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Elizabeth Ison Baker was born in Goldsborough, Victoria, 28th May 1864, the youngest daughter of Euphemia and Captain Henry Evans Baker, a master mariner turned successful mining investor, inventor and self-taught astronomer. Captain Baker was first superintendent of Ballarat Municipal Observatory from 1886-1890 which he helped found and equip with principal funder businessman James Oddie (1824 – 1911).Captain Baker constructed a 26” Great Equatorial Telescope still held by the Ballarat Observatory.

Captain Baker seems to have encourage technical expertise in his children, his eldest Euphemia born 1853 (nb not the niece Euphemia Eleanor aka Effie Baker of Baháʼí faith (q.v.) was the first female to matriculate in Victoria, became a teacher and assisted in the Observatory at night. Euphemia took on the management of the Observatory on Captain Baker’s death in 1890. Elizabeth must have assisted Euphemia to be skilled enough to take over in turn from her elder sister at some point. By the early 1890s Elizabeth now in her thirties, had developed her own skills as an amateur photographer and become expert at astronomical and lunar photography. She was very active in photographic competitions from 1893 on.

'Miss E.I.Baker’ was winning prizes in the Ballarat Amateur Photographic Association competitions in 1894 and had a picture published in the Melbourne Sun 'Amateur Photographers Competition for women’ on 1 November. The _Ballarat Star _of 13 July noted Baker was showing photographs of phases of the moon and the issue of 16 July 1894 reported that she had won the quarter-plate camera prize for the best print from an untouched negative. That year Baker also a gold medal at the 1895 International Photographic Exhibition and first prize at the Sydney Exhibition. By August 1895 Baker was treasurer of the Ballarat Amateur Photographic Society one of the earliest women to hold such positions in flourishing colonial photographic societies. In these years Baker may have had a friendship with Miss Margaret Oddie (q.v.) also active in Ballarat as an amateur and an office bearer in the Ballarat Photographic Society.

In 1896 Elizabeth won an astronomical photography prize in the Inter-colonial Photographic Exhibition and Exhibition of Paintings.She was by then in charge of the Baker Observatory and undertook complex observations for the acting Victorian Government astronomer Pietro Baracchi, earning her a profile, 'Valuable Scientific Work. Miss Ison Baker’s Successful Researches’ in the Ballarat Star 9 July 1896, p.1. She received an award from the Royal Geographical Society for a photograph of the moon made using her late father’s telescope. The range of Baker’s work in the photographic salons included an ambitious two part tableau of a young woman choosing to become a nun which won second prize in the_ Australasian_ newspaper’s third photographic competition published on 28 November November 1896. By 1898 she was on the committee of the Ballarat Amateur Photographic Association.

In 1902 Elizabeth Baker married John Hammerton Jr of Geelong, son of a jeweller, also an amateur photographer and member of the Gordon College Amateur Potographic Association since the late 1890s. The reception for over a hundred guests, was held at the Ballarat Observatory and the Geelong _Advertiser 14 April 1902, page 2, reporting on teh occasion,commented on her role at the Observatory, 'To the large number of visitors who frequented the Observatory she was ever ready to entertain and explain the wonders of the heavens, with the aid of the powerful telescope at her command’. Here astronomical work was recognised in 1903 when a report by John Brittain, 'Science Notes’ in the Ballarat Star_ of 5 December,1903, p.3, 'Commendation to Mrs Hammerton for splendid photographs of the moon in all its phases, for which she received praise and gold medal from the Royal Society’.

Along with her husband Elizabeth Hammerton remained active in photographic societies and experimental in her personal photography until her premature death in 1908 after a six month illness from breast cancer.
Mrs Hammerton’s death was noted in the _Australian Photographic Journal_of 20 September 1909 (p.313)and reference made to her recent photographic work with flowers, clouds and colour (autochome at this date) and activity with the Gordon College Amateur Photography Society.

No original prints by this quite remarkable woman have been located but lunar photographs in the Ballarat or or Melbourne Observatory archives may be her work.

Writers:

newtog

Date written:

2022

Last updated:

2022