Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 7 March 1953, page 2


Early Photographs

Sir.—As the sole surviving son of the late Charles Bayliss, photographer, referred to in the article dealing with photo-

graphs of the gold-rush days ("Herald," February 28), may I be permitted to enlarge on

his work.

I quote from an obituary, which appeared in the "Australian Photographical Review" on June 19, 1897, two weeks after his death: "He also took the well-known panorama of Sydney and the harbour from the great dome of the Garden Palace in the

Domain and, to get this, per-

formed some astonishing and risky feats of climbing and bal-ancing on the outside of the dome. The picture was taken on a series of 18in x 22in plates and, when completed, formed a panoramic view nearly 20ft in length..."

These, as well as all other work by him, were taken on "wet plate" negatives. He took a vast number of photographs of Sydney, the suburbs, mountains, and country, as far as the Vic-torian border, as well as groups and portraits.

After Beaufoy Merlin's death, Charles Bayliss took over the business and carried on in his own name until his death. Many of the photographs found in the shed on the property owned by Mr. Holterman were taken by Charles Bayliss.

E. E. BAYLISS. Greenwich Point.