Summary

Two men standing at water's edge. Percy Bell is standing in a bark canoe with a pole in hand while the other man, whose name has not been recorded is leaning on a fence that is extending into the water. A dog is lying on the ground next to the fence also. There is another photo taken at the same time of Percy alone and the information accompanying that glass plate has recorded Percy's name and that of the photographer, where the photograph was taken and the period it was taken. The notes also mention that Percy Bell is the older brother of the artist George Bell.

Lake Tyers was established in 1863 by John Bulmer, an Anglican missionary who had arrived in Victoria in 1849. Originally a mission and later a reserve , the central Board for the Protection of Aborigines approved the initial allocation of 2,000 acres, and John Bulmer would remain there for the next 50 years. In 1908 it became a Government Station and was taken over by the Board for the Protection of Aborigines and with the closure of a number of other missions and stations such Lake Condah, Coranderrk and Ramahyuck, a number of people were moved there. The attempt to close Lake Tyers as a reserve in the 1960s, met with great opposition and as a result a campaign to retain Lake Tyers, led by Pastor Doug Nicholls of the Aborigines Advancement League and residents was fought for the next many years. Eventually in 1971, under the Aboriginal Lands Act of 1970, Lake Tyers was handed back to the Lake Tyers Trust with freehold title.

Physical Description

Silver gelatin emulsion. Half plate. Black and white.

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