Charles Nettleton ( 1826 - 1902)

Nettleton was a colonial photographer, arrived in Victoria in 1854 and joined the studio of T. Duryea and Alexander McDonald and specialised in outdoor work. He became special photographer for the government and the Melbourne Corporation and is credited with having photographed the first Australian steam train when the private Melbourne-Sandridge (Port Melbourne) line was opened on 12 September 1854. Nettleton systematically recorded Melbourne’s growth from a small town to a metropolis. Every major public work was photographed including the water and sewerage system, bridges and viaducts, roads, wharves, diversion of the River Yarra and construction of the Botanical Gardens.