Which James Watson at The Springs?

The coloured section shows James Watson's farm at The Springs, which now forms part of the Tullamarine Industrial Estate.

There were two James Watsons in the vicinity of Keilor in the 1840s.  The first was James Watson of Hunter and Watson, a pastoral partnrship which is well-known to Keilor historians.  The other was another Scot who made some transactions under the name James Watson, but possibly because of confusion with his namesake, began using  his full name of James Butler Watson.    It was James Butler Watson who leased a 50 acre farm from JFLV Foster in 1842.  In her new article "James Butler Watson: early resident of The Springs", Christine Laskowski gives the process by which she revealed the identity of this other James Watson.  

Steele Creek and the Lady of the Lake

  Steele Creek and the Lady of the Lake was first published in 2013, and has been out of print since 2014.  Owing to popular demand, Christine Laskowski has agreed to get a limited reprint, with revisions.  If you want to have a copy of the book, you will need to reserve one to ensure you don't miss out.

You can download a copy of the form from the Time Travellers website.

Ruth Hollick, Moonee Ponds photographer

 

Photo: Ruth Hollick, Moonee Ponds

This portrait of a woman and child was taken in Ruth Hollick's home studio in Moonee Ponds in 1918. The Hollick home was on the south side of Park Street. Ruth took a number of photos in the local area, and these are referred to in an article about her on the Time Travellers website.  At the end of 1918 she took over the studio of Mina Moore in Collins Street, Melbourne, and went on to develop a reputation for child portraiture, particularly using natural light.     

The subjects of the above photo are not currently known.  This photo is one of a pair.  The other photo is inscribed on the back "With love to Auntie Lola March 1918."   If you can identify this pair, we would love to hear from you.