Arthur R. Hamilton b.

  • Artist (Photographer)
Professional photographer and surveyor, he took the earliest known photographs of the Northern Territory while employed as a surveyor to Finniss's ill-fated Adams Bay expedition in 1864. He and six others abandoned the settlement in May 1865.
You are viewing the version of bio from Feb. 12, 2013, 1:13 p.m. , as edited by Nerina_Dunt (moderator approved).
Revert to this revision Go to current record

professional photographer and surveyor, came to Adelaide from England in 1853 on board the Eliza . He was employed as a surveyor to Finniss’s ill-fated Adams Bay (Northern Territory) expedition in 1864. Assisted by the surveyor’s mate Charles Hake , Hamilton took the earliest known photographs of the Northern Territory. He and Hake were among the seven who abandoned the swampy and fever-ridden settlement on 7 May 1865, setting sail in a small open boat which they dubbed the Forlorn Hope . The boat was under the command of J.P. Stow, a disillusioned Adams Bay settler who afterwards published an account of the voyage along the coast of Western Australia titled The Voyage of the Forlorn Hope (Melbourne 1894). Hamilton and Hake’s photographic equipment was on board, although it was almost jettisoned when the Forlorn Hope struck a reef off Cape Bougainville on 19 May. Reaching Champion Bay (now Geraldton) after a voyage of three months, Hamilton and Hake opted to remain, intending to set up in business as photographers while the others sailed in the Seabird for Adelaide.

This entry is a stub. You can help DAAO by submitting a biography.

Writers:
Staff Writer
Date written:
1992
Last updated:
2011

Difference between this version and previous

Field This Version Previous Version
Date modified Feb. 12, 2013, 1:13 p.m. Oct. 19, 2011, 12:57 p.m.
References [<ExternalResource: Davies, Alan & Stanbury, Peter (1985), 'The Mechanical Eye in Australia: Photography 1841-1900', Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.>, <ExternalResource: Cato, J. (1955), 'The Story of the Camera in Australia', Melbourne, Vic.>, <ExternalResource: Hill, E. (1977), 'The Territory', Sydney, NSW.>, <ExternalResource: Kerr, M. (1971), 'The Surveyors: The Story of the Founding of Darwin', Adelaide, SA.>, <ExternalResource: Newton, G. (1988), 'Shades of Light', Canberra, ACT.>, <ExternalResource: Stow, J. (1894), 'The Voyage of the Forlorn Hope', Melbourne, Vic.>, <ExternalResource: Noye, R.J. (2007) ‘Dictionary of South Australian Photography 1845-1915’, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. CD-ROM.>, <ExternalResource: Photohistory SA Archived Website>] [<ExternalResource: Davies, Alan & Stanbury, Peter (1985), 'The Mechanical Eye in Australia: Photography 1841-1900', Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.>, <ExternalResource: Cato, J. (1955), 'The Story of the Camera in Australia', Melbourne, Vic.>, <ExternalResource: Hill, E. (1977), 'The Territory', Sydney, NSW.>, <ExternalResource: Kerr, M. (1971), 'The Surveyors: The Story of the Founding of Darwin', Adelaide, SA.>, <ExternalResource: Newton, G. (1988), 'Shades of Light', Canberra, ACT.>, <ExternalResource: Stow, J. (1894), 'The Voyage of the Forlorn Hope', Melbourne, Vic.>]