Photography at RMIT

Summary

Established in 1887 at the Working Men's College, the photography program grew rapidly under instructor Ludovico Hart, expanding from a single weekly class to multiple sessions and contributing to the development of photographic education in Australia. The Working Men's College Photographic Club, founded in 1891 and now known as the Melbourne Camera Club, admitted both men and women and, together with a diverse student body and subsequent instructors, helped consolidate photography as a recognised field of study.

Details

The Working Men's College officially opened its doors on 7 June 1887. Photography was among twenty-eight initial subjects, alongside carpentry, bookkeeping, writing, and arithmetic. As photography grew in significance during the late nineteenth century, the Working Men's College recognised its potential and appointed Ludovico Hart as its first Instructor in Photography in 1887. Hart began with a single weekly class in 1887, but the overwhelming demand saw this expand in 1888 to three evening classes each week and a Saturday morning session each month. By providing formal instruction in a field previously unavailable in schools, colleges, or universities, Hart opened the door to photographic education for a broad section of society and laid the foundation for the growth of the field in Australia.

Four years after starting the photography course, in 1891, Ludovico Hart founded the Working Men's College Photographic Club. Now known as the Melbourne Camera Club, it stands as one of Australia's oldest photographic clubs with an unbroken history. Remarkably progressive for its era, the club welcomed both men and women at a time when most clubs in Melbourne were exclusive to men. The club nurtured the art and science of photography through lectures, hands-on workshops, and fieldwork, and by 1900 there were over 150 members.

Hart's dedication to photography education laid the groundwork for future instructors, such as James Aebi, Louis August Baillot and Frank Guy.

The first intake of photography students in 1887 was small, with just a handful of enrolments. By 1888, interest had grown, and the photography class swelled to more than twenty students, aged from sixteen to fifty-eight, representing a wide range of backgrounds, including clerks, wood carvers, carpenters, teachers, engineers, lithographers, joiners, and a governess. Early student lists often used only initials and last names, but we know there was at least one woman: Matilda Margaret Tankard, a twenty-one-year-old governess. By 1907, enrolments were organised by subject, making it much easier to understand the student cohort.


Some early photography students included:

F.N. Ingawells - 21-year-old clerk

A.G. Robertson - 18-year-old upholsterer

Matilda Margaret Tankard - 21-year-old governess

Sources used to compile this entry: Hart, Ludovico W., and Working Men's College, Photographic Formulae, as Used by the Students of the Photographic Classes at the Working Men's College, A.H. Massina & Co., Melbourne, Victoria, 1895; Hulbert, Shane, Suzanne Davies (writer of introduction) and RMIT Gallery (issuing body), Photography 130: Behind the Lens: 130 Years of RMIT Photography, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, 2017; Murray-Smith, Stephen and Dare, Anthony John, The Tech: A Centenary History of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Hyland House Publishing Pty Limited, South Yarra, Victoria, 1987; Statistical Register - 1887 - 1888, 1887 - 1888, Item no. A9905733, Accession 1999/080; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University Archives; The Working Men's College, Melbourne. The Technical College and School of Mines for the Metropolitan District Prospectus 1904. Melbourne: The College, 1904. 132p. [cover and title page detached] - Contained in bound volume 5, 1904, Item no. SER-05122, Series S0390; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University Archives.

Prepared by: Miranda Francis

Related Organisations

Archival Resources

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University Archives

  • Statistical Register - 1887 - 1888, 1887 - 1888, Item no. A9905733, Accession 1999/080; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University Archives. Details
  • The Working Men's College, Melbourne. The Technical College and School of Mines for the Metropolitan District Prospectus 1904. Melbourne: The College, 1904. 132p. [cover and title page detached] - Contained in bound volume 5, 1904, Item no. SER-05122, Series S0390; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University Archives. Details

Published Resources

Books

  • Hart, Ludovico W., and Working Men's College, Photographic Formulae, as Used by the Students of the Photographic Classes at the Working Men's College, A.H. Massina & Co., Melbourne, Victoria, 1895. Details
  • Hulbert, Shane, Suzanne Davies (writer of introduction) and RMIT Gallery (issuing body), Photography 130: Behind the Lens: 130 Years of RMIT Photography, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, 2017. Details
  • Murray-Smith, Stephen and Dare, Anthony John, The Tech: A Centenary History of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Hyland House Publishing Pty Limited, South Yarra, Victoria, 1987. Details

Created: 18 November 2025, Last modified: 5 March 2026