Henry Christian (c.1809-91), the grandfather of the photographer, was one of the first settlers in Kew. He arrived in Victoria with his wife Agnes and son Orlando in 1855 on the Gypsy Queen. He established a rope-making business in Bulleen Road by 1858 but was declared insolvent two years later. In his final years, he was celebrated as one of the oldest living settlers of the district. His son, Orlando Henry Beater Christian (c.1853-1930) became a member of the Hawthorn Band and a foundation member of the Willsmere Swimming Club. Orlando and his wife Elizabeth had four children of which Henry Beater Christian (1886-1962) was the oldest.An album of photographs, compiled by Henry Beater Christian (1886-1962) of Pakington Street, Kew, depicting individuals, natural and settled environments and the interactions between these worlds. Henry Christian, was a keen explorer, not just of his immediate environment but also of the Victorian wilderness. His major opus is contained in two albums in which he records, sometimes in majestic detail and on other occasions the intimate features of the natural world. His photographic travels during the 1920s, often in solitary ramblings but on other occasions with companions, recall the heroic landscape photography of an earlier era, pioneered by Nicholas Caire. In addition to their aesthetic value, the albums are historically significant records within the State of Victoria, of what is now a distant point in time, and of places that have become radically altered through human intervention.Digital copy of a 47-page photograph album containing 255 gelatinous silver images, loaned by Diane Washfold with permission given to digitise and hold a copy in our collection. The album contains a groups of photographic positives taken by Henry B Christian (a resident of Pakington Street), of places in Kew and throughout regional Victoria during the 1920s. The mainly sepia photographs, while small, are of a high quality. Photographs are typically lightly glued onto pages. Locations are frequently identified by white or black ink, which in a number of cases is illegible due to wear. Readable named locations include: Kew, the Grampians, Marysville, Baw Baw, Daylesford, Hepburn Springs, Bruthen, Swan Reach, Yea, Flowerdale, Port Fairy, Cockatoo, etc.henry beater christian (1886-1962), landscape photography, photograph albums, kew (vic.) — yarra river, kew (vic.) — zig-zag bridge, kew (vic.) — macauley’s boathouse, studley park (vic.) — yarra river, wonderland — grampians (vic.), black spur (vic.), marysville (vic.), maroondah dam (vic.) — construction, warburton (vic.), cockatoo (vic.), bruthen (vic.), swan reach road (vic.), glen hills (vic.), lightning creek (vic.), omeo (vic.), glen wills (vic.), mt wills (vic.), sunnyside (vic), granite flat (vic.), toolangi (vic.), yea (vic, )., flowerdale (vic.), mt white law (vic.), baw baw (vic.), christian-washfold collection

This aerial photograph shows the Kew Cottages, and doctors/clergy residences on the north side of Wills Street, before the State Government sold the land for residential development. The doctors residences in Wills street were made of 'Glen Iris' Olympic Bricks. According to neighbours of the time most of the buildings were demolished overnight in the 1980s.Aerial photograph of Willsmere and the Kew Cottages bounded by the Boulevard, the Chandler Highway, Princess Street and Fellows Street. The roundabout at the intersection of Princess Street, Wills Street, and Eglinton Street is at the top left. The Eastern Freeway is at the lower edge of the photograph.kew cottages, eastern freeway, willsmere, yarra river, aerial photographs -- kew (vic), kew boulevard, willsmere mental hospital, kew mental hospital, kew childrens cottages