The Black Forest, Macedon Ranges, after bushfire. Central Victoria, circa 1862.

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Stereoscopic albumen print photograph, each individual image 74 x 73 mm (arched-top format), on original card mount 83 x 175 mm;recto of mount imprinted Jones's photographs of Australian Sceneriesandinscribed in ink: '[Vi]ew at Black Forest after Bush fire'; verso inscribed in ink 'No. 105'; the left-hand print is somewhat faded, and the mount is rubbed and worn at the edges. This stereoscopic photograph shows the aftermath of a bushfire in the Black Forest in the Macedon Ranges, through which the road from Melbourne to the Mount Alexander diggings passed. The area was regardedas the most dangerous section of the route to the goldfields. Notorious for assaults and robberies by bushrangers, it filled approaching travellers with apprehension and dread; bushfire, of course, became an additional potential hazard in the hotter months. The photograph was taken by John H. Jones as part of his Australian Sceneries series. Another example of the same stereoview isheld in the collection of theBendigo Art Gallery (2009.38.40). The somewhat generically named Australian Sceneries series comprised a large number of views taken by travelling photographer John H. Jones prior to September 1862 (see below). Among other subjects these photographs document the early infrastructure of Victoria's railways, including some of the recently completed major engineering projects associated with the construction of the Melbourne to Bendigo railway line, which was officially opened at Bendigo on20 October 1862by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Barkly. Many of Jones' images are reproduced in the Bendigo Art Gallery's 2013 exhibition catalogue of Jones' stereoscopic views, Her Majesty's Territories: Stereographic Views of Australian Sceneries (essay by Alva Maguire). Although the biographical information we have for John H. Jones (1817?-1872) is only sketchy, newspaper advertisements and articles from late 1862 and 1863 give a very clear idea of hismodus operandi as photographic entrepreneur. At this time he was selling his images in organised exhibitions and Art Unions in regional Victorian towns such as Bendigo, Castlemaine, Ballarat and Geelong, as well as in Melbourne itself. From The Argus, Melbourne, 23 September 1862: 'Proofs are daily offered that Victoria contains Scenery very much more beautiful thanis generally supposed, even by those who have resided longest in it. Mr Chevalier and Mr Guerardhave done much by their excellent landscapes, painted in the "Wild Wood" andby the Shore, to show that ourscenery is by no means tame and uninteresting; and a fine SeriesofStereoscopicPictures, taken lately by Mr J.H. Jones, of St. Kilda, while on a professional tour, will assist greatly in raising the colony to her proper place in this respect. AsPhotographs for the Stereoscope, the pictures are admirably executed, and the variety theypresent is very great, and all are very interesting. This series, if circulated In England,would remove many erroneous impressions from the minds of the people at home as toAustralian Scenery.' From The Star, Ballarat, 26 January 1863: 'Mr John H. Jones is now exhibiting at Bath'sHotel a very extensive series of photographs ofAustralian scenery, intended for minute inspectionby aid of the stereoscope. The views have beentaken by Mr Jones during a protracted tourthroughout the colony; and, while they are highlycreditable to his skill as a photographer and indicateno small amount of industry, they, make us awarethat Victoria is by no means so devoid of picturesquescenery as some people would have us believe. MrJones proposes to dispose of his photographs on theArt Union principle-- three hundred prizes, threehundred members, and two thousand five hundredand sixty views. In order to induce the fullestpatronage, Mr Jones has arranged that no membershall receive, a prize much below the, value of hissubscription, while he has the chance of obtainingone of nineteen prizes each worth more than sixtimes as much, and of one prize est.

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The Black Forest, Macedon Ranges, after bushfire. Central Victoria, circa 1862.