professional photographer, came from England to Victoria in the mid 1850s, presumably in search of gold although he must have had little success for in about 1857 he reputedly decided to ride from Melbourne to Bowen, North Queensland, a journey of thousands of kilometres. Stopping at Sydney on the way, he ran a photographic studio at 195 Pitt Street in 1858-59. He reached Bowen in 1864. From 22 October until 30 December 1865 he worked as a photographer in Dalrymple Street, then opened a studio in George Street in the New Year. By 1868 he had moved his portrait rooms to Herbert Street and by 1871 had incorporated a newsagency, bookshop and commission and customs agency within the premises. Assisted by such various activities Field survived as the resident Bowen photographer until 1882, by which time he owned land in the district. In 1881 he took a trip home to bring out his mother.
Field abandoned professional photography for a few years in the 1880s, re-opening in 1884 as a dry-plate photographer. On 20 October 1888, he was appointed Bowen town clerk. He died in Brisbane on 30 October 1914. His son William H. (Willie) Field was also a professional photographer for a few years (1898-1902) before becoming a copra farmer in Port Moresby, New Guinea.
- Writers:
- Staff Writer
- Date written:
- 1992
- Last updated:
- 2011
