New South Wales: "But We Never Used to Cycle Here"

New South Wales: "But We Never Used to Cycle Here" - Yeah, right

Thanks to our reader, Tim, for sending us the above photo of Australian sheepshearers on their bicycles. The bicycle is credited rightly with improving the human gene pool in the way that it increased the mobility radius for people not only in cities but also in rural areas. After the invention of the bicycle and the subsequent bicycle boom in the late 1880's, family names that were previously rooted to specific towns or regions started showing up in the registries of (relatively) far-flung parishes in the UK. The same is true for rural America and Australia. The inexpensive independent mobility that the bicycle provided allowed men and women to travel farther further in the search for work and... well... TLC.

These photographs are from the Flickr photostream of the State Library of New South Wales.

Malvern Star Bicycle Competition, Stanmore Theatre (taken for Acme Theatres), 4 May 1946, by Sam Hood

Stanmore, NSW, Australia. May, 1946.

Jim and Nancy Davenport, Albury, NSW, 11 December 1938, by by - J E N Davenport

Albury, NSW, Australia. December, 1938.

Tom Morris, skipping champion (taken for Greater Union Theatres), 28 June 1937, by Sam Hood

NSW, Australia. June 1937. An explanation is probably needed:
"Tom Morris, who will attempt to skip from Sydney to Brisbane, via the Pacific Highway, will set out from the General Post Office at noon to-day. He has already skipped from Melbourne to Adelaide and back (1000 miles) and from Melbourne to Sydney in 28 days."
His friend on the left must be an early member of the Slow Bicycle Movement.

Boys of Hoyts Clovelly Theatre "Spider's Web" Club ride their bikes while "Spiderman" looks on, by Sam Hood

Boys of Hoyts Clovelly Theatre Spider's Web Club ride their bikes while Spiderman looks on. Clovelly, NSW, Australia. n.d.

Jenolan Caves, April 1903, photographed by Edward J. Cooke

Jenolan Caves, NSW, Australia. April, 1903.

Man on bicycle pillioning boy - Bunaloo, NSW, n.d.

Man on bicycle pillioning boy. Bunaloo, NSW, Australia. "Pillioning". There's a word you don't hear every day. I'm assuming that means the boy is standing up. As opposed to that other Australianism, "dinking".

Brownie (Muriel Long) with bicycle decorated for street procession. Deniliquin, NSW. n.d.

Annie Dawson Wallace with her bicycle. NB: Annie is wearing trousers - Sydney, NSW, 1899

Annie Dawson Wallace with her bicycle. NB: Annie is wearing trousers - Sydney, NSW, Australia. 1899

Man on a penny-farthing bicycle being chased by his sister (Maggie & Bob Spiers) - West Wyalong, NSW, C. 1900

Man on a penny-farthing bicycle being chased by his sister (Maggie & Bob Spiers) - West Wyalong, NSW, Australia. Ca. 1900

Waratah Rovers Bicycle Club (WRBC) on tour. Sydney - Campbelltown - Appin - Bulli - South Coast. Photo taken at Picton outside the Royal Hotel - Picton, NSW, October 1900

Waratah Rovers Bicycle Club on tour. Picton, NSW, Australia. October 1900.

[Pedestrians on George St], ca. 1900, from Frederick Danvers Power : photonegatives, 1898-1926 / Frederick Danvers Power

First cars and trains across Sydney Harbour Bridge, March 1932 / Sam Hood

And a couple of street scenes from Sydney. Ca. 1900 and 1932, respectively.

Overcomplicating Winter Cycling - Why It's Bad

One of the main focuses of this blog has always been on how Copenhagen and other cities have succeeded in increasing cycling levels by approaching the subject using mainstream marketing techniques. Tried and tested marketing that has existed since homo sapiens first started selling or trading stuff to each other. Modern bicycle advocacy, by and large, is flawed. It is firmly inspired by environmentalism which, in turn, is the greatest marketing flop in the history of humankind. Four decades of sub-cultural finger-wagging, guilt trips and preaching have given few results among the general population. When sub-cultural groups start trying to indoctrinate and convert the public, it rarely ever succeeds. For the better part of a century, people all over the planet rode bicycles because they were quick, easy, convenient and enjoyable. In hilly cities. In hot cities. In snowy cities. After the bicycle largely disappeared from the urban landscape because urban planning s

A Walking Helmet is a Good Helmet

At long last logic prevails. A new campaign has hit the streets of Denmark, thanks to the visionaries at The Danish Road Safety Council [Sikker Trafik] and Trygfonden [an insurance company]. Intense promotion of walking helmets for pedestrians has begun. This logic has been sorely missed. These two organisations have happily promoted bike helmets but pedestrians suffer just as many head injuries, if not more. This Danish campaign poster reads: "A walking helmet is a good helmet" "Traffic safety isn't just for cyclists. The pedestrians of Denmark actually have a higher risk of head injury. The Danish Road Safety Council recommends walking helmets for pedestrians and other good folk in high risk groups." The slogan is catchy in Danish since it kind of rhymes. All in all it's a brilliant project. Let's save some lives. The new walking helmets will be available in the Danish Cyclists Union's [Dansk cyklist forbund] shop. Although, as the

Driving Kills - Health Warnings

I think it's safe to say that we have a pressing need for marketing cycling positively if we're to encourage people to ride bicycles and begin the transformation of our cities into more liveable places. Instead of scare campaigns about cycling [a life-extending, healthy, sustainable transport form], wouldn't it be more appropriate to begin campaigns about the dangers of automobiles? Many people in car-centric countries no longer regard cars as dangerous. Maybe they realise it, but the car is such an ingrained part of the culture that the perception of danger rarely rises to the surface of peoples consciousness. Sure, there are scare campaigns for cars out there, but what if we just cut to the chase? Much like smoking. Only a couple of decades ago, cigarettes were an integral part of life, whether you smoked or not. That has changed radically. We think that we could borrow freely from the health warnings now found on cigarette packs around the world. In order to be tho

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