This years marks 130 years of Whitehead Studios operating as a photography business in the Ipswich area. The studio was first established on March the 10th , 1883 by Mr Francis Arnold Whitehead who was born in Ipswich in 1863 to Reverend Samuel Francis Whitehead (said to have established the first secondary school in Queensland in the 1850s) and Caroline Whitehead. The Whitehead family lived in Brisbane Street and as a young boy Francis Whitehead attended Pine Mountain School and Little Ipswich School and later went on to be educated for two years at the Ipswich Grammar School from 1878. From a very young age he showed a keen interest in photography, which was fanned by his neighbour Biggingee Sorabjee Poochee who operated his photography studio next door to the Whitehead’s Brisbane Street residence and was said to have taught Mr Whitehead his photography skills.

Living next door to a pioneering photographer of the Ipswich area and having attended school with his son, Sorabgee, it was understandable that Francis was enthralled by the amazing process that took place before his eyes. And so in 1880, Francis gained employment with the local photography company Frisco’s, who operated within an Ellenborough Street studio. By 1883 Francis had produced a large majority of small postcard sized portraits known as carte de visites for the Frisco Photo Company. It was at this point that the company was put up for sale and promptly purchased by Mr Whitehead, where he opened his own portrait and landscape photography business, “F. A. Whitehead”. While operating his business out of the Ellenborough Street studio, Mr Whitehead still often processed all of his photos via a small dark room he had set up at the family’s Thorn Street address.

Whitehead Studio Brisbane Street address, Ipswich, 1896-1901 – Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich

In 1888 after five years of operating out of his Ellenborough Street studio, F. A. Whitehead moved to a new premises on Brisbane Street, a studio that was previously operated by Biggingee Sorabjee Poochee from 1864-1873 and later taken over by Mr. W. Deazley. The site contained a small wooden building and was located between a Draper/Clothier and F. J. Stephens shoeing forge. During his time operating from his Brisbane Street premises, Whitehead often travelled around with his portable horse drawn darkroom to many regional areas in and around Ipswich to visit residents that could not make their way to his studio, which was a contributing factor to his excellent reputation in the Queensland area.

By 1901 Mr Whitehead’s reputation had grown and soon the timber establishment on Brisbane Street became too small to compensate his extra business. Therefore, it was suggested that a new two storey premises be built at the current site. The new building was designed by George Brockwell Gill and built by Worley and Whitehead . It opened for business in December of 1901. In 1906 Francis’ son Arthur joined the business and later in 1922 his youngest son Wilson followed. Both Arthur and Wilson’s sons also followed in their father’s and grandfather’s footsteps having joined the organisation in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The new Whitehead building was an excellent example of a photographic studio with natural light occurring due to a long sloping wall facing south which was made entirely of glass. The light coming from this window was often adjusted with the use of blinds with the light and long exposure times of this era giving photographs a “beautiful rounded dimension”. During its many years of operation Whitehead Studios became a pioneering photographic company in Ipswich that introduced several new methods of photography and also became one of the first studios in Queensland to use direct colour in photographs in 1958. Francis also had the great honour of photographing and producing portraits of the Governor of Queensland Lord Lamington and his wife and child in 1896, with several of these portraits sent to the child’s godmother, Queen Victoria.

This year marks Whitehead Studios 130th Anniversary of operating as a successful photography business from its inception in the late 1880s. Without the excellent workmanship of Francis Arnold Whitehead and his sons and grandsons, Ipswich would have little reminder of its past and the many milestones reached by the city since its settlement in 1839. We have Whitehead Studios to thank for our wonderful pioneering history they tamed through the photographs they took of our changing city and the families who lived and currently live in the town of Ipswich.

F. A. Whitehead and sons at the Whitehead home, Karragaroo, Eastern Heights, Ipswich, early 1930s – Image courtesy of Picture Ipswich