Western Australia has a rich history of pioneer photographers. Starting with the very first recorded daguerreotype artist visiting WA in 1846, seven years after the worlds new, fandangled photographs became commercially available. The remoteness of the colony worked against recording its image in these early years and it’s unfortunate that none of the earlier photos remain today (or have been found). But slowly a handful of colonialists started purchasing equipment to record images of the fledgling settlement.
This site serves to record a short biography of each early photographer and to also help with dating photos that people might have in their own family collection.
Click at the menu up the top to search by photographers name (surname or studio name) or below to search by decade or location.
The site will start with pre-federation photographers in the Perth and Fremantle area, before expanding out to later dates and regional areas.
If you would like to contribute your photos as examples of different studio branding, backgrounds, props or of WA pioneer fashion, you can email them through to the address below. All photos will be credited to the owner.
History of WA Photography 