Dubbo's past preserved in pictures at the regional library and WPCC

With the help of the museum at Western Plains Cultural Centre (WPCC), the library has kept a digital archive of countless images of an ever-changing city. The archive contains thousands of photographs submitted by people living in Dubbo or just passing through.

The picture of Lorna and Ernest Martin was taken in an era prior to the development of colour photography. During this time, hand tinting photographs was a popular way of incorporating colour.

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Ken Klippel, library services and collections coordinator at Dubbo library says it's important for people to know the history of Dubbo. He said that it was a "prosperous town" and people were curious to see how it had changed.

"Dubbo is a fairly well off town, a lot of the older buildings have been replaced by modern ones," he said.

"The pictures also tell a lot about the social life of people who [were] living in Dubbo. Pictures at sporting events, or out and about in recreation... floods and fires as well. People are very very interested in them."

He said that photos taken by people from the community in the 1960s and 1970s tended to fade, and that photos taken before then had outlasted the former in quality.

"[Older photos] would be etched onto glass. They are really good, high quality photos but obviously very fragile because they're made of glass and a hundred years old," he said.

"The technology was different [in the sixties]. However, negatives can last much longer than the physical photo."

Every Thursday, the library shares a blast from the past on social media for #throwbackthursday. The post includes a link where people can read all about the people in the photo, and when and where it was taken.

The local studies officer at the WPCC, Simone Taylor, is responsible for collecting and storing physical copies of donated photographs.

Some very early photographs in the local studies collection were actually printed in little, thin sheets of metal.

In a recent exhibition about local builders Wallace and McGee, who operated between the 1920s and the 1970s, the WPCC put a call out through social media. Ms Taylor said a number of people brought in memorabilia that was incorporated into the exhibition.

She says it's important to understand how we developed as a community to help inform decisions in the future.

"Its also just fascinating to think about how people lived hundreds of years ago, 50 years ago, even 30 years ago. [To see] how much our world has changed over time and to appreciate our past generations," she said.

After having a public call out for historic photos of Victoria park, the WPCC will be installing a display in July. People will have the opportunity to view the selection and see how the park has developed over the years.

Ms Taylor also encourages people to submit old photos of Dubbo and Dubboans to maintain the recording of history. The WPCC's local studies room is open to the public, the photo collection can be viewed by making an appointment.

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