A colour photograph of a visit by the grand-daughter of Nicholas and Louisa Caire to "The Hermitage" at Narbethong in Victoria.A colour photograph of a visit by the grand-daughter of Nicholas and Louisa Caire to "The Hermitage" at Narbethong in Victoria. "The Hermitage" was built by photographer John William Lindt as a home and guesthouse in 1894. John Lindt had previously photographed the mountain scenery of the Black Spur and purchased 71 acres and subseqently built his home and guesthouse from where he continued his career. "The Hermitage had a garden designed by John Lindt's friend, Ferdinand von Mueller, who was at one stage the Director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. The garden featured New Guinea tree houses from which John Lindt made frequent panoramas of his property and the surrounding forest of towering mountain ash. Aged 81 Lindt died of heart failure during disastrous bushfires on 19 February 1926 at the Hermitage. He was survived by his wife Catherine who continued to run ‘The Hermitage’ guest house before she retired to the city. John Lindt, in collaboration with Nicholas John Caire, produced a tourist booklet on the area around "The Hermitage" in 1913.the hermitage, john william lindt, narbethong, victoria, black spur, ferdinand von mueller, melbourne botanic gardens, new guinea, catherine lindt, nicholas john caire

A digital copy of a black and white photograph of Nicholas John Caire, his wife Louisa, and their five adult children.A digital copy of a black and white photograph of Nicholas John Caire, his wife Louisa, and their five adult children. Nicholas John Caire was born in 1837 in Guernsey. He arrived in Adelaide about 1860 along with his parents who encouraged his early interest in photography. He opened a studio in Adelaide in 1867 after traveling extensively throughout the Gippsland taking photographs. After marrying Louisa Master in 1870 he moved to Talbot in Victoria until 1876 when he opened a studio in the Royal Arcade in Melbourne. After 1885 Nicholas John Caire gave up his city work and made his home in South Yarra and devoted the rest of his life to outdoor photography, specializing in the bush, the gullies, and the mountains of south-eastern Victoria. nicholas john caire, louisa master, louisa caire