In the 1890s, Sydney photographer Charles Kerry introduced his ‘Squatters’ Service’, travelling by train and horseback to homesteads all over New South Wales. Negatives were developed on the spot, contact prints shown to the client and orders taken that were later filled from Sydney. Many of the images were also made available to the public for purchase from the Kerry studio.
This man clearly considered the station’s collie dogs important enough to be included in his portrait photograph. Collies were working dogs; intelligent, energetic and generally used for herding sheep. They were also favoured by Queen Victoria, who had a pet collie called Sharp. The royal patronage that made the dogs fashionable as companion animals may also have raised the status of working collies such as these.
In contrast to many of the distinctively Australian rural images produced by the Kerry studio, this photograph, due to the man’s clothing, the wet ground and the overcast weather, has a curiously European atmosphere.
Photography by Kerry & Co. Tyrrell Collection
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