Introduction
These images form part of a collection of around two thousand 35mm transparencies taken by Dr. Webb and a few others during the course of many years' study (since early 1950s) in the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry. They depict a wide variety of native vegetation, fauna and landscapes, mainly in tropical and subtropical Northeastern Australia, and are of considerable historical value, as many of the sites have now been lost or have suffered disturbance of various forms. Around fifty of the images were photographed by Cape York resident, bushman and natural history specimen-collector, J.L.H. Wassell, and these are identified in the annotations.
[Note: Information about the fascinating life of J.L.H.Wassell may be found in the article by Elizabeth N. Marks: "Joseph Leathom Hole Wassell and his Contribution to Australian Natural History" in The Australian Zoologist, 14 (3) 1968, pp.229-236.]
In 1994 Dr Webb donated his collection to the University Library and the slides have been digitised using PhotoCD technology. The PhotoCD master has been used to create low resolution copies for Web display: the original, higher resolution images may be consulted in the Library by arrangement.
Annotations
The annotations and subject arrangement have been completed by Professor Webb and Geoff Tracey in the period 1998-1999, and reflect perspectives and preoccupations of the time. Some extra annotations were contributed in October 2005 by J.L.H. Wassell's son, David.
Technical Quality
Some of the transparencies were showing deterioration because of their age. Minor retouching has been undertaken in some cases to remove obvious dust marks and the like, but the images are made available because of their historical and ecological interest, rather than outright photographic quality. The viewing experience may also vary significantly, depending on the quality of the equipment used.
Copyright
Permission may be given for most of the images in the collection to be used on websites or in other ways for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided the source is clearly acknowledged. High resolution copies of images suitable for print publication are not available.
Requests for permission to use an image from the collection should cite the Image Number and give a clear description of how it will be used.