Side view of Christ Church, Hawthorn, Melbourne. Dated 1862.

Stereoscopic albumen print photograph, each image 72 x 75 mm, on original brown card mount 81 x 172 mm; verso with period inscriptions in pencil ‘Hawthorn Church’ and ink ‘Hawthorn Church, Melbourne, 1862’; both albumen prints have rich tonal range and are in fine condition; the mount has a small stain at one corner but is otherwise clean and stable.

A very early photographic view of Christ Church, which stands on Denham Street, West Hawthorn, close to the Yarra. The unidentified photographer arranged for two young boys to stand in the foreground to provide a sense of scale.

Apparently unrecorded, this image would surely be among the earliest known photographic views taken in the Hawthorn district. The initial parts of Christ Church Anglican Church were erected in 1853-54 to the design of Charles Vickers.