Prisoner John DORAN

Just one mugshot of habitual offender John Doran per the convict transport Asiatic is extant, and in very poor condition. It is held at the National Library of Australia, taken by Thomas Nevin at the Hobart Gaol in the last week of December 1875 prior to John Doran's discharge on 5th January 1876. John Doran is not to be confused with another prisoner with the name of Albert or Alfred Doran per Blenheim who was also active during these years. His prisoner identification photograph taken by Nevin is extant in public collections in various formats (QVMAG).

NLA Catalogue (incorrect information)
nla.pic-vn4269863 PIC P1029/8
LOC Album 935 John Doran, per Asiatic, taken at Port Arthur, 1874 [picture] 1874. 1 photograph on carte-de-visite mount : albumen ; 9.4 x 5.6 cm. on mount 10.5 x 6.3 cm.

Police Records for John Doran

1870

Prisoner John Doran alias Charles Knight per Asiatic was convicted in the Recorder's Court, Launceston, on 29 December 1870, transferred to the Hobart Gaol, where he served consecutive sentences totalling six years. He would have been photographed more than once because of his lengthy sentences, numerous convictions and discharges from both the Hobart Gaol and the Invalid Depots. He also used aliases so there are records missing from the list below.

1876

John Doran, aged 48 yrs, discharged from the Hobart Gaol on 5 January 1876. The extant photograph was taken by Thomas J. Nevin in the fortnight prior to John Doran's discharge.

John Doran was discharged from the Cascades Prison for Males on 31 March 1876

1877

John Doran, sentenced to twelve months for indecency, discharged on 14 February 1877.

John Doran sentenced to 7 days for inciting to resist the police, discharged on 14 March 1877

John Doran was arrested on 20th November 1877

1878

John Doran was convicted for larceny on 13 July 1878

1879

John Doran was discharged from the Cascades between 7 -11 May 1879: he had absconded in government clothes while under detention.

John Doran was discharged on 9 May 1879

John Doran was arrested on 6 June 1879, convicted of larceny for the theft of property belonging to Edward Slide.

John Doran, suspicion attached to - 6 June 1879

John Doran, description adjoined to notice above, 6 June 1879

John Doran was convicted on 16 August 1879, sentenced to three months

John Doran was discharged on 19 November 1879

John Doran was 50 years old by 20 December 1879 when he was convicted of larceny, sentenced to 18 months.

etc etc - 1885

John Doran, now 58 yrs old, was arraigned at the Supreme Court Hobart on 19 May 1885
Source: Tasmania Reports of Crime Information for Police James Barnard Gov't Printer

IN HIS OWN WORDS...

"T. J. NEVIN
PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST,
Returns his sincere thanks to his friends and the public for past favours, and having made a considerable Reduction in his Prices to suit the times, he solicits a continuance of their patronage, and invites attention to his circulars, showing particulars of the small cost for a first-class faithful Likeness.
140 ELIZABETH-STREET"
Hobart Mercury, 1st February 1873

“I hope that you have not got it in your mind that I am implicated with the ghost“.
Hobart Mercury, 4 December 1880

"Defendant said that he was the father of a large number of children, and did not know which one was referred to. (Laughter.)"
Hobart Mercury, 11 August 1886

"Mr. Thos Nevin was under the impression that the police should be under stricter supervision."
Hobart Mercury, 19 July 1888.

BIOGRAPHY: professional photographer Thomas James Nevin snr (1842-1923) produced large numbers of stereographs and cartes-de-visite within his commercial practice, and prisoner identification photographs on government contract. His career spanned nearly three decades, from the early 1860s to the late 1880s. He was one of the first photographers to work with the police in Australia, along with Charles Nettleton (Victoria) and Frazer Crawford (South Australia). His Tasmanian prisoner mugshots are among the earliest to survive in public collections, viz. the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston; the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart; the Tasmanian Heritage and Archives Office, Hobart; the Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasman Peninsula; the National Library of Australia, Canberra; and the Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, Sydney. Thomas J. Nevin's stereographs and portraits are held in public and private collections in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Switzerland.

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Important Notices

INDIGENOUS NOTICE:
lutruwita/Tasmania/Van Diemen's Land (loo-tru-wee-ta) always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

This weblog pays respect to the ancestors and elders past, present, and emerging of the first Australian peoples and acknowledges their continued connection to land, sea and culture as the traditional custodians of this country.

Irish-born Thomas J. Nevin would have been keenly aware that the residence and photographic studio he occupied at No's 138-140 Elizabeth St. Hobart in the 1870s were built on the traditional lands, nipaluna of the palawa people. It is no small irony that today, the very same property, which is renumbered as No. 198 Elizabeth St. Hobart and is occupied by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, has returned to its traditional owners.

Looking east from the corner of Patrick St., the Royal Standard Hotel, 142 Elizabeth St. then T. J. Nevin’s studio and residence, 140-138 Elizabeth St. Hobart, 1870s

We also acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation as the traditional custodians of the City of Sydney, and the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, the traditional custodians of the Kamberri/Canberra region on whose lands this site is maintained.

PLEASE NOTE: images on this weblog represent deceased people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Viewing such images may cause sadness and distress.

DISCLAIMER: We have not voluntarily contributed to any publication which supports the misattribution of T. J. Nevin's prisoner/convict photographs (300+ extant) to the non-photographer A. H. Boyd, nor do we condone any attempts by public institutions or private individuals to co-opt the work on these Thomas J. Nevin weblogs and associated sites to apply the misattribution.

Our 20th Anniversary 2005-2025

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TWENTY YEARS ago (before 2005 actually) we started blogging about Tasmanian photographer Thomas J. Nevin (1842-1923). We look forward to another year or so as the project draws closer to completion. Contributions and donations are most welcome, and many thanks for your involvement.

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Anthony Trollope at Port Arthur

Thomas Nevin's VIP commission 1872

VISIT TO PORT ARTHUR.- Mr. Trollope and the Hon. Howard Spensly, Esq., Solicitor-General of Victoria, accompanied the Hon. the Premier, J.M. Wilson, Esq., and the Hon. the Attorney-General, W.R. Giblin, Esq., embarked in the Government schooner late last night, some time after Mr. Trollope had concluded his lecture on "Modern Fiction, as a recreation for young people," and left for Port Arthur. Their visit to the Peninsula will be a very hurried one, and will afford them only scant opportunity of inspecting the penal establishment, it being the intention of Messrs. Trollope and Spensly to leave Hobart Town for the North, en route for Victoria in a few days ...

Source: The Mercury 2 February 1872