| EARLY PHOTOGRAPHERS/STUDIOS |
| STUDIO/PHOTOGRAPHERS NAME |
ADDRESS
OF OPERATION |
DATES
ACTIVE |
NOTES incl. types of photographs
produced |
American Photographic Co
(William True Bennett) |
travelling photographer |
1858 |
A native of Michigan, USA, Bennett
worked in Brisbane from 1857 with visits to the Darling Downs, Ipswich
and the north for 20 months taking some portraits but mostly landscapes
for the Illustrated London Times and the London International Exhibition.
Made visits to Gayndah, Wide Bay, Port Curtis. First to offer melainotypes
(tintypes) in Queensland. Later formed a partnership with Daniel F. Metcalfe
in 1878 and they had studios in Brisbane and then Maryborough (see below).
ambrotypes |
Robert McClelland
(1826-1872) |
travelling photographer |
1862, 1869, 1871 |
Born 1826 in Kirkinner, Scotland.
Emigrated to Australia c.1852 and worked in Melbourne as photographer.
He later travelled to Armidale in 1859, then on to Tenterfield, Warwick
and Drayton before going to Sydney. He returned to Brisbane in September
1859 and stayed into 1860, then went to Ipswich. Visited Maryborough
and Gayndah in 1862 then set up a studio in Newtown, Sydney from 1862-64.
Travelled throughout Queensland in 1869 then settled in Maryborough in
1871 where he died in 1872. Father of photographer George S. McClelland
who later set up in Maryborough himself (see below).
ambrotypes, cartes de visite |
| Lawson Insley |
travelling photographer
set up a temporary studio in Howard's Cottage |
24 July - 7 Oct 1862 |
Originally from Sydney where he
took daguerreotypes, Insley later travelled in New South Wales, then into
Queensland. First photographer to open a studio in Maryborough although
only or 2½ months.
ambrotypes |
Excelsior Photographic Gallery
(Ashbury Bright) |
Kent St |
1864-1868 |
Initially a daguerreotypist in Melbourne
from 1858-1859. Travelled to Queensland and opened a studio in Maryborough
1864 that continued until 1868 when Bright sold his negatives to C. H.
Moore (see below)
ambrotypes, cartes de visite |
| Thomas
Mathewson |
travelling
photographer |
1868,
1872 |
Mathewson began in photography
in 1864 which he learned from Alfred Hazelton in Ipswich. He travelled
throughout southern Queensland and NSW then remained in Gympie from 1868-1871
before taking to the road again. He eventually formed the partnership
Mathewson and Co with his brother Peter in 1876 and they operated a studio
in Queen St, Brisbane. Peter opened a studio in Maryborough in 1884 (see
below).
cartes de visite |
C. H. Moore
(Christopher Hume Moore)
(-1875) |
Kent St
Richmond St
Elliott St
Kent St |
1868
1871
1875
1875 |
Moore started in Maryborough having
bought the negatives of Ashbury Bright (see above) then spent periods in
Nashville in 1868, Blackall in 1869 and Gayndah in 1871 and he appears
to have worked mainly as a travelling photographer. His career cut short
by his untimely death in 1875.
cartes de visite |
E. B. Cardell
(Charles Edward William Boys Cardell) |
Bazaar St |
1874-1875 |
Started in Adelaide where he was
known as C. B. Cardell. Worked as both a photographer and chemist training
under W. A. Francis. Later moved to Kapunda S.A. then to Maryborough
in 1874 where he practised photography and worked as a chemist in partnership
with Fermann before moving to Roma, Queensland where he also worked as
both photographer and chemist. For some reason changed his name to
E. B. Cardell. Moved to Cloncurry around 1894.
cartes de visite |
The American and Australian Photographic Co
(E. H. Forster) |
Adelaide St |
1872 |
Forster
ran the Queensland branch of the American & Australian Photographic
Company, but set up his own business in 1874. He moved his operation
to Gympie from 1876-79 and then returned to Maryborough. In the mid
1870s Forster's was the major studio in Maryborough
cartes de visite |
E. H. Forster
(Edward Hartshorn Forster) |
Kent St
The Panopticon, Adelaide St
Kent St
Adelaide St
Kent St |
1872-1874
1874-1875
1876
1880-1881
1882-1888 |
McClelland & Clowes
(George
S. McClelland
(1858-) & John Stanfell
Clowes) |
Kent St |
1876-1880 |
George McClelland was
the son of Robert McClelland (see above). He followed his father into photography,
but he was only 14 when his father died. He returned to Maryborough in
1896 (see below). Clowes moved on to Harrisville in 1878 and Ipswich in
1879 and afterwards did not appear to remain active in photography.
