Francis Herbert Dufty II (c. 1846–1910), who was also known as Frank Dufty, was an English-born, Australian photographer, known for his photographs of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. Dufty's contribution to Fiji was of primary importance in the 1870s, and he was one of Fiji's most significant, early photographers.

Life

Francis Herbert Dufty was born in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

, Surrey, England, to Francis Herbert and Martha (née Stow) Dufty. In 1865, Dufty and his brother, Edward, migrated to Australia. Their father and younger brother, Alfred, arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, aboard the in September 1868, while their mother and another brother, Walter, arrived in April 1871. In 1883, he was married to Louisa Palmer, eldest daughter of James Palmer, of Vagadaci,

Levuka Levuka () is a Local government in Fiji, town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau (Fiji), Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division, Fiji, Eastern Division of Fiji. Prior to 1877, it was the capital of Fiji. At the ...

, Fiji. Their son, Colin Dufty, was an

Australian rules footballer Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

who played with Collingwood in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

. Dufty died in Melbourne in 1910 at the age of 64.

Career

Australia

A professional photographer, Dufty, with his brother, Edward, traveled the Victorian goldfields with a horse-drawn, portable studio. His images were said to be 'the sweetest Australian scenes' photographed. In the ''Kyneton Directory'' for 1866, Dufty was listed as a 'photographic artist’ of Piper Street,

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street. Piper Street has ...

, Victoria, where he had a studio with John P. Carolin. In June 1866, in partnership with Carolin, he produced twenty-one views of Kyneton for the 1866 Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition. The '' Kyneton Guardian'' considered a photograph of Dutton's property as 'one of the sweetest Australian scenes we have ever seen photographed’. ''Three views of Victorian scenery'', by Dufty and Carolin, was selected to be sent to the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition. Around 1865, Dufty set up the No. 3 Branch Expedition Portrait Company in Victoria with his brother, Edward. F.H. Dufty, alone, was listed in the ''Melbourne Directory'' for 1869 at 108 Elizabeth Street,

, while Edward, presumably, remained in the country.

Fiji

At the age of 25, Dufty arrived in Levuka from Victoria in the '' SS Egmont'' in June 1871. He set up a new studio next door to the ''

Fiji Times ''The Fiji Times'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating. ''The Fiji Times'' is owned by Motibhai Gr ...

'' newspaper office on 24 May 1871. He also had a jewellery business on the same premises. His brother, Alfred, who was 16 at the time, arrived to join him from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 29 December 1871. Alfred was out of Fiji, in Australia or New Caledonia, for extended periods of time. Most of the photographs of Fiji are attributed to Francis Dufty. The Dufty studio produced studio portraits, street scenes, landscape photographs, and a large body of "cartes de visite", which had been popularised in Europe in the mid-19th Century. They photographed

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

, European

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s, the Fijian hierarchy and commoners, and other people from the Pacific. Portraits were often staged, a process which facilitated the creation of Fijian

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

s. A dealer in Fijian handicrafts, Dufty acquired a range of props which were used repeatedly. In 1880, Dufty's landscape photograph of Fiji was exhibited at the

Melbourne International Exhibition The Melbourne International Exhibition is the eighth World's fair officially recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and the first official World's Fair in the Southern Hemisphere. Preparations After being granted self-gov ...

. Alfred transferred to

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

, Fiji in 1884 or 1885 and opened a studio there. Dufty remained in Levuka until 1886 when he moved to Suva to join Alfred. In June 1887 Alfred and his family left to return to Australia. Dufty did not remain in Suva long after, and left for Melbourne in April 1892.

Politics – Fiji

Francis was very active in local affairs. He was a prominent member of the

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

British Subjects' Mutual Protection Society, in opposition to Cakobau's Government, and a staunch advocate of annexation to Great Britain. He was a

charter member A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the reci ...

of the first

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

. For three years he was president of the Levuka Mechanics' Institute and held various other offices.

External links

The Fiji Photographs of F.H. & A.W.B. Dufty
Aug 2008, Roderick Ewins

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Francis Herbert Australian photographers 1840s births 1910 deaths Colony of Fiji people 1870s in Fiji 1880s in Fiji 1890s in Fiji Australian expatriates in Fiji British expatriates in Fiji British white supremacists English emigrants to colonial Australia English white nationalists Photographers from Melbourne People from Kennington People from Levuka Australian Freemasons Australian white nationalists Fijian Freemasons English Freemasons 19th century in Melbourne