

Bicycles are a common motif in many collections of old photos. In the 1800s "velocipedes" were an exciting innovation, with inventors of all stripes applying their fertile brains to create a self-powered, non-polluting alternative to the horse for personal transport. After many strange experiments, the conventional bicycle emerged in, more or less, the form we know it today. Here are some examples of early ideas from inventive correspondents to 1860s issues of the magazine The English Mechanic and Mirror of Science (scanned from my collection). Many strange experiments with velocipedes. During the first half of the…

Continue ReadingOn ya bike! A gallery of bicycle pictures
Read more about the article Capper’s hardware store fire, Maitland, 1971

Capper’s hardware store fire, Maitland, 1971

Cappers was once a household name in Maitland, NSW, synonymous with hardware. The store had deep roots in the town, having been established in High Street in 1888 by Edward Capper, the British-born son of Birmingham hardware seller Walter William Capper. What began as a very small affair soon grew into a sizeable emporium, packed with hardware, homewares, furniture and other goods from all over the world. Naturally the building grew with the business, and by the time the store shifted to a new address in 1963 the Cappers building was a solid landmark in Maitland's…

Continue ReadingCapper’s hardware store fire, Maitland, 1971
×
×

Cart