Proprietor and licensee Richard Benham and his wife outside the Gasometer Family Hotel, Smith Street, Collingwood, circa 1869.

Albumen print photograph, carte de visite format, 63 x 103mm (mount); verso with back mark of ‘J. P. Lind, Landscape Photographer, Ambrose House, Tyne Street, Carlton, off Lygon Street’; the print has excellent clarity and is in good condition (a couple of tiny marks); the mount has some toning on the verso.

The Gasometer, on the corner of Smith Street and Alexandra Parade, was built in 1860-61 for its first owner, Charles Mater. The pub derived its name from the nearby Collingwood, Fitzroy and District Gas and Coke Company, whose premises were situated diagonally opposite. In 1869, London-born Richard Benham (1825-1888) – who was already the fourth licensee the Gasometer had had in its first few years – purchased the hotel from Mater, and the business subsequently remained in the Benham family for several decades. In this photograph – which is quite possibly a unique image – the commercial signage around the architrave is very easy to make out, with the word ‘Benham’s’ prominent, high up above the main entrance on the corner facade. The middle-aged couple standing directly in front of the entrance are almost certainly Richard and his wife Johanna (Barry).

“The Gaso”, as it is affectionately known, is still a thriving pub today, and the venue has played an important part in Melbourne’s live music scene over many years.