Historical information

Henry Christian (c.1809-91) 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: Henry Beater (1886-1962), Ada Susannah May (1888-1962), Orlando Julius (1891-1917) and Lilian Adelaide ( -1956). Ada married George Herrick Washfold, and had four children: Lilian Mavis, Orlando George Barnard, William Edwin and Henry Clifford (the husband of the donor).

Significance

An item from an outstanding and diverse photographic collection, assembled by members of the Christian family of Pakington Street, Kew, comprising professional and amateur photography, depicting individuals, natural and settled environments and the interactions between these worlds. Many of the photographs vividly capture the worlds of three generations of men - Henry Christian, his son Orlando Henry Beater Christian, and his grandson of Henry Christian. The most important photographer was the youngest, Henry Christian, who 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.

Physical description

Photographic positive on mounting board. The image depicts a woman and three young children in a buggy drawn by a donkey. The road on which they pause is surrounded by fenced and cleared farmland, stretching away to the distant hills. It is presumed that the subject of the photo is Elizabeth Christian (nee Schoberg) and three of her four children. The photographer may have been her husband, Orlando Henry Beater Christian.