POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Glass plate negative of the Criminal Investigation Branch Annual Ball photographed by Tom Lennon

Object No. 94/63/1-1/32

This photograph is from an archive of negatives from the Sydney commercial photographer Tom Trembath Lennon (1908-1992) contains approximately 1800 images ranging across the period 1927 to 1949. Tom Lennon was born in Sydney and first attended school at Lewisham. His interests in the arts led him to form close friendships with many theatrical figures as well as experimenting with photography. In the 1930s he opened a commercial and portrait studio on Victoria Road, Drummoyne, Sydney, and his friendships appear to have opened up avenues which allowed him to record the social activities of day. A a result many of the images are balls, dinners, parties, work functions, theatrical events and horse races held on Sydney around this time. The majority of balls and dinners in the photos were held at Mark Foy's Empress Ballroom but other venues included: Farmers Blaxland Galleries, Granville Town Hall, Hordern Brothers, Jack Keating Dance Studio, Oddfellows Hall, St George's Hall at Newtown, Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, Sydney Town Hall, the Trocadero, and University of Sydney's Great Hall. As a result this collection of photographs have captured a significant slice of Sydney life from the 1927 through to the 1950. In 1955 Lennon moved to Wagga Wagga where he worked as photographer for the Daily Advertiser for 20 years. An extensive collection of his work during his Wagga period is held at the Charles Sturt University Regional Archives. Geoff Barker, 2012 References Not Just Black and White, Catalogue, published by the Museum of the Riverina and Charles Sturt University Regional Archives, 2008