File:Smith Residence at Atherton, Queensland, 1917 (8760420358).jpg

Location: Atherton, Queensland
Description: Two women and a little girl are sitting on the front steps of E.C.J. Smith's high-set home. Plants and climbers are growing on one side of the verandah. Hessian sacking is hung from the flooring joists down to the ground to make under-the-house storage. The front door is flanked by two identical french doors opening on to the front verandah.There are decorative verandah brackets and ornate acroteria on the edge of the guttering.
Atherton was named after John Atherton the pioneer pastoralist who brought cattle into the district from Rockhampton in 1877. He took up Emerald End Station on the banks of the Barron River. Settlement in Atherton began with the development of a cedar logging camp known as Prior's Pocket. Atherton is the agricultural hub of the Atherton Tableland. Chinese market gardeners dominated the scene until the early 1900's. After the First World War, land was cleared for soldier settlement. The fertile volcanic soil is ideal for dairying and grazing and also produces peanuts, potatoes, avocados, maize and other grains. Lake Eacham and Lake Barrine are the larger crater lakes in the district. From Atherton via the Herberton Range, it is about 16 km to the historic tin-mining town of Herberton. (Information taken from Explore Australia, Penguin, 2002 and The Australian Encyclopedia, 1964)
View this image at the State Library of Queensland: http://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/65181