cartes de visite |
| Bingingee Sorabjee Pochee/Poochee |
Adelaide St |
April 1878-1880 |
Poochee, a Parsee Indian started
in photography in Calcutta before emigrating to Australia and settling
in Ipswich where he operated a studio from 1863, with a brief studio operation
in Brisbane in 1864. He travelled to Dalby in 1877 then on to Maryborough
in 1878. Poochee left Maryborough to work in Gayndah for a short
period and eventually he relocated to Townsville in 1880/1881. His studio
was taken over for a short time by Daniel F. Metcalfe and William True
Bennett. Poochee ultimately went to Parramatta where his son Sorabjee opened
his own studio.
cartes de visite |
| Queensland Photo Co. |
Richmond St |
March-April 1879 |
Probably the firm operated by
Albert Reckitt (of the famous Reckitt's Blue making family) and John Henry
Mills who worked in North Queensland from 1881-1899.
cartes de visite |
American Photographic Co
Bennett & Metcalfe
(William True Bennett &
Daniel Frederick Metcalfe) |
Kent St
Adelaide St |
April 1880
May 1880 |
Daniel
F. Metcalfe was the step-son of Sydney photographer Thomas Skelton
Glaister. After working for his step-father travelling through NSW
he later opened a studio in Brisbane by himself and then in partnership
with with step-brother Thomas Glaister jnr. Following Glaister's death
Metcalfe joined with William T. Bennett (see above) and they took over
the premises occupied by Poochee. Metcalfe worked in Gympie in 1885 for
R. Huggins then later there for himself. He returned to Maryborough
in a partnership with Cameron who left shortly after to set up by himself
in Bundaberg. Metcalfe worked alone for the last 3 years retiring
in 1898. He died in 1902. Bennett opened in Rockhampton in 1886 in
partnership with Hugen and joined Hugen again in Rutherglen, Victoria
in 1899. |
Cameron & Metcalfe
(Donald Cameron &
Daniel Frederick Metcalfe) |
Bazaar St |
1895 |
Daniel F. Metcalfe
(-1902) |
Bazaar St |
1895-1898 |
| Charles Bayliss |
travelling photographer |
1880 |
Previously a partner of Beaufroy
Merlin in the American & Australian Photographic Company, which dissolved
after Merlin's death in 1873. Bayliss was a very successful operator
in Sydney afterwards and he took many fine landscape views, which is probably
his reason for visiting the Maryborough region. He operated his George
St studio in Sydney into the 20th century. |
American Studio
(Poul C. Poulsen) |
temporary studio |
July-Sep 1882 |
Poul Poulsen and his younger brothers
ran the Adelaide and Brisbane franchises of Gove and Allen's American Studio,
a chain of tintype facilities. Gove and Allen (and later Allen's wife)
operated such studios in the USA, in collaboration with gem tintype pioneer
Simon Wing. Poul or one of his brothers took "flying branches" of the Brisbane
studio to Maryborough and Rockhampton. Poul Poulsen set up his own general
photograph studio in Newcastle in 1884 and then returned to Brisbane in
1885. A Maryborough branch of this studio operated by his brother Anton
opened in Maryborough in 1897 (see below).
gem tintypes |
Frsico Photo Co
(George Anthony Tissington) |
Adelaide St |
1882 |
Previously worked in various NSW
towns such as Goulburn and Carcoar. Set up in Brisbane in 1877 as
the manager of the Frisco Photo Co and then did the same in Brisbane
St, Ipswich taking over the premises of Poochee in March 1878. J.
H. Lundager operated another branch of the Frisco Photo Co in Rockhampton
and advertised reprints from the negatives of his former partner J. W.
Wilder . Tissington's photograph mounts advertised "Photographs copied
and reduced to fit the smallest locket, or enlarged up to life size." He
eventually moved into Ellenborough St, Ipswich where he employed Francis
Whitehead who took over the studio in 1882/1883. Tissington opened
a studio in Toowoomba in 1880 before moving to Maryborough in 1882.
cartes de visite |
| Peter Mathewson |
|
1884 |
Elder brother of Thomas Mathewson
(see above). Probably learnt photography from Thomas, eventually joining
him in partnership as Mathewson & Co in 1876 with a studio in Queen
St, Brisbane. Was probably well acquainted with Maryborough, where his
wife, Bridget Duggan's family resided. Married in Gayndah 1860. Peter set
up a short lived studio in Maryborough during 1884. He and Thomas
parted ways in 1889 and after running a boot palace selling shoes for a
time Peter opened his own studio in Wickham St, Fortitude Valley c.1894.
