Mary Turnbull albums including photographs by Frederic Bonney

PXA 7705

fonds

1872-1887

Graphic Materials, Photographs, Watercolours, Ephemera

9669492

2 albums (72 photographic prints, 8 watercolours, 10 drawings) - albumen, gouache, pen and ink, pencil - 31 x 27 cm and smaller

Mary Leake (Turnbull, nee Gellion) was born on 9 January 1841 in Redbank, Victoria. In 1861, she married shipowner David Turnbull (1827-1872), and after his death, she married pastoralist Arthur Leake (1815-1890) in 1877 and lived at Ashby in Ross, Tasmania. She died on 30 October 1920 in Toorak, Victoria.

By descent through the Turnbull family of Kilcunda Station, South Gippsland

One red album of 45 albumen photographic prints, 3 pen and ink drawings, 6 gouache paintings, printed ephemera and dried flowers chronicling Mary Leake's travels through Europe (Italy, Switzerland) between about 1872 and 1887, possible family and friends including Letitia Sarah Leake, and Catholic devotional material. 9 of the photographic prints depict the Paakantyi, indigenous persons of Momba Station on the River Darling in New South Wales, probably taken between 1865 and 1881 by Frederic Bonney and annotated with names: "Peter holding a carpet snake (9ft 2in long)"; "Yarry"; "Dick"; "Billy"; "Panga"; "Momba Mary" and "George"; "Yarry"; and captions "Loading Wool Drays"; "Excavating a Tank, 15,000 cubic yards" and 1 carte de visite showing an indigenous man holding boomerangs which read "A Merry Christmas; A Bright New Year".

One brown album of 27 albumen photographic prints, 2 gouache paintings, 7 pencil sketches and various printed ephemera chronicling Mary Leake's travels through Europe (Scotland, England, Italy, Portugal, France, North Africa) and Tasmania between about 1872 and 1887, including Rosedale, the family seat of John Leake, father of Mary's second husband. Some ephemera sourced from commercial photographers including Giogio Sommer, George Washington Wilson, James Valentine and William Downey.

English, French

Out of copyright:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are advised that this collection includes images and names of people who are deceased.

Red album inscribed on first page "Mary Turnbull". Brown album embossed on cover "M.T." Many of the photographic prints are annotated and much of the printed ephemera is captioned. Some sketches signed "Francis Miles".

The nine photographic prints of the Paakantyi people are attributed to Frederic Bonney, a known photographer of Momba Station. One image bears his name on verso.

Date range taken from album annotations.