Thousands of local photos preserved forever

Local photographer Bill Robinson’s collection of 26,000 photos has been added to the Sunshine Coast Heritage Library for all to enjoy.

The collection gives us insights into the region during this period of changing landscapes, tracking our transition from small coastal and rural communities to booming developments as we grew into a major tourist destination. 

The images document the Sunshine Coast’s cultural and social history, and important aspects of the natural and built environment, from the 1950s through to Bill’s retirement in 1984.

Sunshine Coast Council Strong Community Portfolio Councillor Taylor Bunnag said Council’s Heritage Library team was thrilled to have recently added the final 1500 images into the catalogue.

“This large-scale digitisation project started three years ago and now everyone is able to access these photos online,” Cr Bunnag said.

“Photography plays a crucial role in helping us understand the past, documenting events, places and people to offer a glimpse of what life was once like, along with significant moments and cultural insights. 

“These photos are invaluable for our local historians and of course evoke a sense of nostalgia for the generations whose lives they captured.”

Sunshine Coast Council’s Cultural Heritage Services Coordinator Peter Connell said the collection was so significant that Council commissioned a historian and conservator to assess the collection for its significance and preservation needs.

“These reports have been integral to guiding the digitisation during the last three years, with the overall project taking place over the past six years,” Mr Connell said.

“The project was supported by the Arts and Heritage Levy, which is used to document, research, conserve, protect, promote and provide access to those tangible and intangible items, places, facilities and events that define the stories, history and values of the people, communities and culture of the Sunshine Coast.”

Who was Bill Robinson?

Bill Robinson and his wife Phyllis Breadman moved to the Sunshine Coast after they both finished service as photographers in the Royal Australian Airforce after WWII.

Living in Tewantin, they gradually extended their business throughout the district, eventually visiting Nambour one day per week.

Timeline

• In 1950, the Robinsons moved to Nambour and started a branch studio.
• In 1961, they purchased Owen Studios in the Chadwick building, Currie Street, Nambour.
• In 1973, they opened another photographic studio in Caloundra, managed by their son Ted Robinson.
• In 1976, Bill and Phyllis established a retail camera shop in the foyer of the old Vogue Theatre in Nambour. In addition to his studio business, Bill also worked as a freelance photographer taking photos for the Nambour Chronicle newspaper and the Nambour Police force.
• In 1981, the Robinsons pioneered Pacific Film Services on the Sunshine Coast.

A significant contribution

Bill supplied one photograph per week to the Nambour Chronicle (from around the mid-1970s to 1984) and it was regularly the only photograph in the paper.

As the Nambour Chronicle evolved, photographs were used more often and Bill attended functions and gatherings to take photographs on the paper’s behalf.

These negatives, donated to Nambour Library in 1990 by the Nambour Apex Club, have been gradually digitised over the course of 30 years.

Search the Library Catalogue online or visit Picture Sunshine Coast (search Bill Robinson) to view the collection spanning from Coolum in the north to Caloundra in the south and in hinterland towns of Nambour, Eumundi and Maleny.

To explore more Sunshine Coast history or to find out how you can donate to the Heritage Library visit Sunshine Coast Council’s Libraries website.