The photographs and negatives of Alfred “Possum” Greene housed at the CSU Regional Archives is a remarkable collection of over 3000 items which documents the Snowy Mountains regions during the 1950s and 1960s.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Including the areas of Tumut, Adelong, Batlow, Jounama, Yarrangobilly and Goobarragandra (to name just a few), the collection is important because many of the areas and buildings pictured in the photographs are now submerged under dams which form the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme (which was commenced in 1949 and finally completed in 1974).
Other cottages, huts and sheds in the photos have also since been destroyed by fire, the elements and the passing of time.
Greene was meticulous in his documentation of the photographs.
Each image includes a description of the scene, the date, time, weather conditions and even the aperture of his camera.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service have also been very interested in the collection as they are such an important part of the regions history and help to fill in gaps where no information exists.
Greene originally came to Australia in 1924 as a 17-year-old, and worked on properties in central Queensland before moving to the Tumut region in the 1930s.
The archives is indeed lucky to have the collection, because when Greene died in Boorowa in 1981, he had no immediate family, and for many years the boxes of photographs were kept at the Boorowa Court House before archives staff became aware of the collection.ou
Visit the Archives
- Blakemore Building, College Avenue, CSU South Campus in Turvey Park.
- Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm; Saturday, August 6, 10am to 3pm.
- Contact us: 6933 4590 or archive@csu.edu.au