cartes de visite, cabinet photos, opalotypes |
American Glace Photo
Co
(William Alexander Smith) |
Adelaide St |
1884-86 |
Probably the W. Smith active in Charters
Towers in 1881 and Gympie in 1882-83. One mount bearing the address
18 Brook St, Ipswich may be from his English studio as there is no such
street in the Queensland town of that name. Another photo mount gives his
address as just Queensland, suggesting he worked as a travelling photographer
and it states that Smith was "from England". He returned to Gympie in 1887.
cartes de visite |
Champion
(Thomas Champion) |
|
|
Does not appear to have been active as a photographer
for long. Worked as a grocer in Charters Towers in 1903.
cartes de visite |
| Norah Hele |
-
Bazaar St |
c.1884
1890-91 |
Not much is yet known of what is probably Maryborough's
first female photographer. Probably the wife of James Andrew Hele.
cabinet photos |
| Miss M. Caldwell |
Adelaide St |
Oct 1885 |
|
San Francisco Studio
(Bernardt Fritsche) |
Kent St |
1886-91 |
Fritsche later worked in Mackay
in 1891 and Charters Towers from 1892-1898. Had a partnership for a time
with Gerstenkorn.
cartes de visite |
Elite Studio
(William McGuire) |
Mary St |
1886 |
Previously from Sydney, McGuire
also had a studio in Gympie and closed his Maryborough studio in May 1886
to work exclusively at the other premises.
cartes de visite |
| Alfred Robert Fosbrooke |
Pallas St
Churchill St
Bazaar St |
1888-89
1895-96
1897-1912 |
Originally from Sydney, Fosbrooke
moved to Maryborough for a time, then to Bundaberg from 1890-93 and
then Tamworth in 1894 before returning to Maryborough.
cabinet photos |
| Frederick Whittaker |
Kent St |
1888-89 |
|
Whittaker Bros
(Charles & Frederick Whittaker) |
Adelaide St |
1892-99 |
Arthur Edwin Urry
(c.1865-1928) |
Kent St
Adelaide St |
1889-1893
1893-1897 |
Arrived in Queensland 1885 aboard
the Wahoonga from Hampshire but was a native of the Isle of Wight where
he trained as a photographer. His photograph mount stated "Gold Medal and
Nine First Prizes Exhibition 1889-1890". Urry later worked in Oxley,
Brisbane with Charles Lucock then opened a studio in Townsville in 1900
and in Fortitude Valley with his brother around 1918.
cartes de visite, cabinet photos |
Bowers & Earnshaw
(William Earnsahw) |
|
1891 |
William Earnshaw is listed as teacher in Maryborough
in 1903 so probably only briefly dabbled in professional photography. |
| Sidney Edward Hill |
Bazaar St |
1892 |
Started in Eidsvold 1888, then studios
in Maryborough & Barcaldine in 1892 and he opened studios in Cooktown
in 1895, New Guinea in 1897 then Warwick in 1898. S.E. fought in South
Africa during the Boer War but nothing is known of his whereabouts after
his return to Australia.
cabinet photos |
| George S. McClelland |
Bazaar St |
1896 |
George McClelland was the son
of Robert McClelland (see above). He followed his father into photography,
but he was only 14 when his father died. McClelland moved to Maryborough
in 1876 and operated there alone and in partnership with Clowes from 1876-80
(see above). He subsequently had a studio in Rockhampton and returned to
Maryborough in 1896 then moved on in that year to Gympie. |
| Poul
C. Poulsen |
Adelaide
St |
1897 |
A branch
studio of Poul Poulsen's Brisbane operation probably run by his brother
Anton who had worked for him in Adelaide in Gove and Allen's American Studio
which produced tintypes and cartes de visite.
cabinet photos |
| Kent
St |
1898 |
| William
Rose |
Kent
St |
1905 |
Was previously in Townsville in 1903. |
| Miss Hunter |
Kent St |
1906-1912 |
The second female professional photographer
to operate in Maryborough.
postcard photos |
| Olesen & Strong |
Kent St |
1911-17 |
postcard photos |
Strong Studios
(Thomas J. Strong) |
|
1917-22 |
postcard photos, mounted enlargements |
W. A. Milne
(William Alexander Milne)
(1874-1929) |
Bazaar St |
1910-29 |
William was
born in Partick, Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1874 and did his apprenticeship
in Glasgow. He operated his own studio there, employing his younger brother
James. The family emigrated Australia, going to Maryborough in 1910 where
William he worked as a photographer until his death in 1929.
postcard photos, mounted enlargements |
B. A. Austin
(Bernard Harry Austin)
(1884-) |
|
1914-16 |
postcard
photos |
| Edward James Rumballe |
Kent St |
1923-29 |
postcard photos |
| David William Evans |
Pialba |
1923-25 |
postcard photos |
| Frank Campbell |
397 Kent St |
1940-45 |
postcard photos |
| EARLY
POST CARD PUBLISHERS |
| PUBLISHER/SERIES |
DATES PRODUCED |
NOTES |
| Coloured
Shell Series |
c.1904-1915 |
Produced view postcards covering the all major towns
of Queensland. They appear to have licensed negatives also used by
other publishers. Their range included over 150 different views.
