Collections | Use
of Special Collection | Opening
Hours and Contacts | Location
Map | Exhibitions
The
"Geelong Album"
Title page from the
"Geelong
Album" photographed by E. de Balk, Geelong, 1866
The "Geelong Album" is
one of the many rare books contained in the Western
Victoria Collection in
the Special Collection at the Waterfront Campus
Library, Deakin University. It was photographed and published in 1866
by Eugen de Balk and contains forty photographs of notable Geelong buildings
and
scenes. It
was probably produced by him as a promotional or commercial venture, as the
first
photograph
in the
album depicts his photographic studio in Mooroobool Street.
De Balk was born Wilhelm Ernest
Eugen von Mylius in Prussia on 21 November 1838 but took his grandmother's
surname of 'Balck', spelling it Balk, when he arrived in Australia in 1857. He
first arrived in Melbourne on 30 June before proceeding to Sydney where he
seems to have worked briefly with the photographer Nathaniel Batchelder in
1858. He moved back to Victoria however, as on 6 May 1862 he married
Jane Upton at Christ Church, Geelong. De Balk was operating as a photographer
from this time as he exhibited a number of topographical photographs at the
Geelong Art, Science and Industry exhibition of 1862.
He opened a photographic business
in February 1863 at 60 Moorabool Street and by 1864 was advertising it as
'E.
de Balk's Photographic Atelier'. However by 1870 he and his family (he
had four children) had moved to Sydney where he operated a photographic studio
under the name of 'Baron de Balk'. He exhibited a number of portraits in
the Victorian Exhibits section of the Sydney Intercolonial Exhibition of 1870.
Sadly he died in Sydney on 2 November 1870, leaving behind a wife, four children
and
a new baby.
Bibliography:
Brownhill, W.R. "The History of
Geelong and Corio Bay" (with a postscript 1955-1990 by Ian Wynd); Geelong
Advertiser, 1990.
Cahir, Anne "The Bay, Barwon and
Beyond: heritage places of Geelong" Heritage Council Victoria, 1997.
"The Dictionary of Australian Artists:
painters, sketchers, photographers and engravers to 1870" ed.
Joan Kerr; Melbourne, OUP, 1992.
Frewin,
Margaret & Phelan, Lorraine
"Churches of Geelong and District: vol.1 pre 1900" Geelong Family
History Group Inc., n.d.
"Geelong on Exhibition: a photographic
image" an exhibition curated by Paul Fox; Geelong Art Gallery, 1987.
Huddle,
Lorraine "Architects in
Geelong 1840-1860" University of Melbourne School of Architecture and
Building Humanities Research Report, Oct. 1979.
Rowe,
David "Architecture of Geelong
1860-1900" Architecture Research thesis, School of Architecture and
Building, Deakin University, 1991.
State Library of Victoria: Picture
Collection Subject File - E. de Balk
(Below are the pages from the "Geelong Album"; click on the
small image to see a larger version.)
Moorabool Street,
Market Square: depicts the 'E. de Balk Photographic Atelier' at 60-62
Moorabool Street, now replaced by the Market Square Shopping Centre.
|
 |
| Chamber of Commerce,
Moorabool Street: demolished in 1955. Designed by Christopher Porter
in 1858 and built by Boynton and Conway, this was a Barrabool freestone
building of two storeys with an elaborate facade which included giant Corinthian
order columns.
|
| Church of England
Grammar School: the surviving south wing of this school can still be
seen in Maud Street. The school was established in 1855 and in
1857 a quadrangular building, designed by Backhouse and Reynolds, was
built in the Gothic Revival style. It was in use until 1914 when the
school moved to Corio. |
 |
 |
Mechanics' Institute:
this building was once located in Ryrie Street and was designed by John
Young in 1856. It was enlarged in 1859 by Benjamin Backhouse.
