Historical information

Henry Beater Christian (1886-1962) , was a descendant of one of the earliest settler families in Kew. Employed at the Kew Asylum as a 'public servant', he was a skilled amateur photographer, photographing numerous scenes in Kew and on his travels around Victoria. The majority of his photographs date from 1916 to 1929. His finest photographs are housed in two photograph albums.

Physical description

Digital copy of a photograph from page 3 of the 47-page photograph album containing 261 gelatinous silver images, loaned by Diane Washfold with permission given to digitise and hold a copy in our collection. This photograph is of a stretch of the Yarra near Macauley's Boat Sheds. In the distance, elevated above the river are the towers of the Kew Asylum. Henry B Christian developed his own photographs and often selected those he considered artistically fine for visual modification, such in this instance, where he used an oval framing technique in the development process. The style was commonplace in postcards.

Inscriptions & markings

"Yarra Rvr / Kew / 1925"