At least one of the Maryborough views was taken by A.E. Urry. |
| Intelligence and Tourism Bureau |
1909 |
Series of black and white printed views from throughout
Queensland printed by A.J. Cumming, Govt. Printer many based on the photography
of Queensland government photographer Henry Mobsby.
Titles:
Views of Maryborough 1. Mary River, Maryborough. 2. School
of Arts. 3. Botanic Gardens |
E.D.
& Co. later EDCO
(Edwards Dunlop & Company) |
c1905-1915 |
Published numerous view postcards initially real photographs
usually taken by Crown Studios of Sydney later moving into printed postcards.
Most cards feature an identifying serial number and they cover both the
major and many smaller towns of Queensland. |
Geo. Stupart, Maryborough
(George Stupart)
(1883-) |
c.1907 |
Published a series of printed coloured black and white
Maryborough local views. Ran a drapery business in Maryborough.
Titles:
Maryborough, Q. Garden Terrace No. 82383 |
T.
Miller & Co
(Thomas Miller) |
c.1908-1909 |
Long established stationer and bookseller in Maryborough
from the 1870s, who took over the business of J. D. Ridley. Published a
series of view postcards covering Maryborough to Townsville. Printed in
Saxony.
Titles:
The Hospital (Perfection Series) photo by Fisbrooke (sic)
Wesley Church, Maryborough, Queensland (Perfection Series)
photo by Fisbrooke (sic) |
| A. R. Fosbrooke |
c.1909-1910 |
Local photographer (see photographer section above) who
produced real photograph postcards of Maryborough. Some of his negatives
were used by postcard publishers including T. Miller & Co (see above) |
| Skipper Watson |
c.1915-1920 |
Titles:
12. Granville Bridge, Maryborough |
|
Click on the hyperlinked
photographer or postcard publisher names to see more information and/or
examples of their output
|
| Notes:
Some of the year ranges stated may not be accurate or
complete as the information is limited to what has appeared in trade directories
and newspapers and what was written on photos. Trade directory entries
took some months to appear in print, and businesses opening after publication
date did not appear until the next issue. The above list should be reasonably
complete for photographers who established studios in Maryborough but may
be deficient in coverage of travelling/itinerant photographers who
visited the region as they often left little record of their activities
although sometimes they did announce their arrival in a local newspaper.
Due to the large number of
such requests I am no longer able to date your photos personally. If you
are seeking historical photos of Maryborough I would suggest the organisations
listed below as my collection consists mainly of portraiture.
Anyone with further information
about the above photographers or with names of and information about other
photographers not listed is welcome to contact me.
N.B. ** I am particularly
interested in making contact with the descendants and relations of photographers** |
| Sources:
Private research by site author through contacting the
descendants of photographers. Most of the photographs studied and
used on this site are from my private collection which is predominantly
unidentified portraiture.
various Queensland Post Office Directories
Pugh's Almanac
Queensland At Home, Brisbane 1905
Maryborough Almanac and Wide Bay and Burnett Business
Directory, W. S. Roberts, Maryborough, 1874 and 1875 editions
Maryborough Chronicle and Wide Bay & Burnett Advertiser
(commenced
1 Nov 1860 - published Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
Wide Bay & Burnett News (commenced 2 Jun 1870
- published Wednesday & Saturday)
Moreton Bay Courier
Alan Davies and Peter Stanbury, "The Mechanical Eye
in Australia", OUP, Sydney, 1988.
Sandy Barrie, "Professional Photographers in Queensland
1849-1920", Brisbane, 1988.
Sandy Barrie, ""Queenslanders
Behind The Camera", Brisbane, 1988.
Sandy Barrie, "Australians Behind the Camera, Directory
of Early Australian Photographers 1841-1945", Sandie Barrie, Booval,
Queensland, 2002. |
| Thankyou to Jack Mathewson, Nancy Bennett,
Harry Poulsen, Ken & Millicent Poulsen, Nancy Edwards, Phillip Rumballe,
Sandra Smith, Mark Urry, Murray Wilson, Mark Boge, Alan Davies and Maryborough
Historical Society (especially Jean Hunter, Shirley Hewitt and John Hall) |
