The Norm De Pomeroy Photographic Collection

by Albert Isaacs - 20/05/05
As the illustration on the left shows, as long as 45 years ago, Norm De Pomeroy's railway collection had already attracted the attention of his local media (Norm was then a loco. driver, stationed at Cressy, well within the region covered by radio station 3CS, Colac).
In 1960, his collection was believed to have contained 2,500 photographs and 400 railway books and, even then, was described as: "Believed to be the most elaborate in Australia". By the time Norm died in 2002, the collection had grown phenominally!

Norm had built up an enviable reputation as a noted and active railway photographer and his photographic collection grew to the extent that, by 2002, it probably contained over half a million items. In addition to the amazing number of photos that were taken each and every year, there are also photos given to him by other people, or items that he pruchased or acquired - these incldue albums of photos, reaching back over 100 years, along with numerous loose photographs. Specifically, a very large proportion of the collection is made up of photographic copies of photos from other collections.

Of course, the largest proportion of this collection is of railway photos but Auction 266 (on Wednesday 29th June 2005) contains 30 lots, from the Norm De Pomeroy collection which will also have wide, general interest. Australians have recently began to recognise the strategic importance that Northern Australia had during World War II. Darwin was one of the few bits of Australian soil that was subjected to direct enemy action, in this case Japanese bombing. Auction 266 contains an important collection of Northern Territory photos showing Darwin and parts of the North Australian Railway and includes photos showing bombed buildings.
              
One of my personal favourites was taken during the 1934-35 Melbourne Centenary and is a night-time shot of Jolimont rail yards but, importantly, the background shows Melbourne buildings illuminated and with searchlights, for the Centenary celebrations. It's in nice condition and is certainly an important piece of Melbourne history!

                        
Now, let's have a look at the Railway Photographic section of Auction 266. 109 of the 110 lots being offered in this section are from the Norm De Pomeroy collection, including these lovely, early card-mounted photos.

         
A number of lots contain large collections of Victorian railway photos sorted by locomotive class; then there are lots sorted to highlight particular events or to feature Victorian geographical regions. Large groups of photos taken during the 1990s are being offered along with their negatives; these are usually sorted by year and some of the more interesting topics in each lot are mentioned in the auction descriptions.

Admitedly, the majority of this huge collection highlights Victorian railways but there are also groups of photos from the rest of Australia and overseas, particular the USA. I anticipate that there will be a lot of interest in the Tasmanian group of photos which highlights the TGR, the Emu Bay Railway and the North East Dundas Tramway. There are also five different lots featuring the Commonwealth Railways, in particular, the former North Australia Railway that ran south from Darwin.

Actually, the photographic sections in Auction 266, contain more than just photos! There are a number of lots consisting of negatives and there's also one lot containing contact sheets, that is, 20x26cm sheets of photographic paper containing 30 to 40 3.5x2cm photographic proofs taken from negative rolls - there are 450+ such sheets in this lot! Also, have a look at the group of stereo films and accompanying viewers.

So! That describes the photographic lots being offered by CLA on Wednesday 29th June 2005. However, just a small fraction of the De Pomeroy collection is being offered in this auction. I anticipate that there'll be photographic lots, both general and railway oriented, in a number of auctions, well into the future.

My collegue, Frank Campbell, has written a most informative article on what to look for when buying photographs, entitled, Historic Photography: Treasures in the Bottom Drawer. If you haven't already seen it, I would recommend that you read it, prior to purchasing any of the upcoming photographic material.

Please check our auction calendar for the latest auction dates.