Work continues adding Central Australian Historical Images to Wikimedia Commons
Since our last update in May 2024 about the upload of Central Australian Historical Images to Wikimedia Commons, in partnership with Alice Springs Public Library, much has happened!
There are now a total of 15 collections of images available on Wikimedia Commons, a total of over 1,000 images, which link through to numerous Wikipedia pages and Wikidata entries.
Many of these images were the first available images of their subject matter and they are helping build the world’s knowledge base about this important region.
In celebrating this milestone Wikimedia Australia would like to share some highlights from the collection:
Image of Moses Tjalkabota
One of the standout images of the Jessie May Gunn Collection was that of Moses Tjalkabota (c.1869 - 6 July 1954), who was also known as ‘Blind Moses’. Moses was a Western Arrernte man was born east of Hermannsburg (Ntaria). Moses became an evangelist and it is said that he was a master storyteller who attracted large crowds when he preached
The image was captured by Mr Tasker in 1946, the tour photographer, travelling with Bond’s Tours as they travelled between Alice Springs (Mparntwe) and Darwin (Garramilla), in the first tour hosted by them after World War II. This image was collected by Jessie May Gunn, who also took many photos on this tour.
The man in this image was not identified by either Jessie or Mr Tasker and the identity of this man was only made following the cultural sensitivity assessment of the image collection in 2019 by a Braydon Kanjira, a Traditional Owner and Arrernte Senior Ceremonial Leader from the Ntaria community.
It is so wonderful to have this image available on Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia!
The Pat Govers Collection
Another highlight of the recently added collections is the Pat Govers Collection. Pat Govers was an ABC reporter and businesswoman and her collection contains both black & white and colour photographs from various sources that span from the 1900s to the 1970s.
Some collection highlights include:
- People playing cricket on top of the Hotel Alice Springs
- The ‘flower bombing’ of John Flynn’s grave’ which you can read about on the John Flynn’s Grave Historical Reserve (Alice Springs);
- Photos of the ordination ceremony for Conrad Rabaraba and Cyril Motna in 1964 at Ntaria;
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Cricket on top of the Alice Springs Hotel, Alice Springs, by Pat Govers, CC BY-SA 4.0. Alice Springs Public Library, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Cricket on top of the Alice Springs Hotel, Alice Springs, by Pat Govers, CC BY-SA 4.0. Alice Springs Public Library, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Flynn’s Grave after someone painted it, Bob Darken on right, 1972, by Pat Govers, Alice Springs Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Flynn’s Grave after someone painted it, Ted Smith sand blasted it to remove the paint, 1972, by Pat Govers, Alice Springs Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Conrad Rabaraba and Cyril Motna, 1964, Lutheran ceremony for new pastors, Hermannsburg, by Pat Govers, Alice Springs Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Lutheran ceremony for new pastors, Hermannsburg, by Pat Govers, Alice Springs Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Lutheran ceremony for new pastors, Hermannsburg, by Pat Govers, Alice Springs Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Lutheran ceremony for new pastors, Hermannsburg 1964, by Pat Govers, Alice Springs Public Library, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Moses Tjalkabota who is also known as 'Blind Moses', photograph by Mr Tasker, CC BY-SA 4.0. Uploaded by Alice Springs Public Library