At the beginning of the 20th century the Ethnological Museum paid special attention to photographs from Australia, which it purchased because they were thought of as documenting a "perishing world". Two prominent photographers, Charles Kerry and John W. Lindt provided the most significant images.

As part of the "Month of Photography" this exhibition of a selection of pictures by both photographers delivers an insight into the early stage of Australian photography.

Kerry and Lindt covered a broad spectrum of subjects. They photographed adventurers and gold diggers, caves and images of the rural idyll, and the aspiring society of immigrant Europeans in Sydney and Melbourne.

Young Kerry took over a loss-making photographic studio in Sydney, which, thanks to his salesmanship, he turned into a prosperous enterprise. The studio became famous for its pictures of dancers (Carrabaree) of the Aborigines, which were shown at international exhibitions. Lindt, born in Germany, became a mariner in his youth, reaching Australia via New Guinea. Soon he began to take photos of the Aborigines, which became the central theme of his work.