#National Library of Australia

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #WorldNumbatDay:

"An ant-eater, Fowlers Bay, South Australia" by Edward Russell, 1870

pen & ink, 11.4 x 17.8 cm

inscription: "Length fr. top of nose to top of tail 10 inches, colour a red brown & white stripes."

National Library of Australia

[worstjourney]

'Dear Google,' said I, 'please show me what a shear crack in sea ice looks like.'

'Do you mean T. Griffith Taylor's unpublished stereograph of the shear crack between Inaccessible and Tent Islands, which he and Wright admired on the day Wright wanted to shoot Teddy Evans (who he thought was a penguin), which is probably why you're searching for shear crack reference?'

'Why yes, Google, that will do nicely, thank you.'

[concealed amongst hundreds of other random photos on the National Library of Australia's Flickr. There are also some Hurley photos from the Australasian Expedition but this is not a Mawson blog.]

[saresmusings]

It takes balls to be a fairy, Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras 1983

By William Yang With kind permission of William Yang National Library of Australia

[canberrazineemporium]

A new year and the first of the Zine Working Bees - Jan 12, 11am - 2pm at the Bookplate Cafe, National Library, Parkes, Canberra.

Keep up to date with our stuff with our discord!

[drsonnet]

Pyramids of #cairo #Egypt

Charles Piazzi Smyth, All the Pyramids of Jeezah [i.e. Giza], from the south, [Australian Inland Mission Collection], 1850-1880 (ca), Colored lantern slide, National Library of Australia, National Library of Australia (24429297), LL/7317

[monkeyssalad-blog]

Rachel Cameron adjusting ballet shoes by National Library of Australia Via Flickr: Title devised by cataloguer based on caption list prepared by researcher.; Toorak, Melbourne photographer's stamp on verso, but name of photographer is not legible.; Condition: Fair.; Part of the collection: Geoffrey Ingram archive of Australian ballet.; Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3420564. Persistent URL nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3420564

[brianrope]

William Yang's Mardi Gras

Photography Exhibition Review William Yang’s Mardi Gras | William Yang National Library of Australia (NLA) Treasures Gallery | 6 December 2023 – 1 December 2024 One of my prized possessions is a copy of Yang’s book China, inscribed simply by his own hand “To Brian, Best Wishes, William Yang, Port Macquarie, 2011”. I had just heard and seen one of his presentations during the Australian…

[karingottschalk]

National Library of Australia: Viewfinder: Photography from the 1970s to Now - Commentary

https://www.nla.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/viewfinder# “Powerful documentary photography focuses our attention on the beauty of everyday life.​ Viewfinder: Photography from the 1970s to Now takes a unique look at the journey of Australian documentary photography over the last five decades, from black and white images to the vibrant high definition images of today. Drawing exclusively from the…

[sonyaheaneyauthor]

Hot air balloons over the National Library of Australia in Canberra.

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Rushmore (1998, Wes Anderson)

08/12/2024

[sonyaheaneycategoryromance]

Dawn at the National Library of Australia, Canberra.

March 2007.

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #SaveTheKoalaDay 🐨:

T.S. Busby, "Koalo," plate in George Perry's Arcana, 1810-11. First published image of a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

That face…

[statelibraryqueensland]

Ever wondered what a shark bite to a human head looks like?

Meet Iona Asai, a pearl diver from Saibai Island in the Torres Strait. In 1937 Iona was diving for pearls off the boat Sau when he was attacked by a shark. According to Iona’s own account, the shark wrapped its jaws around his head and neck and bit down, but Iona dug his fingers into its eyes until it let him go. He managed to swim back to the boat, where he was dragged from the water by the captain and passed out.  

With Iona unconscious and heavily bleeding, and the nearest doctor over 100 kilometers (62 miles) away, the Sau made its way to the nearest populated island, where a school teacher provided them with medication. Iona’s injuries required over 150 stitches, which he received while conscious and without anesthetic.

If that wasn’t enough, they were later able to identify the species of shark, despite Iona never getting a chance to look at it properly. How? 

They found a chunk of one of its teeth still embedded in the back of his neck almost a week later.  

And do you want to know the really incredible thing? This wasn’t even the first time Iona Asai was attacked by a shark and lived to tell the tale, having survived an attack off the coast of Cairns previously. 

Iona made a full recovery from his ordeal.  

These images, printed on photographic postcards at the time, were donated to State Library of Queensland. You can view the full record here. 

[micewithknives]

For Australia we have Trove which is our historic newspaper archive (and other random fun things). 10/10 recommend. It has a bunch of local newspapers digitised as well, so you get to find out all the town gossip in your family history

my own grandfather's obituary was fucking paywalled because it was originally only in print and then digitized, and the newspaper that ran the original obituary has a paywalled website. my grandfather's obituary is paywalled. he died when i was a toddler. i don't know where he was is buried. and the only record of his obituary is paywalled. like, i know it's a minor thing and i can easily get past this. but damn it feels a bit dystopian, don't you think?

[canberrazineemporium]

The last zine working bee of the year! Come around to the Bookplate Cafe at the National Library from 11:15 until 2pm (or when they kick us out)

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain 1977

"The Chain" is a song by British-American rockband Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album Rumours, which won Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammy Awards and received Diamond certifications in several countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and the US, in where it is certified 21× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of February 2023, Rumours has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the 5th best-selling album of the 1970s and the 9th best-selling album of all time. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003, and was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2017, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress.

"The Chain" was created from combinations of several previously rejected materials, including solo work by Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie. The song was assembled, often manually by splicing tapes with a razor blade, at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, with engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. Stevie Nicks wrote the lyrics about Lindsey Buckingham as their relationship was falling apart. Buckingham and Nicks share lead vocals on the song.

In 1997, Fleetwood Mac released a live concert CD/DVD package called The Dance, which featured the reunion of the Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac members. The rendition of "The Chain" reached number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Additionally, the studio version began appearing on the charts in 2009, where it peaked at number 81 in the UK. In October 2023, the song was certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of over 2,400,000 units.

"The Chain" received a total of 92% yes votes!