The exact date of this panoramic photograph is uncertain. When originally loaded into the University’s Flickr site, the photo was ascribed a date of June 1896. This was clearly wrong, as both the General Roberts Hotel and the Sportsmans’ Arms Hotel can be seen, both of which were built in 1903.
Robert Watson suggests that the photographs may have been in a box “marked as June’06, and the transcriber has misread Snowball’s handwriting as June ’96.” Can we confirm that date or get firm evidence for a date range?
The evidence of the Commonwealth Hall
In the photograph, to the right of the Sportsmans’ Arms Hotel we see the Commonwealth Hall. This was erected in 1903 by the licensee of the Sportsmans’ Arms. The hall building was subsequently sold, dismantled and moved to Belmont sometime between July 1912 and December 1913. Thus the date of panorama is unambiguously somewhere in the range 1903 to 1913.
The evidence of the Tauranga trees
In March 1909 New Lambton Council “recommended that a row of trees be planted on the east side of Taurangua road, from the intersection of Lambton road to Hobart-road”, and in June 1909 the Mayor reported that “the tree planting in Taurangua-road had been completed, and the park fence had been repaired.” As there is no sign of these trees in the photograph, it strongly suggests the photo was taken before June 1909.
The evidence of the shelter shed
In October 1903 the parks committee of the New Lambton Council recommended “that the council clerk obtain specification and cost of a shelter shed to be erected in the park, 24 x 12, with moveable front awning (2) that the shed be erected between the 5th and 6th tree guards.” At their meeting on 18 November 1903 the council resolved “that the tender of W. Knight be accepted for the erection of a shed in the park for the sum of £31, including labour and material.” The shed had been constructed and in use by the cricket club by August 1904. Snowball’s photograph shows the shed between the 5th and 6th tree guard, so the photo must date from after November 1903 when the tender for construction was accepted.
The evidence of the park tree guards
In a July 1907 meeting of New Lambton council …
The Mayor reported that the work of erecting tree guards in the park had been commenced. Sufficient timber had been ordered to complete 27 guards, 17 of which would be erected in park No. 1 and 10 in park No. 2.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 25 July 1907.
No. 1 Park is Harker Oval today, and No. 2 Park is Regent Park today. We know from the erection of the shelter shed that some tree guards were at the park in 1903, so the 17 guards for No.1 Park mentioned in the 1907 council meeting are additional guards. Snowball’s panorama photo shows a number of tree guards along Hobart Rd whose whiteness indicates they are fairly new, thus suggesting the panorama dates from not long after July 1907.
Conclusion
Based on the evidence above I conclude that the panorama photo is definitely in the range July 1903 to December 1913, almost certainly in the range December 1903 to June 1909, and probably in the range July 1907 to June 1909.