Analysis of a Location of a Historical Photo of a Woolshed

Analysis of the Location of a Historical Photo of a Woolshed

by 

Tony Maple

Context

A Canberra historian proposed a hypothesis that the location of a historical woolshed photo was at the Glenburn woolshed.   Would terrain profiles analysis falsify or support that hypothesis?

The historical photo was sourced from Sylvia Curley who stated it was of the Duntroon woolshed.  Earlier analysis suggested Duntroon was unlikely location and that it may have been of the first Cuppacumbalong woolshed. The slope at the top right of the historical photo was a diagnostic feature -- what location would produce such a gradient?

Technique

I first compared the slope in the right upper corner of the historical photo with those on the horizon visible from Glenburn Woolshed and then from Cuppacumbalong Woolshed.  To do that, I used both Peak Visor's Panorama 3D tool and Google Earth Pro to generate terrain profiles from locations close to the two woodsheds.

Panorama 3D Analysis

I first used Panorama 3D to generate two views of the horizon from Glenburn woolshed: 1) North towards Amungula trig, and 2) North East towards Mt Cohen.   Neither view produced slopes that aligned to that in the historical photo.  See both below.  

I then used Panorama 3D to generate a single view of the horizon from Cuppacumbalong woolshed.  The slope matches very closely, if not exactly.

Result.  The Panorama 3D terrain profile comparisons falsify Glenburn woolshed as being the location.  Rather, the comparison strongly suggests the historical photo was taken at the site of the Cuppacumbalong woolshed.

Google Earth Pro Analysis

I then applied Google Earth Pro to the same question.  The terrain profile it generated suggests there is no slope on Amungula trig - Mt Cohen horizon that comes close to that in the historical photo.

In contrast, the terrain profile generated by Google Earth Pro closely—if not exactly—matches the slope evident in the historical photo.

Conclusion

The terrain profile analyses using both Panorama 3D and Google Earth Pro falsify the hypothesis that the historical photo was taken at or near the Glenburn woolshed. 

 
Rather, the analyses indicate the location of the historical photo was much more likely to be at Cuppacumbalong woolshed.