Background
William James Harding was born on September 19, 1826 in Southampton, United Kingdom, one of eight children.
William James Harding was born on September 19, 1826 in Southampton, United Kingdom, one of eight children.
William Harding went to New Zealand in 1855 to work as a cabinetmaker. That enterprise failing, he opened a photographic studio to practice the craft he had learned in London. The studio operated until 1889, at which time William Harding left for Sydney.
The photographer created more than 6,000 commissioned cartes de visite, as well as studies of urban and rural scenes, often depicting the rigors of colonial life. His portraits have a directness not normally associated with the Victorian period. Using the collodion process, he maintained a traveling darkroom in which he coated and developed his own plates.