Richard
Strangman was
a commercial photographer in Tumut from 1915 (unconfirmed)
till around 1926. There are collections of images of Tumut
and the
region
including
portraits of locals.
From around 1917 - 1919, Strangman was
a Private in the 54th Battalion during World War One. There
are albums of photographs taken by Strangman during the war.
Richard
Strangman commenced photography in Canberra in 1927. Parliament House had
opened and became one of his favourite subjects. He subsequently
worked in Canberra and the surrounding region as a commercial
photographer for over 30 years.
His
images were published through prints and made available to
a wider audience on postcards, greetings cards, tourist information,
and as tourist souvenirs including some made of china.
His
images also appeared within Parliament on their menues.
Strangman imported a state of the art postcard printing
machine from Germany in the 1920s which he
was still using in 1969 when he died.
Like
many photographers involved in the views trade of the time,
he concentrated on the images of the growth of the city,
including the monuments, the public buildings, the developing
suburbs and the amenities such as accommodation hotels. He recorded
the building of the Australian War Memorial with many views
of its construction - these now being held by the memorial
in a special collection.
The
views around and of the Parliament House, showed the changes
which
were being made to the landscape in the Parliamentary Triangle
in the 1930s.
As
the gardens and plantings improved around Parlaiment, Strangman
was there to capture the views which then travelled across
the nation and beyond to let others know of the growth (even
though it was slow) of Australia's National Capital.
The
images of sheep and other country icons,
also
reinforced the image of Canberra as the 'Bush Capital' -
something which allowed the people of the two major Australian
cities of Sydney and Melbourne to regard
Canberra as being inferior to them, especially as these two
cities still harboured views that they should have been the
Captial of
the
newly Federated
Colonies.
‘I
use an old Thornton Pickard half inch plate camera with
two or three (I’m sorry to say) very poor lenses… To
ensure a sharp clear result the lens is stopped well
down, usually F45. Ilford S.R Pan. plates are almost
always used, and a Wratten K2 filter or similar filter
is necessary to make the sky dark so that the clouds
will show…’ (Richard Strangman, 1937)
Richard
and his brother established the first electrical shop on
Sydney's North Shore.
Strangman Bros (radio), 280 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest,
N.S.W.
Their home in Lane Cove was
one of the first all-electric houses
in Sydney.
Photos
by Richard Stragman used to be available for viewing through the Old
Parliament House web site
- not any more!
.........................
A
large collection of his images have been lodged with the
National Library of Australia
.........................
The
photo-web collection of Strangman photos (available for sale)
Parliament
House Canberra
North West front view
Parliament
House Canberra
Rose Garden - Eastern / House of Representatives
Parliament
House Canberra
South West Corner/ Senate side
Prime
Minister's Lodge, Canberra
War
Memorial, Canberra
View from behind - from Mount Ainslie
Beauchamp House, Acton, Canberra
Havelock House, Turner, Canberra
Hotel Canberra
Hotel
Kurrajong, Canberra
The Forestry School, Yarralumla, Canberra
St Andrews, Canberra
St John's Church, Reid, Canberra
St
John's Church, Reid, Canberra