Close to 1000 photographs taken in the Kimberley up to 70 years ago have emerged from deep in a Broome archive, with work now well underway to identify them thanks to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Curator and researcher at the Broome Heritage Centre, Sr Pat Rhatigan, said that when the Centre’s Relationships Exhibition had to temporarily close to the public, it proved to be an opportune time for staff to delve deep into the Centre’s archives for unprocessed photographic donations.
“Some of the photos date back as early as 1948, and have been taken at locations throughout the Kimberley. All share a connection between the Kimberley people and the Sisters of St John of God, who came in response to the needs of the people and began nursing, teaching and ministering in the region in 1907,” Sr Rhatigan said.
The Sisters run the Broome Heritage Centre and Relationships Exhibition, recognised as a major social history research facility, and attracting interest from around the world.
“Our staff carry out a lot of important work behind the scenes. These extra thousand images add to the current 60,000 photographs that assist people to locate photographs of themselves and family members. The collection is especially important for those displaced due to government policy and disease over the last century,” Sr Pat said.
Photographic Collection Officer Helen-Mary Martin said that often photographs in the collection sparked a conversation within families. Humorous or confronting or both, these conversations are nevertheless always significant and moving.
Every name, date, place and anecdote provided adds to the rich tapestry of family history in the Kimberley,” Ms Martin said.
Sr Pat said more public help is needed to identify people, dates, places and events in the photos.
Broome’s Kaylene Hunter is one who recently visited to locate a copy of her mother’s first wedding photo at Beagle Bay Church in the 1970s.
“I unearthed a treasure trove of photos and information – the circumstance of my mother living at the Broome Orphanage in 1959 at a very young age, then later at Beagle Bay Mission.
“I’m so grateful that these records have been meticulously preserved. It’s such a fascinating and valuable resource that I’ve signed up as the Heritage Centre’s newest volunteer!”
People can make appointments NOW to see the collection, even though the official opening date is June 30. We have a meeting room which is COVID Safe, where one or two people can sit and scroll through photographs with a staff member, capturing data as we go.”
For more information, visit https://heritage.ssjg.org.au