New exhibition showcases defining moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive

17 March 2025

A new exhibition delves into Fairfax's archives to uncover defining moments from more than 50 years of Australian news history.

Curated by highly regarded photojournalist Mike Bowers, Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive is currently running at the National Library of Australia (NLA).

Young girl holding an exceptionally large apple, c. 1930, nla.obj-163350126, courtesy National Library of Australia.

The Library holds more than 18,000 photographs in the Fairfax Archive of glass-plate negatives.

Published in newspapers such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun and The Sydney Mail between 1890 and 1948, the images in the exhibition trace the art of photojournalism from its infancy, through the development of visual storytelling, to the highly illustrated news stories we know so well today.

Huddled around the campfire, New South Wales, c. 1920, nla.obj-162837065, courtesy National Library of Australia.

The first Fairfax photographer was George Bell, who travelled around Australia on horseback at a time when photography was a cumbersome and complicated art, his large format camera in tow.

Sydney Morning Herald photographer George Bell, New South Wales, 1910, nla.obj-163385448, courtesy National Library of Australia.

Bowers says the exhibition covers the period from the first stilted and set-up pictures in the nineteenth century to a twentieth-century form of photojournalism that is recognisable today.

"We have looked at these images through modern eyes, and with the hindsight of history, but I hope what we have to say would meet with the approval of Bell and his pioneering colleagues," he says.

Men working on the propeller of HMAS Australia at Cockatoo Island Dock, Sydney, 1930, nla.obj-161678472, courtesy National Library of Australia.

The exhibition is open now from 9-5 at the NLA, and runs until 20 July. Entry is free.