Summary

Glass negative stereograph showing the Rockery Garden built along the new road along the Yarra, Alexandra Avenue. It is part of the G. H. Myers Collection which consists of 73 photographs taken by Godfrey Henry Myers, an electrician and amateur photographer, in Melbourne during May 1901. 72 of these photographs depict preparations for the celebrations that surrounded Federation; all but one are glass stereographs. This collection represents Myers' one venture into commercial photography. It is significant for its images of the crowds, which do not feature so prominently in commercial photographs. The remaining photograph is a family portrait.

The opening of the Australian Parliament on May 9 1901 was an occasion for great celebrations in Melbourne. Ten days of festivities (from 6-16 May) were planned to mark the Federation of the new nation and honour the Royal visitors, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. The city was transformed with decorations - flags, bunting, colourful lights and festive arches - and a series of public events were held, including a military tattoo and several street parades. Unprecedented numbers of people arrived in Melbourne from the rest of Victoria and throughout Australia to take part in the celebrations.

Description of Content

Rockery Garden, Alexandra Avenue, near Princes Bridge, Federation Celebrations, Melbourne, April 1901. In preparation for the Royal visit landscaping works were undertaken along St Kilda road and along the southern bank of the Yarra river. The new road along the river was called 'Alexandra' after the Queen Consort. The rockery gardens were built in the naturalist Grotto style of the period, and planted out with palms and scrubs. A white bonneted young girl is looking at two men on our left. Behind one, another man is raising his hat, perhaps to a woman out of shot on our left. On the skyline is a row of cannons which may have had a connection with the Crimean War.

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