Two WWI photographs by Frank Hurley
Episode 13, Mar 28, 2021, 11:30 PM
In this special episode of Object Matters, Dr Craig Barker is joined by Toni Hurley, teacher, educator, historian, one-time president of the History Teachers Association and known to generations of school students as a co-author of the Antiquity series of textbooks. Toni is also the grand-daughter of renowned Australian photographer Frank Hurley (1885-1962).
In this podcast Toni and Craig discuss two lantern slides of Hurley photographs, formerly from the Geology Department collection. Both are images of the 1st AFC Australian Flying Corps campaigning in Palestine in World War One, and Hurley’s pioneering work recording the missions of the Flying Corp in the Middle East both from the ground and from the air. We discuss Frank Hurley as a grandfather and a photographer, his love of the Middle East, his experiences in Antarctica and Papua New Guinea, the importance and controversies of his war photographs, including composite images and the role of museum collections in school history education. We also look at Frank Hurley’s love of risk and his interest in aerial photography during this pioneering phase of aviation and aerial warfare.
Photographs:
- Frank Hurley, ‘Machines returning to the hangars’, 1918, lantern slide, Chau Chak Wing Museum, HP90.28.2808 (pictured)
- Frank Hurley, 'A machine descending to the Hangars of the 1st Australian Flying Corps, Palestine’, 1917-1918, lantern slide, Chau Chak Wing Museum, HP90.28.2741
Guest: Toni Hurley
Host: Dr Craig Barker, Head, Public Engagement, Chau Chak Wing Museum and Director, Paphos Theatre Archaeological Excavations. Follow @DrCraig_B on Twitter and Instagram.
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