Photography arrived in Australia in 1842. Trove has an excellent article about the earliest photographers and also women photographers from 1850.
Travelling photographers toured the countryside documenting the growth of Australian industries and social culture. They often had their photos processed onto cardboard postcards which would be sold in local shops. These were popular with the residents to send to relatives and show off their towns. Many of the early postcards of Woodburn and Coraki were stamped with Schulstad or Sheridan and Huston – this is the name of the store who ordered/ commissioned them, rather than who the photographer was.
The George Hunt Collection can be found here. He lived locally at Tuckurimba for over 60 years and took 1100+ photos of the whole district and all the river traffic from 1906 to the 1970s.
Harold S. Temby
Very little is known about Harold Temby. He lived in Coraki and produced two series of postcards, first in 1905, some of which were printed in the Sydney Mail. The Richmond River Herald wrote about the second series in 1906 in March and September describing the cards and the quality of the printing. The only other reference found was when he moved to Queensland in 1909.
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Joseph Check – Travelling photographer from 1889 to 1930s
Joseph Check was much more than just a photographer. He was a real “showman”. He came to town and spent the days taking portraits and then in the evening he would put on a “limelight exhibition” with moving pictures of glass-plate slides, jugglers, dancing, fire-eating and whatever other skills his assistant at the time possessed. He travelled all over NSW and revisited towns many times. His unique perspective for composition and expertise with the lens, combined to produce some of the finest shots of the early Richmond River industries and people.
View the full gallery of Joseph Check‘s photos from the Richmond River.
Kerry & Co. 1901
Charles Kerry was an early enthusiast about photography and worked with various other creative people to progress the artform. Visit this website for a full biography. In 1895, Kerry began a Squatter’s Service, travelling around the colony photographing squatter’s land, homesteads, families and livestock. By 1898 he had the largest photographic establishment in Australia, a three floor building at 310 George Street, Sydney. By the turn of the Century, he had engaged other photographers to travel the countryside and collect photos. In this way he built a huge empire and dominated the postcard industry for many years.
Postcard boom
Between 1900 and 1920, picture postcards in Australia became an incredibly popular phenomenon. People could cheaply and easily send messages, without the formality of a letter, and they provided a cheap form of souvenir. Eventually, every event of significance was commemorated in some way with a postcard.
James Henry Goswell 1911/12
“Harry” was a local Coraki lad from a prominent farming family. There were a few mentions in the Richmond River Herald between 1911 to 1915 about him entering prints in country shows, or setting up a canvas tent in Richmond Terrace for “photographic purposes” and the two fire photos below were published in the Town and Country Journal. Only 3 photos have been located which were published under his name. He enlisted in WWI in 1916 but died at sea from food poisoning before reaching the front.
