Photos found from interwar years
Black-and-white photographs capturing Sydney’s interwar years will be exposed to the public for the first time to mark History Week in September.
Stored under a house for 60 years, boxes of photographs, slides, films and glass plate negatives taken by Adam Forrest Grant from the 1920s to the 1940s were recently brought to light, with around 180 images donated to the City of Sydney archives.
Mr Grant was a founding member of the Photographic Society of NSW and friends with pioneering Australian photographer, Harold Cazneaux. He also served in the Australian Army for three years in France during World War I.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said History Week was a chance to recognise the work of Adam Grant, who captured invaluable images of Sydney through the years.
“Thanks to Adam’s passion for photography and dedication to his craft, we can learn a lot more about what Sydney looked like in the early 20th century,” she said.
Jenny Grant, Mr Grant’s daughter, said her father’s photographs featured views of the old city skyline from atop the Queen Victoria Building where he worked.
“They were all stored under my brother David’s house and when he died two years ago, his daughter Helen found them all indexed and mainly in good condition,” she said.
A display of photographs by Adam Forrest Grant will be on exhibition at Customs House throughout September, including a presentation from historian Laila Ellmoos from the City of Sydney’s History Unit on September 11 at 12pm.
