The Bendigo Volunteer Rifles’ Orderly Room.

Engraving showing the Bendigo Volunteer Rifle’s Orderly-Room, from the original edition of  the Illustrated Australian News published by The Age , an illustrated newspaper which was published in Melbourne from 1876-1889. It was issued on a monthly basis and included a number of high quality engravings to illustrate the news and article. The reason it was issued on a monthly basis was due to the time consuming process of engraving the  illustrations which would take one engraver between one and two weeks to make each engraving. This is also coincided with the monthly shipping of mail to England.

The engravings provided a unique glimpse into colonial life, often depicting situations or scenes that were less than flattering, in contrast to the majority of sanctioned views that provided a sanitized portrayal of life in Australia. Increasingly expensive to produce, the few illustrated newspapers that made use of original engravings for their illustrations, and that survived the economic collapse of the late 1880’s found themselves competing against the new technology of photographically produced half-tone and lino type processes. By the turn of the century most had disappeared. Many famous Australian colonial artists were employed such as Julian Ashton, Albert Cooke, Oswald Rose Campbell, Alfred James Daplyn, Samuel Calvert and Elizier Levi Montefiore.

Many famous Australian colonial artists were employed such as Julian Ashton, Albert Cooke, Oswald Rose Campbell, Alfred James Daplyn, Samuel Calvert and Elizier Levi Montefiore.

Due to their ephemeral nature few have survived.