Charles Nettleton (1826–1902) was an English-born Australian photographer who documented the rapid development of Melbourne and the state of Victoria during the nineteenth century. After emigrating to Australia in 1854, he photographed the first steam train journey in Australia and was later commissioned to record major public works, railways, buildings, waterways and shipping. Working mainly with the wet plate process, he produced extensive views of Melbourne and published some of Australia's earliest photographic souvenir albums. Nettleton also served as a police photographer, his work including an 1880 portrait of notorious outlaw Ned Kelly on the eve of his execution. He exhibited internationally, including in London and Paris, before retiring in 1890 after the rise of dry plate photography. This photograph of Nettleton was taken in the mid-to-late-1890s by a photographer from the Talma & Co. studio.

Photograph credit: Talma & Co.; restored by Adam Cuerden