Curio

State Library of New South Wales
John Nicholas Davey's Canadian Bakery, Canadian Lead (?)

John Nicholas Davey's Canadian Bakery, Canadian Lead (?)

1872
Glass photonegative

With his shoes covered in flour, John Davey steps outside his bakery. Bread cost 6d a 2 lb loaf - 5 cents per 900 g. The rush to Canadian Lead began in early 1872, but was hampered by a lack of water. Nevertheless, it was said that ‘no portion of the gold-field ever was so thoroughly prospected as the Canadian country …'

From the Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 18 June 1872

The general aspect of the houses and stores is dismal and ricketty in the extreme. Some of them have never been erect, and many now incline so much from the centre of gravity that they are only propped in place by struts. [The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 18 June 1872, p3]