Today we’re starting a new series of posts that we will definitely need your help with. We have all manner of historical treasures hidden away in our archives. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of information on them. If you have a look at some of the photos in our image gallery, you’ll see all kinds of information or metadata related to each image. Some images have more than others. And some of them, like the one below, are sparse at best.
Monsieur Cousteau, is that you?
Okay, so it’s probably not undersea exploration to rival that of Jacques Cousteau’s. All we know is that this was probably taken during the construction of Yarrawonga Weir.
Do you know anything about it? Perhaps you recognised one of the people in the photo. Or do you have an interesting anecdote about the construction? Please leave a comment telling us whatever you know about it.
If you don’t have any information, you can still help us. Get the word out! Retweet our tweet! Maybe someone you know knows someone who knows (try saying that five times fast)!
Thanks in advance for your help.
From the Archives: Our Own Jacques Cousteau?,
5 Responses to “From the Archives: Our Own Jacques Cousteau?”
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My husband’s grandfather was one of the four divers on the Yarrawonga Weir, but we cannot say that the man in this photo is definitely Arthur Henry Trotter, ex-Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer (Stoker) from Liverpool in England. Arthur Trotter joined the Royal Navy in 1907 and qualified as a ...
... diver in April 1915. He was demobilised in 1920 and migrated to Victoria in 1923 with his wife Catherine and three children George, Mary and Harold. They took up a Soldier Settlement ‘fruit block’ at Red Cliffs but were unsuccessful as farmers. Catherine opened a shop in Mildura and Arthur used his skills as a diver on the construction of several of the Murray River weirs, the Eildon Dam and finally the Hobart Floating Bridge. His sons George and Harold often worked as pump assistants to their father when he was diving. On the outbreak of WW2 Arthur joined the Royal Australian Navy and was granted his previous rank of CPO. He died in Sydney in 1953.
Hi Jasmine,
I’m the online reporter for http://www.abc.net.au/goulburn murray based in Wodonga — Was keen to do a bit of an online feature on some of the old pics you have been posting and your call out to see if anyone recoginses themselves or others. Can I talk to ...
... you or someone else about this. cheers, Allison Jess 02 6049 2011
Hi Jasmine
I don’t know if you have seen my response to the “our own Jacques Cousteau” picture of a diver on the Yarrawonga Weir, or if you are still interested in doing a feature on the old photographs.
Arthur Trotter, who may be the diver in the picture ( he was ...
... one of four divers on the weir), has three grand daughters living in Albury, and five other grandchildren. My husband Peter Trotter was the eldest grandchild and probably has the strongest memories of his grandfather.
We have a photo of Arthur in his diving gear when he worked on the Pontoon Bridge in Hobart from 1939.
He had a very colourful life in the British Navy during WW1. His ship was sunk by the Germans in Zanzibar in 1914, and he was in the Halifax Disaster in Nova Scotia in 1917.
Best wishes
Bernadette Trotter ( Hobart, Tasmania)
Hi Bernadette,
Thanks for sending the picture our way. It is important to tell these kinds of stories as well. Thanks, too, for using the blog to give us a piece of Arthur’s story.
Regards,
Jasmine
Bernadette,
I’m sure your contribution has been much appreciated. I was the Librarian at MDBA until recently and we had an amazing wealth of historical images that we were keen to share with others. The Blog was a great avenue to do so and it’s comments like yours that add interest ...
... and meaning for all – even if it’s not Arthur (& it would ber lovely to think that it was!) it still generates discussion and potential metadata for the MDBA’s valuable collection of images.
Cheers,
Keryn.