Not “Old Hiawatha”

Most of the photos in Lavinia‘s album were taken at “Old Hiawatha” or at least in or even before its time. Apart from the “postcards” a few from a slightly later time have found their way into the album. The family moved in the late 1880s to a “new” Hiawatha in Brighton where they stayed for a few years before most of them moved on to Perth.

“Chevy Chase”

“Chevy Chase”, home of the Binnie family, was an almost identical house next door to the new Hiawatha. This and the following photo may have been taken by John Binnie or maybe even Herbert Shaw.

“Entrance Hiawatha”

“Chevy Chase” and “Hiawatha” both fronted Hampton Street. Lavinia wrote below it “Entrance Hiawatha” and later Mary Shaw added “Hampton St Brighton”.

Segovia

In 1900 my great grandparents Herbert Shaw and Caroline Hale married. Herbert was in Perth for some years before but the two had known each other since at least the early 1890s. This is Caroline’s home Segovia in Auburn Road Hawthorn and on the verandah can be seen Caroline, her sister Annie Bertha, her father and step-mother.

“Hale’s Auburn Road”

Life in the early 90s doesn’t look so hard. Here is a mix of Shaws, Hales and others at “Segovia”. I tried a couple of years ago to identify the subjects here but still have some doubts. I have the girl at the< back left as Effie Shaw but she looks to be the same person as in the photo below and Mary Shaw has her as Lavinia.

“Moss Lea Hay St Perth”

“Moss Lea” in Hay (then Howick) Street, home of the Shaws in the 1890s. Lavinia’s caption is above and Mary Shaw later added “Lavinia Shaw and Olive and Eileen Shaw ?1893” and a second copy of this photo has the caption “Dec 1895”.

“SS Helen at Mildura Wharf”

This is the only Mildura photo in this album. A better copy of it appears with a number of other Mildura photographs is in one of Herbert Shaw‘s albums and I’ve taken the SS Helen caption from that. It quite possibly was taken by Herbert. His initials, scratched onto glass negatives, are visible on two or three other prints and many years ago his daughter’s garden shed contained some of his glass negatives, unfortunately now long gone. Herbert’s album has a few scenes of early Mildura but so far I’ve been unable to find a connection to the family. Most of them are of and around the building of the Mildura Coffee Palace and maybe that’s the connection. I’ve come across a number of hints that his father was involved in the temperance movement and the spread of these pub replacements in the 1890s (Alfred might be impressed by Melbourne’s current glut of coffee outlets but maybe not by the 24 hour alcohol trading). I put a few Mildura references here a few years back but maybe I’ll try a bit harder to find the connection in a future post.