'Melville St West Hobart under snow'
TMAG Collection Ref: Q9134
The verso of this photograph carries Thomas J. Nevin's most common commercial studio stamp and the wording "This by W. J. T. Stops Esq." which suggests that the photograph was presented to Frederick Stops by Thomas Nevin in 1868, perhaps as a gift to Emily Stops on the birth of their daughter, and was then passed down to his son W. J. T. Stops, who subsequently donated it to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from the Stops estate or even from the University of Tasmania archives (Royal Society Collection) where more of Nevin’s photographs are held. It was then inscribed by an archivist on accession with the note - "This by W.J.T. Stops Esq". Frederick Stops and photographer Thomas Nevin were well acquainted for several reasons, among them the dissolution of Thomas Nevin's partnership with Robert Smith operating as the firm "Nevin & Smith" in February 1868 which was underwritten by Frederick Stops' employer and Nevin's mentor, the Hon. W R. Giblin, Attorney-General.
Thomas Nevin exhibited this photograph at the Wellington Park Exhibition, Hobart, in July 1868. It was reproduced in the publication Tasmanian Photographers 1840-1940: A Directory (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 1995:82).
Entry on two photographs by Thomas J. Nevin (TMAG collections)
TMAG publication Tasmanian Photographers 1840-1940: A Directory (1995)
Thomas Nevin's chosen position to take the photograph was from the second storey of the Governor's Quarters. His camera captured the right side of Melville Street, and a wider vista of kunanyi/Mount Wellington to the north west.
Source: eHeritage images, State Library of Tasmania
Title: The Gaol Governor's House which blocked Melville Street.
Photographer: J. Hutchinson
Date: 1961
Notes: Monochrome photograph laminated over a white cardboard mount. The prison walls of the Hobart Penitentiary flank either side of this two storied house. The road surface in front of the house is uneven and unsealed. The house was in use in from the 1850s until November 1960. It was demolished in 1963.
Ref: PCH_00005
It was from this building, which by 1900 was called the Superintendent's house, that Nevin took the Melville St. photograph. The public entrance to this building was from Melville St, which terminated at its front gate (photo above), rather than the Gaol's entrance in Campbell St (photo below).
Frontal side view of the Superintendent's House at the Hobart Gaol in Campbell Street [PH30-1-3691]
Locality: Campbell Street, Campbell Street, Hobart
Date: 1900
Archives Office of Tasmania
Link: https://stors.tas.gov.au/PH30-1-3691PH30/1/3691