John's brother sent through an old family photograph a few days ago that had most of the Robertson siblings standing outside the front gate of Struan Farm many years ago now:
It's not the sharpest photograph, but it's interesting to us on a few counts and prompted quite a discussion. First, to compare the front roadside property then and now. The dahlias and gladioli are long gone, but the trees have grown in a major way. Here's roughly the same area today:
Second, the road surface of the state highway and main road south. I learnt that it was actually white originally, something I never knew! While the segment of "Old Road" that goes through the farm is, in fact, white, I'd thought this was because it had been worn down over the years to its base, not because the road itself was white. I was wrong. For readers who aren't as familiar with the history of the farm as well as we are, many years ago now John's dad Maurie did a land swap with the government roading agency when they re-routed the state highway. So a section of the old highway became part of the farm, which we still call "the Old Road." Here's what it looks like today:
Lastly, it looks like John's wearing a tie! Must have been the school uniform, but then he was also known to favour bow ties every so often as an homage to his grandfather Sir Carrick.
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