tps.org.au

Mike posted this image of a real photo view of the Scottsdale Post Office by T.R.G. Williams from Ararat (VIC)
in the "Tasmanian Post Offices on Postcards" category some time ago and noted that this "overseas" photographer
produced other views from the Scottsdale area.
All cards that I have seen by Williams are on Empire postcard stock and have this imprint on the verso
I have recently received for auction a small range of cards by Williams illustrated below (sorry about the varying image size)

__________ to view the complete image of all three cards, please click thereupon, once __________ I think the attractive "Greetings from Scottsdale" card is a real gem!

I have commenced this post to see if we can find how large William's output of real photo views of Scottsdale and envrions was.

Fortunately, he numbered his cards so it should be a little easier to get "a number".

If you have any other cards by Williams, please post them below and I will add them to the following master list. Any biographical
info on Williams would be of interest as well as is this entry in Chris Long's book. Please mention year of use if this is available.
...maybe he wasn't a "foreigner" after all but if this was the case, what is the "Ararat Connection" - here's a mystery waiting for Des to solve!

REAL PHOTO CARDS by T.R.G. WILLIAMS of SCOTTSDALE and ENVIRONS

1 Scottsdale, Tas. from Grenda's - postally used in 1912
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 The Post Office, Scottsdale
14 Railway Station, Scottsdale
15 St Barnabas Anglican Church, Scottsdale
16 Methodist Church, Scottsdale
17
18 Scottsdale from Mt Cameron Road (see image below a few posts)

Also "Greetings from Scottsdale" numbered '35' on the image (this may not be part of the numbered series above but
one from another series of similar cards)

Recently there were a number of his cards on EBay, all featuring scenes of Lilydale and environs. I was fortunate enough to win four of them and will post images here when I have resized my scans. The ones that I have are:

2. Lilydale
7. Station Road, Lilydale
10. Methodist Church, Lilydale
12. Railway Station, Lilydale

The last provides me with a problem, as it is firmly glued back to back with a card numbered 574 showing Wynyard. No hope of separating them without damaging both, I feel.

The two others that I am aware of are:

8. Presbyterian Church, Lilydale
11. Council Chambers, Lilydale

There have been some interesting posts recently of cards by T.R.G. Williams, mostly of views of towns in north-east Tasmania. These have been captioned on the front, and numbered.

Here is card with his stamp on the back - "T.R.G. Williams Photographer Scottsdale". There is no caption on the front or on the back. Was this a studio photo for a customer that he just happened to print on postcard stock paper, or was it a postcard for wider distribution?

Des Beechey

I have just come across additional cards by Williams in an auction consignment, some reported by
Patrick in an earlier post.

Unfortunately, the mystery as to whether there was one series of Scottsdale and Lilydale views or
one for each town has not yet been solved.
_________________________to view all the cards, please 'click' on the images once________________________________

I noted this card from Williams' "Scottsdale Views" on eBay a few weeks ago

SCOTTSDALE FROM MT CAMERON ROAD 18

Ross wondered about some T.R.G. Williams photographs being produced in Scottsdale and some in Ararat, VIctoria. I have investigated the question a little and provide some background information on him below.
Des Beechey
.................................................................................................................................................................................
T.R.G. Williams

T.R.G. Williams was a photographer in Scottsdale from 1898 to about 1910, and in Ararat, Victoria from 1912 to 1917. He worked as a general commercial photographer taking b&w photographs, some of which were printed as postcards.

T.R.G. Williams was born on 25 January 1878 at Scottsdale [Note 1]. His father, Edward Thomas Williams, was an established merchant in Scottsdale, owning a general store, timber yard and joinery works [Note 2]

The photographic career of T.R.G. Williams began in 1896, when he was aged 18. The Tasmanian State Archives holds what was most likely his first account book, covering his photographic work from 1896 to 1900. In informal and sometimes scrappy style he recorded those he photographed, at which town, and the amount due. This account book recorded a trip to southern Tasmania in 1899, where he worked in Geeveston on 10-22 March, Port Esperance on 28 April, and then a few days each at Southport, Hastings, Dover and Snake Plains. He commenced the return trip north on May 29, taking photographs at Waterloo, Franklin, Castle Forbes Bay and Surges Bay. He returned to Campbell Town on 18 July and then back to Scottsdale on 3 December. We can see from his record that his photographic work was not restricted to the north-east of the state, and we can expect to see his photographs from the south and other regions.

