Merriwa photographer Blanche Violet Maher died when she was just 58 years old, leaving behind a treasure trove of journals and photographs depicting her life in the Upper Hunter on Collaroy Station.
Blanche Violet Maher is Julia Booth’s great grandmother. Julia was rummaging through boxes in her mother’s attic when she came across photographs and a journal dated January 1894.
“In the notebook there were recipes for cookery in beautiful, cursive handwriting as well as knitting patterns and on the flipside of the journal were complex chemical processes and procedures for developing photographic plates.
“I had an idea that she was a photographer. I was very close with my Great Aunt (one of Blanche’s three daughters) and I recorded a lot of interviews with her in 1994 about growing up in Cassilis and what it was like.
“She also talked a lot about Blanche, the shearers on the property were all terrified of her. They apparently used to joke that they would be able to get the sheep in at night just by putting Blanche’s name on a “cach’s” tape at the end of a whip – that gives you a pretty good idea of the kind of person she was!”
Julia archived the collection over the years and when the pandemic hit, she found like many, she had time to go through everything.
“All of the pieces of the puzzle were coming together; I worked with a few experts including Rachel Knepfer at the Australian Centre for Photography who was completely blown away.
“Then I worked with Margot Riley, one of the senior curators at the State Library and she found out that Blanche was part of the Gulgong Amateur Photograph Society which was headed by Judge Edwin Docker, the grandfather of photographic societies in 19th century Australia.
“We also found out she had won three pounds in the Australasian Magazine Photographic Competition in 1900, so she obviously thought of herself as a photographer,” said Julia.
“I think Blanche would be proud that we have put all her work together. It’s amazing to see her level of work artistically but also the skill at the time to develop the photographs using amazing collodion glass plates.”
Blanche didn’t just make her mark in the artistic world; she was a big supporter of women in rural NSW founding the Merriwa CWA in 1927 under her married name Blanche Violet Jennings.
As far as Julia can work out, Blanche was an active photographer between 1894 and 1920.
The collection of photographs is going on exhibition in Paris, London and New York next year, but before it does it’ll be shown in Merriwa.
The Blanche Violet Maher exhibition will be at the Merriwa CWA Hall from November 28 until December 5.
For more information: www.blanchevioletmaher.com
