George Cornwall was an avid photographer. Through work with National Parks and Wildlife Service in South Australia, he was able to travel through outback South Australia. He moved in 1978 to Victoria, he continued his work in National Parks Victoria and continued taking numerous photos. George Cornwall’s journeys were filled with incredible photographic opportunities.
George was born in Adelaide in 1930. As a child, he had an interest in the natural sciences and loved catching animals, reptiles and the like. He commenced working as an electrician prior to commencing work with the National Parks Commission in the 1960s.
He then worked with the Department and completed studies into areas that were in need of conservation. This involved an immense amount of travel around the state.
In 1978, George and his family moved to Horsham in Victoria to reduce the amount of travel that he was doing. He retired in the 1990s.
He and his wife then moved to Stawell in Victoria to be closer to family.
After George, my father-in-law, passed away in 2007, I gained access to his great collection of photos and slides. George was meticulous in his labelling of his photos. They included many of his passions – including the outback, animals, reptiles, birds and vegetation.
The collection of photos is a great resource, particularly of sites that now form parts of the South Australian National Parks and Conservation Parks. This includes vegetation, rock, fire and fauna information. There are photos of the same location taken over a number of years. They show the changes in vegetation following fires and floods.
Heather and I are planning to visit many of these areas. My objective is to photograph locations that George Cornwall photographed to see the changes that have been made.
