John Oxley Library staff member Dianne Byrne visited Pialba last Saturday to meet a very special donor. He is Mr John Bingham 95, author and artist who for many years has been a popular resident of the Fraser Coast.

“Jack” Bingham served with the RAAF during World War Two and was captured by the Japanese in Batavia (Dutch East Indies). He was imprisoned in Changi and sent to work on the Burma Railway. The story of his time as a POW and his courageous escape is recounted in his book My Life (2008).

Now in retirement after a long career as an engineer John Bingham devotes his time to producing vivid and expressive landscape paintings. Two of these have been generously donated to the John Oxley Library by their creator and the Library is honoured to accept them. They are full of the great charm, good spirits and love of life of the extraordinary man who made them.

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On the 11th of February Ms. Louise Denoon, Executive Manager of Heritage Collections at the State Library of Queensland, and Professor Anna Haebich, Historian in Residence at the library and Griffith University Research Professor, visited the Downs Club in Toowoomba to collect an exciting new donation, the Davenport Album.

Club President Mr. Peter Marks and Mr. Lex Bailey formally presented the Album, which contains rare early photographs of old Darling Downs homesteads and places of interest, attributed to photographer Heinrich Muller.  Mr. Lex Bailey is a past president of the Downs Club who has a long standing interest in the history of the Darling Downs and who realised the importance of this album to the area’s history.

Mr. Peter Marks and Mr. Lex Bailey presenting the album to State Library representatives Louise Denoon and Professor Anna Haebich (Historian in Residence, John Oxley Library)

The album has its own interesting history. In 1877 it was given to Mr G. H Davenport prior to a return trip to England by his friends who included well known property owners in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs Mrs Jas Taylor, Mr W. Graham, Mr. F.H. Holberton and Mr. J. Grimes. At the time Mr. Davenport owned Heddington Hill Station, which was originally part of the much larger Clifton Station. Then in 1935 it was chosen by Mr. M. Y. C. Pascoe as recompense for his duties as executor of Mrs. Davenport’s estate. His widow later donated it to the Downs Club. In 2008 the club officials agreed to present the album to the John Oxley Library in recognition of its major significance for all Queenslanders.

The Album will undergo restoration and conservation work before being added to the state’s extensive Heritage Collections. The photographs will be digitised and made available on Picture Queensland. The Downs Club will be presented with a bound copy to put on display at their premises. The Toowoomba Regional Council Library will receive a disc copy of the Album.

Heritage Collections and the Downs Club are keen to hear of any other information about the album.  Please contact via the blog.

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The Toowoomba Railway Station art work is an original watercolour on card, 25.5 cm x 34.5 cm, mounted, and painted by an unknown artist ca. 1867.

The view taken from the Royal Hotel (named in 1858) would appear to depict the original railway station which was a crucial link to the Darling Downs.  The rail line between Toowoomba and Ipswich was opened in 1867, but the planned double-story masonry station was cancelled as a consequence of the 1866 financial crisis.

As well as complementing other early images in the art and photographic collections, the painting fills a significant gap in our depictions of Toowoomba’s historic buildings.  No photograph of the original (pre 1874) railway station appears to be held in the John Oxley Library’s collection.

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