[Editor: This postcard, which incorporates a photograph of Seaview Road in Henley Beach (South Australia), featuring a tram, is undated; however, it is believed to have been published circa 1910.]
[Front of postcard]
Henley Beach, S.A.
[Description: A photograph of Seaview Road in Henley Beach (South Australia), with a tram, horse and cart, a car, a man with a bike, and various pedestrians.]
[Reverse of postcard]
POST CARD — SOUTH AUSTRALIA
[Handwritten text, in italics]
Dear Stella
I received your letter & drawings alright.
My word, you are coming on.
Townie say they are fine & the letter is splendid.
How do you like the picture on the other side? I spent one afternoon down there & enjoyed it very much.
Hope your whooping cough is better by this time.
Love to all
Albert
214508
[No identifying information about the manufacturer was included on the postcard.]
Source:
Original document
Editor’s notes:
Dimensions (approximate): 131 mm. (width), 86 mm. (height).
It appears that this postcard was sent inside of an envelope, as there is no address given and there are no postal markings on the postcard.
The photo was taken on the day of the official opening of the tram line between Thebarton and Henley Beach, on 23 December 1909. An article in Trolley Wire (August 1994) includes a nearly identical photo which is dated 23 December 1909 (apparently taken around the same time as the postcard photo was shot).
See: 1) Colin Seymour, “Adelaide’s toastrack trams” (Trolley Wire, August 1994, pp. 3-14 of PDF file), Sydney Tramway Museum [see photo on p. 6: “Toastrack No. 49 arrives at Henley Beach as the first car on 23 December 1909”]
2) “The Fulham Viaduct” (West Torrens Historical Society), West Torrens Library Service,
p. 3 (PDF file) [“The Thebarton to Henley Beach tram line officially opened on Thursday 23 December 1909”]
Based upon the photo being taken on 23 December 1909, it would be reasonable to assume that the postcard was published in late December 1909 or early 1910 (with only a few days left in 1909, this postcard has been designated as circa 1910; although it is possible that the publisher rushed to get the postcard printed the following day, in time for selling on Christmas Eve, it seems more likely that it was published in 1910). Copies of this postcard could have been sold for some years, so the year of its creation may be different to the year of its use.
The Ramsgate Hotel (328 Seaview Road, Henley Beach, SA) can be seen on the left side of the postcard.
See: 1) “Welcome to the Ramsgate Hotel”, Ramsgate Hotel (official site) [includes a photo of the Ramsgate Hotel]
2) “Every Heritage Place 212: Ramsgate Hotel, Henley Beach”, Josh RCG (account on Flickr), 24 September 2017 [includes a photo of the Ramsgate Hotel]
Henley Beach = a coastal suburb of Adelaide (South Australia)
See: “Henley Beach, South Australia”, Wikipedia
S.A. = an abbreviation of South Australia (a colony in Australia from 1836, then a state in 1901)
[Editor: For ease of reading, the original text has been separated into paragraphs, and punctuation has been inserted as deemed appropriate.]
[Editor: Changed “whopping cough” to “whooping cough”.]
Updated 23 April 2023
The electric tram was completed in Henley Beach around 1915 and so this card would be after that date. The building on the left is the Ramsgate Hotel which is still much in use.
Thank you for your comment.
As it turns out, the photo was apparently taken on 23 December 1909, with the official opening of the tram line between Thebarton and Henley Beach.
Perhaps another aspect of the line was completed in 1915?
Thanks to your prompting, some further research was carried out into the matter, and a very similar photo was discovered, which therefore gives a source for the date of the photo on this postcard.
Some information re the date has therefore been added to the post.
Also, thanks to your comment, some further information has been added, regarding which building appears in the photo (the Ramsgate Hotel), as well as giving the name of the street in which the photo was taken.