Hughan, Allan, 1834-1883 (photographer)
Dates
- Existence: 1834 - 1883
Biography
Allan (? Ramsay Cunningham) Hughan was born in England. He was a passenger on board the 'Pilot' in the Pacific in 1869. He was Captain of the 'Pilot' in 1870. He traded in various commodities, mainly mother of pearl. He was shipwrecked at Yandee, New Caledonia, in March 1870 (a letter describing the events can be found in the 'Sydney Morning Herald', November 3rd 1870).
Hughan abandoned his maritime career after the shipwreck and set up business as a photographer in Noumea in 1871. He had apparently already photographed in Fiji. His studio was in Rue Sebastopol and he advertised 'vues de Noumee et des environs' in 'Moniteur', June 7th 1871. He was appointed Government Photographer after accompanying an expedition to inspect prison installations for communards in November 1872. In 1872 he went to the Ile des Pins with the Governor and in early 1874 went on a photographic expedition to the interior of New Caledonia. He photographed Queen Hortense and her entourage and the mission station at Vao in August and September 1876. Hughan stayed at the Mission St Louis outside Noumea in March 1878.
Hughan married Phoebe Hall (? in England). He died in Tamoa, Toutouta, New Caledonia in 1883. His wife died in Sydney in 1900 (O'Reilly 1978).
Sources:
O'Reilly, Patrick (1978), 'La Nouvelle-Calédonie vue par le photographe Allan Hughan il y a cent ans'. Paris: Nouvelles Éditions Latines.
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
A Chief’s Residence, New Caledonia, 1870 - 1880
152 x 196 mm. A view looking along a palm lined path, on which people are standing or sitting in small groups, towards the chief’s house, a similar structure to that seen in Plate 189. Photograph by Hughan.
Building Native huts, New Caledonia [historic title], 1874-06-18
152 x 197 mm. A view showing two large huts, the one in the background completed, the one in the foreground in the process of being built; a spire-shaped wooden framework (composed of heavy uprights held in place by thinner horizontal bands) has been completed, and people are at work on the structure thatching it from the top downwards. The structure must be about 70 or 80 feet high. A group of Europeans is watching the building work. Photograph by Hughan, and dated 6[18]74.
Canala. East Coast, New Caledonia, 1870 - 1880
198 x 152 mm. A view showing cultivated fields (of rice?) and a road and a small settlement in the foreground, with mountains and the harbour estuary of Canala visible in the distance. Photograph by Hughan.
River Foa Ourail [sic presumably Bonrail], West Coast, New Caledonia, 1874-10
200 x 154 mm. A view looking down on a bend in the river with scrubland and hills in the distance. A party armed with spears can be seen standing in the shallow waters of the river fishing, with a village visible on the further bank. See also Plate 178 for a similar view on the River Foa. Photograph by Hughan and dated 10-[18]74.
Additional filters:
- Subject
- New Caledonia (dependent state) 3
- Oceania (continent) 3