Vintage Ford Automobiles, 8 Rare Photos. Early example of a Ute / Pick-up Truck!

A rare set of 8 photos of early Ford motor cars, the bodies of which were made for Qld conditions. The Station Utility car with removable back seat is one of the earliest examples of what we fondly know today as the ute, in the USA it would be a pick-up.
Left to right and top to bottom: Ford Touring Car, Ford Roadster, Post Office Mail Van, Station Utility Car, Leather Merchants Delivery Van, Grocers Delivery Van, Bakers Delivery Van, Butchers Delivery Van.

Citation:

1916 'A FEW TYPES OR BODIES FITTED TO "FORD "CARS NOW RUNNING IN QUEENSLAND.', The Queenslander(Brisbane, Qld. : 1866-1939), 2 December, p. 27,viewed 19 January, 2011

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23611484

Flood Rubberneckers on Victoria Bridge, Brisbane - 1931.

 

There has been much talk in recent days of rubberneckers impeding the flood recovery effort. Seems that Brisbane residence enjoy getting out and about to watch the spectacle of their flooded city.This photo shows the bustling crowds gathered to watch floodwaters pass under the Victoria Bridge Saturday, February 7th, 1931 .

 

Original caption reads:

Throughout Saturday streams of pedestrians and vehicles passed over Victoria Bridge in order to view the rushing flood waters.

 

Citation:

1931 'Graphic Flood Scenes in Brisbane and Suburbs.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864-1933), 9 February, p. 7, viewed 16 January, 2011.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21667696

Rail Tunnel Proposed for South Brisbane - 1937

An interesting little map that shows a proposed rail tunnel from Highgate Hill through to the Stanley St. wharves. The tunnel would have emerged close to where the South East Freeway now cuts through for it's cross-river stretch into the Brisbane central business district. To my knowledge the tunnel never came to fruition but if it did,  the Northern portal would have been reclaimed by heavy engineering work of the freeway development in the early 1970's. The coast of the project was estimated at 80,000 pounds, you can read the full article linked through the citation.

Citation:

1937 '£80,000 TUNNEL SUGGESTED.', The Courier-Mail(Brisbane, Qld. : 1933-1954), 7 July, p. 14, viewed 7 January, 2011.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37046231

A Brief Photo History of the Plus-size Model.

I thought this was a mighty stylish looking etching and found it intriguing that the Plus-size apparel market seemed well developed in 1926.  I had a quick look in Wikipedia about the history of larger size apparel but the only historical reference I could find was for Plus-size models, claiming that the market developed in North America in the 1940's.
The photo below was published in 1932. The variety in the  bodily proportions of the models would seem to indicate  that Plus-size marketing and models have been with us for about 80 years.

Original caption reads:
Berlei foundation garments, demonstrated on living models, and providing the correct line for the new season's frocks, were part of the fashion parade yesterday at M'Whirter's. The parades will be continued daily up to Friday

Citations:

1926 'Advertising.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864-1933), 22 June, p. 18, viewed 3 January, 2011 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21052450

1932 'No title.', The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864-1933), 21 September, p. 14, viewed 3 January, 2011 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22014808