A HISTORIC GAME OF SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

By David Mizen

The idea for this paper comes from Gordon Freedard who recognised that there is something ‘wrong’ with the picture below. However, he does not take the issues with the image to their logical conclusion.

It is proposed to analyse this image and compare it to images that are unimpeachable. The authors conjecture, and, the evidence will show, that the label connected to the photograph below has been misinterpreted.

Photograph One

There are two assumptions that underly this paper. The first, that the images form part of the collection of images in the album referred to on the web page (see http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/ timber1.html, accessed 16/12/2022). Secondly, that images fifty and fifty one on the web page cited are indicative of the content of the rest of the Album. If the conjecture of this paper regarding the location of this photograph is correct, even if the image above is not part of the Album, it is, for reasons that will become apparent, a very significant image.

Gordon’s Freegard notes the pitch of the roofs in the photograph above is different to the photographs below. The photograph is captioned Earliest photo of Canning Mills (emphasis added). Next to the caption is a flag and a citation number: “Note; the two mills and the different pitch on the roofs #71”. The citations appear at the foot of the page, citation 71 attributed to Ray Simpson (http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/timber1.html, accessed 16/12/2022).

In addition to the matters raised by Freegard note also:

1. Slope of hill runs up to the left of the image.

2. Position of the standing tree in centre of frame, and its size and shape.

3. There is a line of trees to the right and behind the buildings with the possibility that the trees represent a creek line.

4. The absence of railway.

5. There are no whims, bullocks or draft horses.

6. There are no sheds, store or other business infrastructure in the image.

7. There are no dwellings.

8. There is only one person in the image, the white ‘figure’ on the log at the right may be a second.

9. There is nothing to indicate this is a busy site, it is not a site under construction, nor is it in production.

A viewer of the image above and its related caption would be to assume that the expression “Earliest photo of Canning Mills” denotes this is an image of Canning Mills as built by the Canning Jarrah Timber Company and EVH Keane in 1890-1891. This papers position is that the assumption is partly correct but it ignores an etymological issue and the underlying purpose of the album.

The Ray Simpson collection is a series of 33 photographs contained in an album (the “Album”). The Album came to Ray Simpson via his wife’s family. Simpson’s wife, Margaret Simpson was a lineal descendant of the White family (http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/timber1.html, accessed 16/12/2022). Freegard does not note which of the White family she was related to. It would be useful to know which branch of the White family she was from as this would assist in conclusively determining the purpose for which the photographs were taken, and therefore, the reason why album was created. The photographs do not appear to be of the ‘happy snap’ or ‘holiday snap’ type. They are deliberate, showing specific features, particularly features on the zig zag, the rest show some aspect of a timber mill or mills, many include workers and their wife or partner. All images show evidence of planning, where there are people they are arranged for the photograph. All of the photographs suggest the album has a purpose.

Purpose of the Ray Simpson Collection

Much of the Album appears to be dedicated to aspects of the zig zag railway. The zig zag is operational, so this gives a time frame and indicates the photographs were taken some time after July 1891. On the 29th July 1891 the railway being reported as functionally complete. The report indicating that the actual completion date was “Saturday last” that is the 25th July 1891, and a train loaded with timber had run down to Midland on that day (News and Notes, West Australian, 29 July 1891, Pg. 4) see also (News and Notes, Southern Times, 3 August 1891, Pg 5). The report by referring to the timber being sent out implies that the mill or mills were operational prior to the 25th July 1891. With exception of Photograph One, the Collection relates to the zig zag or to the Mills at Canning Location 165 or are associated with that operation. Collectively these mills, meaning the Canning Jarrah Timber Co mills, are now know as Canning Mills, many have operating railway sections in view. This again provides a date in the same range as the zig zag photographs, that is 25th July 1891 or later.

The date the Album was complied is important as it indicates the albums function. One of the attributes of a photograph is its archival quality, each image captures and re-presents an instant in time. The central tenant of this paper is that the Album is an archive, but not in a general sense that a family photo album is an archive, spread across time and space, capturing children growing up, the family going on holiday and the like. The Album is tied to a specific event. In this context the term ‘event’ is used to denote construction, in the same way the construction of a building is ‘an event’, the buildings construction being capable of being subdivided into smaller events. That is, each brick laid in a building is a single event in a much more complex and prolonged event. However, one would not ordinarily photograph the laying of each brick. Instead, one might take a picture at the start of the construction, then as construction progresses to say, the half way stage, take a reference photograph or photographs, and continue that process of photographing each defined stage until construction is complete. One might also take photographs of the commissioning ceremony if there is one, or photographs of the manufacturing facility operating after completion. It is submitted that except Photograph One, the latter point is the purpose of the Album. The collection, physically, through its images, represents and re-presents the achievements of one or more of the members of the White family. There was no opening ceremony for the Zig Zag upon its completion, there were no politicians needing to appear in public to proclaim their achievement. Instead, one or more of the White family opted to record the early operations of the Keane and White project at Canning Location 165.That is save for one picture. The picture in question has a specific connotation and a specific denotation. That picture is as much a tribute to their partner in the project, EVH Keane, as it is to the Whites involvement and achievement in their joint project. That picture is the Photograph One above.

The White Family Achievements

The White family achievements so far as they are relevant to this paper are well known, they are the survey of the zig zag and the operation and management of Canning Mills after 1891, in the first instance on behalf of Edward Keane, then The Canning Jarrah Timber Company. There is one critical newspaper report, it is dated 9 October 1890, it states:

“Mr. S. White manager of Mr. Keane’s new mill is having all the machinery and many of the buildings situated at the Canning saw mill removed to the site of the new mill. The new machinery is daily expected to arrive, when the mill will be got under way, and the Canning hills will be a business locality second to none (the Midland perhaps excepted)” (emphasis added) (Perth Water Works Canning, WA Record, 9 October 1890, Pg.7).

