Olinda Views

This box of Imperial Plates does not have any stamps on the label. Inside the lid there is a note in black pencil:

Upper Gully R.S.
View nr 250
Olinda Views

"Upper Gully R.S." could mean Upper Ferntree Gully Railway Station. There is a plate in another box which might have been taken at this station. This historical photograph circa 1905 shows The Royal Hotel building near the station. It is possible that the photograph was made from the hotel.

Four negatives are snapshots taken at a fancy-dress party. Jim Smith in his book "Blue Mountains Photographer Walter Rumble" mentions that:

.. fancy-dress balls were very popular among the guests in the Blue Mountains' guesthouses.

The remaining images appear to be taken during a bush walk.

Olinda is a small town about 40 km east of Melbourne at the foot of Mount Dandenong. According to the Victorian Places website:

The western forested part of Olinda was a tourist area, the first guest house being built in 1896.

The photographs of a tourist track and the road to Olinda show the scenery similar to one captured by our unknown photographer.