Fishing for yabbies was a popular activity for young people during the 1950s. All you needed was a stick with a length of string and a piece of meat at the end. Sitting on a creek bank, it was a waiting game, but usually the yabbies used their claws to latch onto the meat. These children were photographed in January 1957 at Blackman’s Swamp Creek in National Park, a favourite place to hunt for the creatures.

Photo courtesy of the CWD Negative Collection, Orange & District Historical Society. Volunteers from the society carry out various tasks each Wednesday at their headquarters at 148 March Street from 10.30am to 4pm. Members of the public are welcome to call in with queries on local and family history.