Harry Taylor Waterworth was born in 1872 at Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, son of joiner and cabinet maker John Gwin Waterworth (1828-1906) and Margaret Ruth Newham (1838-1888). In 1886 he emigrated to Tasmania with his parents and three siblings, taking up residence in Hobart. Two older brothers followed nine months later. A month after arrival in Tasmania, in May 1886, Harry’s father was granted 72 acres of crown land. [1] Harry initially became involved in photography in the early 1890s, working from a studio owned by fine art photographers, Wherrett Bros. [2] In 1894, he struck out on his own as a freelancer setting up temporary studios in Burnie, Wynyard and Devonport. In May of the same year, Harry went to Waratah where he spent a month taking photographs. In November 1894, Harry set up a studio at Zeehan at a premise previously occupied by Bishop-Osborne at the rear of J C Collings’ stationery warehouse. The Zeehan studio may not have been a successful one as by July 1896, Harry was back at Burnie. By this time, he was contributing photos on a regular basis to the Tasmanian Mail. The Tasmanian Mail had just featured a series of views of the township of Waratah and the tin mines at Mt Bischoff. Two of the photos were panoramic, one of which was reprinted in the same newspaper four years later as seen above. Towards the end of 1896, Harry returned to Hobart and established a studio at 89 Liverpool Street. During this period, the renowned photographer Stephen Spurling of Launceston, also operated a studio from the same address. At aged 26, Harry married Martha Annie (Mattie) Smith on 23 March 1898. Annie’s father, George Smith, operated a hat factory and was an alderman of the City of Hobart. After the turn of the century, Harry’s photography business continued to thrive. He hired an apprentice as well as a female junior assistant. In this period stereographic photography became the central theme of Harry’s work. The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) has a small collection of his stenographic images online. However, take note the NGA has incorrectly identified Harry as Henry Waterworth on their website. This revelation only came to light after noticing several of the photos with Harry’s Hobart address. Harry continued to visit the northwest and later published a 12 page booklet entitled Beauty Spots of N W Coast, a collection of pictorial works currently held at the State Archives. He also provided photography services to the locals for their studio portraits.[3] On one of these jaunts to the northwest, Harry travelled in a motor vehicle. On this occasion in 1904, his arrival in Burnie was worthy of a mention in the local newspaper - the rarity of such a scene of a car “parading the streets of Burnie,” which at the time was not a common sight. It appears Harry had an interest in automobiles as he once had a partnership in a business providing car rental and limousine services. This partnership was dissolved in 1912. [4] Around 1906, Harry ceased professional photography altogether and moved to Pioneer, where he established a general store. He remained there for some years when in 1920 he purchased over 300 acres of land on Amy Road at Penquite near Launceston. He sold the Pioneer general store shortly thereafter. In 1928, Harry and his wife spent four months in London. It is believed they were there around the same time as his brother, John Newham Waterworth, and nephew, Eric. Eric was an inventor who at aged 20 developed the world’s first record changer, a device that plays multiple records in sequence without user intervention. In that year, the father and son went to London and sold the patent to Symphony Gramophone and Radio Company. [5] In 1930, after ten years working as an orchardist at Penquite, Harry and his wife retired to Wynyard. Here they built their home, Altmore, near the Inglis River. [6] In 1936, thirty years after giving up professional photography, Harry was tasked with hosting a photographer from a Melbourne weekly newspaper. Harry drove the photographer to Table Cape, from the top of which he took several views of Wynyard and the neighbouring farms. A visit was then paid to the farm of Major Roberts Thomson, whose stud sheep were photographed, after which Harry took the visitor around the Old Tolleymore Road, a photograph being taken en route of W Lee’s farm. Returning along the main road a visit was paid to the tennis court, where a picture was taken of a group of lady players, and to the bowling green, where four bowlers were photographed at practice. A view was then taken from Park Street, looking across the little bridge and down the river, showing the wharf and esplanade. [7] These photos seen below were published in the Melbourne Weekly Times on 28 March 1936. In retirement, Harry pursued his passion for golf and bowls. He played golf regularly at the Wynyard Golf Club where he was president for a number of years. He was also president of the North-Western Golf Association for a term. Harry passed away on 6 March 1947, leaving a widow, two sons and a daughter. [8] [1] In 1886, the Land Order Warrants issued by the Emigrant and Colonists Aid Corporation in London list two families of the same name: One entry is for John Gwin Waterworth, his wife and four children and the other for William Waterworth, his wife and seven children. It is believed William is the brother of John Gwin Waterworth. [2] Charles and his brother, John Wherrett, operated under that name at 113 Elizabeth Street from 1884 to 1897. However, this business was started as early as 1872 by Charles Wherrett, the father of the two brothers. [3] During winter of 1902, Waterworth provided photography services at Burnie, Stanley, Waratah and Devonport. In this instance, he was operating under the business name, Waterworth, Dart and Co. [4] Harry and William Beecroft carried on a business as motor garage proprietors under the name, Beecroft and Waterworth’s Motor Hiring Depot. [5] Eric’s best known design was the Waterworth slide projector, which from the late 1940s was widely used in schools around Australia. [6] After Harry’s death in 1947, the Department of Public Works acquired the property for school purposes. [7] Advocate 4 February 1936 page 6 [8] Annie moved to Melbourne in 1948 where she passed away ten years later on 5 June 1959 at the Winston Private Hospital in East Malvern. From top to bottom: (1) Main Street, Waratah (2) Mt Bischoff Tin Mining Company's dressing sheds (3) Fluming carrying the water from the dam to the dressing sheds (4) Waratah railway station in winter. These photos taken between 1894 and 1896 were published in the Tasmanian Times in 1896. One of twelve stereographic photos from the Nigel Lendon collection held at the National Gallery of Australia, believed to have been taken between 1900 and 1905. From the Grist Collection, the photo on the left was taken by Harry Waterworth at Mt Wellington. The photo on the right was taken by Harry Dart. In 1902, both men were operating under the business name, Waterworth, Dart and Co.
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