It was a single storey building with a Renaissance Revival facade. |
| Custom House, Corio
Terrace: built in 1855-56 by Melbourne contractor W.C. Cornish and designed
by William Davidson, James Balmain and John Clark in a Colonial Georgian
style. It is made from Barrabool freestone and bluestone with a slate
roof. |
 |
| Town Hall, Little
Malop Street: this building was designed by Joseph Reed in 1855 and the
photo depicts the south wing, which was all that was completed of Reed's
design until 1917. The giant Ionic columns and Palladian influence are
still visible today and can be clearly seen in de Balk's photograph. |
| Hospital:
the Geelong Hospital and Benevolent Society building in Ryrie Street
was designed by Charles Laing in 1850 and built in stages in 1852, 1857
and 1858. It was Neo-classical in design, with a Doric portico, and
was subsequently demolished.
| 
|
| Bank of Victoria,
Malop Street: originally located on the south side of Malop Street to
the west of Moorabool Street, the Bank was opened in 1858 but is no longer
in existence. |
| Bank
of Australasia, corner of Malop and Gheringhap Streets: although this
building survives today,
it is virtually unrecognisable beneath its orange brick facade. Until
1956 when it was refaced in brick, this bank (designed by Purchas and
Swyer and built in 1859-60) had a Classical facade of Barrabool sandstone.
NB: The small white building that can
also
be seen within the photo is the Colonial Bank of Australasia, which still
stands today. It was designed by Shaw and Dowden and built in 1857 and
is an early example of stucco craftsmanship. |
 |
| London Chartered
Bank, Malop Street: this building was erected in 1859 and still exists
today. It was designed by Leonard Terry in a Classical style in
bluestone and Barrabool sandstone. |
| Union Bank, corner
of Yarra Street and Market Square: designed in 1847 by Charles Laing
in a Classical Revival style
with a closed Ionic porch and a smooth geometric freestone facade. The
upper storey of this building is still visible today, but shops now occupy
the ground floor at the front and side. |
 |
 |
Wesleyan Chapel,
Yarra Street: built in 1846 with a transept added in 1853, the chapel
was widened in 1859. |
| Presbyterian Church,
Ryrie Street: designed by John Young in 1856 and built in bluestone in
an Early English Gothic style, it was known locally as the Steeple
Church until the steeple was dismantled in 1913.
At this
time
a row of two-storey shops were built in front, although the main body
of the church still exists today. |
 |
 |
Trinity Church,
La Trobe Terrace: this church was designed by Backhouse and Reynolds
and built by Fullager, Hagery and Company for the Free Church of England
in 1858. It is an Early English Gothic style church in bluestone with
distinctive elements such as the seven gables and the lancet windows,
which can still be seen today. |
| Baptist Chapel,
Aberdeen Street: built in 1854 of Barrabool sandstone from a design prepared
by John Young from an 1840s Italianate pattern. Today, the chapel functions
as the Sunday School of the church. |
 |
 |
High Church, Gheringhap
Street: built in 1861 of bluestone with sandstone dressings, this church
was designed by Nathaniel Billing in a decorated Gothic style for the
Free Presbyterian Church. It still stands today. |
| Christ Church,
Moorabool Street: this church is the oldest Anglican church still occupying
its original site in Victoria. It was built between 1843 and 1847 of
Barrabool sandstone to a design by the Sydney ecclesiastical architect
Edmund Thomas Blacket. It was enlarged in 1855 by Geelong architects
Snell, Kawerau and Prowse. |
 |
 |
St. George's Church,
La Trobe Terrace: built in 1861 to a design by Nathaniel Billing, a noted
ecclesiastical architect. |
| Post Office: this
Geelong Post Office was demolished in 1890 when the present structure was
built. |
 |
 |
Railway Station:
the original Geelong Railway Station was built in 1857 and was replaced
by the current station in 1877. |
Click below to view
further pages from the "Geelong Album":
Kristen
Thornton is responsible for the contents of this page.