Following in his father’s style as an enterprising businessman, T.R.G. Williams’ activities were not restricted to photography. A newspaper article in 1909 [Note 3] said that he owned a block of five shops, rented out to various businesses. Williams himself had his photographic premises in one of the shops. The article described his photographic operation in some detail:

Mr Williams jnr is the local photographer, and does a wide trade by travelling through the immediate districts. His business embraces photography in all its branches, slide making, stereoscopic pictures, picture frames, and enlargements as a specialty. In addition to these items, Mr Williams gives considerable attention to kinematograph exhibitions, and has a complete set of the requisite apparatus, including thousands of feet of film pictures.

Williams is listed in the The Tasmanian Post Office Directory (Wise’s) from 1905 to 1910 as a Photographer at Scottsdale [Note 4]. But by 1912 he had left Tasmania and moved to Ararat in Victoria, where he set up a photographic business in Barkly Street [Note 5]. He returned to Scottsdale frequently, no doubt because of family connections, and placed advertisements announcing his availability to take photographs. The notice below was in the North-Eastern Advertiser of 27 August 1912:
There is little information about Williams’ activities in Ararat. In 1915 he advertised to print photos to send as Christmas Greetings to “Boys at the Front” [Note 6], and to print photos as post cards for 3 shillings per dozen. He returned to Scottsdale to be married to Katie Leech of Ararat on 12 April 1916. (It tells of his family connections to Scottsdale that he brought his bride back to Tasmania rather than being married in her home town of Ararat). He appears in the Ararat section of the Victorian Post Office Directory for 1912-1917 [Note 7], and then disappears until 1926, when his name reappears in the electoral roll at Ringwood, Victoria as an ironmonger. He then disappears among the Williams of Victoria, only reappearing in 1941 as the Mayor of Ringwood, presiding at the annual meeting of the Baby Health Centre! He died in Melbourne in 1963.

Williams’ photographic output was probably substantial, but little of it is known, although the Archives Office of Tasmania holds 50 or so photographs. His postcards are uncommon to rare on the market. His work is recognised by his stamp on the back, T.R.G. Williams, Scottsdale, before 1910 and Ararat after that year.

Two images of T.R.G. Williams are shown below, both from the Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office.
Notes

1. The birth certificate of T.R.G. Williams recorded his full name as Thomas, without any mention of the initials ‘R.G.’. The official records – electoral rolls and death certificate - are in the name of Thomas Williams, that apparently being his official name. However he was apparently known as T.R.G. Williams, as that is the name he used on his photographs, and the name under which he is recognisable in newspapers. I have not been able to find out what the ‘R.G.’ stood for.
2. Daily Telegraph (Launceston). 11 February 1909
3. Daily Telegraph (Launceston). 16 February 1909 p.3
4. The Tasmanian Post Office Directory (Wise’s) for 1905, p. 240
5. Ararat Chronicle and Willaura and Lake Bolac Districts Recorder. 21 October 1914
6. Ararat Advertiser, 13 November 1915, p.2
7. Sands & McDougall Directory of Victoria for years 1912 to 1917.

Fran Williams has contacted me and kindly supplied a listing of T.R.G. Williams postcards.
She says Williams later moved to Ararat from Scottsdale.
There is one card missing from the list, below: #12 Lilydale Railway station.
Many thanks for Fran for providing this list and perhaps Graeme might be able to provide scans at some stage.

Pete

Hello Admin,

That's a very useful list of Williams card. I take it that Fran Williams is a descendent? If so, she may be able to tell us what his initials stand for. His photographs are identified as TRG Williams, but his birth certificate that I located (see my post above) gave his name only as Thomas, so I've been wondering since I did that research what the RG stood for. And why.

Des Beechey

Des,
Our current information provider is no relation to T.R.G. Williams so is unable to offer any suggestions. The mystery continues.
Pete

Des_Beechey wrote:Hello Admin,

That's a very useful list of Williams card. I take it that Fran Williams is a descendent? If so, she may be able to tell us what his initials stand for. His photographs are identified as TRG Williams, but his birth certificate that I located (see my post above) gave his name only as Thomas, so I've been wondering since I did that research what the RG stood for. And why.

Des Beechey

Can add 3 more not listed by Fran

2. (manuscript Number) Greetings from Scottsdale. (view of main street?)

7. Scottsdale Tas From Ellesmere.

42. Coronation Hotel, Scottsdale.

Here's another 'greeting' type real photo card by Williams with a view captioned 'Branxholm' numbered '13'

A new T.R.G Williams card to me also not listed above (although we lost some data when the site was hacked in 2017

SCOTTSDALE GEORGE ST numbered '5'

another for the list


WATER WORKS BRID RIVER SCOTTSDALE numbered 34