The quotation above describes the subject matter of the collection, the event, and the achievement. The relocation and reconstruction of the Canning saw mills, from the old site to the new site at Canning Location 165 and its commissioning. This aspect of the project being supervised by Mr S. White. Mizen points out “Keane became the owner of Location 75 when his name was entered on to the title to Location 75 (Mason’s Mill) in March 1887” (2021, http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/timber%2015.html, accessed 16/12/2022). There are two aspects to the quotation above. The first, the relationship between Keane and the White family and all of the things that attach to it, and, that relationship influences the purpose of the Album. The second aspect is the expression “Canning saw mill”. This raises the etymological issue flagged above.

The first recorded use of the expression ‘Canning Mill’s’ occurs in the Victorian Express on the 7th November 1883, in relation to timber supplied from “Mr Joseph Shaw’s Canning Mills...”(Town Talk, Victorian Express, 7 November 1883, Pg. 2). Shaw’s ownership of Location 75 is well known. From an etymological perspective it was no longer appropriate to refer to the mill as Mason’s Mill as Mason was no longer associated with it. The descriptor used to denote the mill was drawn from the Lands Department district name for the area. In other words the mill became known for its locality rather than its owner. Likewise, the expression “Canning Timber Mills” was also used to refer to the mill at Location 75, it being adjacent to the proposed Victoria Reservoir site in 1889 (Perth Water Works, The West Australian, 3 December 1889, Pg3.). This report refers to the mill as being silent, perhaps even derelict. So this leaves the position that a photograph with a caption including the words Canning Mills could be any time after about November 1883. Baring this in mind compare Photograph One above with the photographs below.

Points of difference:

1. As Freegard notes (see above) the roofs are different particularly the extension to the roof on the mill towards the front of the picture.

2. The slope of the land runs down hill to the right of the picture to meet the creek.

3. The tree in the centre is different – split truck instead of solid.

4. Creek in the foreground not present in Photograph One.

5. Bridge on right side of photo is not present in Photograph One.

6. The ‘dwellings’ are not present in Photograph One.

7. The direction of the shadows and their length.

In Photograph Two above note the tree entering from the right hand edge of the photograph. At the base of the tree note the smoke and the bridge. Compare that to the photograph below.

It is submitted this picture was take contemporaneously with Photograph Two above. The photographer is now standing on a feature that is before the bridge in Photograph Two. There is no evidence of the tall tree in between the mills in Photograph One. The slope is also different to Photograph One, the gully for the creek in Photograph Two is also evident. There is no gully in Photograph One.

The photograph below is from the opposite end of the mill to Photograph Two. Note the smoke. Again there is nothing that corresponds with Photograph One. The impression of the second, third and forth photographs is that they are part of a sequence. They are all from the same location. They are all contemporaneous.

It is submitted that Photograph One, above, is a picture of ‘The Canning Mill’s’ taken about October 1890. To put it another way it is probably the only picture of ‘Mason’s Mill’. Perhaps it is more technically correct to describe it at this point in time as Keane’s Mill. The point and purpose of the photograph being to record it prior to it being dismantled by Mr White and moved to Location 165, to what is now known as Canning Mills. It is a picture to mark the beginning of the event that defines the purpose of the Album. It denotes Keanes possession and ownership of the mill. The connotation of the first image is, that it marks the first event that drives the purpose of the Album, Keane’s physical possession of the mill at Location 75. The possession of the mill marks the beginning of the overall achievement of the Whites’ and Keane’s project. The other images carry with them the connotation of the completion of the project. It is the writers view that the first photograph was taken from about were the remains of the managers house ruins are, in front of the fence for the present function centre. Mason’s Mill Road will be on the edge of the hill on the left side of the picture. The picture is looking towards the Owen’s property. The brook and tram line is behind the buildings on the right of the photograph.

Conclusion

Photograph One is on its own highly significant for the history of the City of Kalamunda. The writer knows of no other image that does, or is likely to depict ‘Mason’s Mill’. The significance of the image will be enhanced if it were in context with the rest of the Album. The Album is a culturally and historically important item. It is however, private property, it forms an important part of the White family history. The risk to the City is that the document is private property and as a result becomes lost to the City of Kalamunda and to future students. The significance of the Album arises from its subject matter and its purpose. It is significant from the perspective of the City of Kalamunda for its connections to the White Family and E.V.H. Keane. As an interrelated issue it is significant as it records the events that physically shaped Kalamunda, the construction and operation of the Zig Zag Railway together with the construction and operation of the Canning Timber Mill(s). The Album represents and re-presents the foundation stone upon which Kalamunda was built.

Recommendations:

1. The City or the Historical Society obtain a complete high resolution digital copy of the album.

2. The images in the digital copy be arranged in the same chronology as they appear in the album.

3. The digital images be made available for further study.

References

Freegard, G., http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/ timber1.html

Accessed 16/12/2022

Mizen. D., 2021, http://pickeringbrookhistory.com/timber%2015.html

Accessed 16/12/2022.

News and Notes, Southern Times, 3 August 1891, Pg 5.

News and Notes, West Australian, 29 July 1891, Pg. 4.

Perth Water Works Canning, WA Record, 9 October 1890, Pg.7.

Perth Water Works, The West Australian, 3 December 1889, Pg3.

Town Talk, Victorian Express, 7 November 1883, Pg. 2.