Townsend Duryea, on of Hewlet Duryea, was born at Glencoe, New York, in North America. Duryea was a Photographer by trade. In addition to photography, Duryea trained as a mining engineer and was an accomplished artist.

Duryea was an extremely energetic and motivated individual. Described as being short in build and of 'vigorous mind and keen intelligence, his whole character bearing the impress of sterling integrity'. At 29 years of age, Duryea and his second wife Elizabeth Mary Smith, travelled to Melbourne in 1852 and by 1853; he had entered into a Bourke Street studio partnership with Alexander McDonald. The highly motivated and industrious Duryea moved to Adelaide in 1855 to open daguerreotype rooms over Prince's store at the corner of King William and Grenfell Streets. Daguerreotypes were developed by Louis Daguerre, and are an early form of photograph, in which the image is exposed directly onto a surface of silver polished to a mirror-finish. In the same year, Townsend and his brother Sandford formed a partnership and became known as 'Duryea Bros.' By 1856 the 'Brothers' had visited Auburn, Burra, Clare, Goolwa, Kapunda, Milang, Port Elliot and their near-by villages, at this time the Duryea Brothers were the first photographers known to have worked outside of Adelaide.

Utilising his skills and experience gained in America as a shipbuilder, Duryea built a thirty-foot cutter named 'Coquette' in Magill, behind the Maid and Magpie hotel. Although the 'Coquette' was originally built as a Murray trading vessel, it functioned primarily as a racing ship, inviting extravagant bets a side. The Wallaroo copper mines also attracted Duryea's attention, records indicate that a excellent load of copper had been cut from section 471 in February 1861, profiting 'Mr Duryea and others'. In only a few months, this lucrative find enabled Duryea Mining Association to possess some fifteen mineral sections in the Wallaroo area.

Duryea's fame was assured by his industrious, motivated and meticulous approach to photography, as well as the assistance of skilled assistants. In addition to this approach and aid, Duryea never wasted an opportunity to utilise all available advertising services available to him, from newspapers, almanacs to word of mouth. Patronized by Adelaide's elite citizens, governors and visiting dignitaries, Duryea's studio developed into the most popular portrait studio in Adelaide. This is perhaps a reason that Duryea dissolved his partnership with brother, Sandford in 1863. Duryea photographed the Duke of Edinburgh, and was the official photographer for the royal visit of 1867. Travelling in a photographer's van outfitted to his own specifications, Duryea accompanied the official party throughout their visit, fixing his prominent status as a photographer and a man of note. In addition to portraits, Duryea created many images of South Australia, including some noted panoramic landscapes and images of Adelaide. Duryea's artistic creativity was well displayed in 1872, when he photographed a majority of the original surviving colonists, fashioning a significant and sizable mosaic of their portraits ‘comprising some 675 cartes-de-visite'. Duryea’s fame was guaranteed by the portraits taken during the royal visit, his landscapes and panoramic images as well as his creative photographic works, and the many photographic prizes that he won in competitions held by the Society of Arts.

Tragedy struck on 18 April 1875 in the form of a fire, which totally destroyed Duryea’s studio and his collection of some 50, 000 negatives. Historians lament the loss of what has been described as the finest collection and ‘best record of early South Australian colonial life ever made'. The loss had a great impact on Duryea, cutting short his career as a photographer. Duryea moved from Adelaide to the Riverina district of New South Wales, near Yanga Lake and was soon crippled by a stroke. Duryea was buried at Parkside near Balranald after a buggy accident took his life on 13 December 1888.

Duryea married three times, twice in America and once in Adelaide. His first wife was Madalina, and he married his second wife Elizabeth Mary Smith, in approximately 1852. On 22 May 1872, Duryea was married to Catherine Elizabeth Friggins. Duryea was survived by a total of eight sons and four daughters: of his first marriage a son and a daughter, his second; four sons and a daughter and his third marriage; three sons and two daughters. Photography was a continued legacy to Duryea, as several of his sons and Grandsons became photographers.

The State Library of South Australia holds a collection of over 100 photographs by Duryea, as well as pamphlets, advertisements and newspaper material on Duryea.

Permission was granted by the State Library of South Australia for the use of:
SLSA: B 986 - Townsend Duryea (Portrait), c1865.
URL: http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au.mpcimg/01000/B986.htm