Identifying some of the more obscure Victorian colonial units can be very difficult. Documentation can be very sparse
and the usual avenues of research difficult to proceed along.

This carte de vsite is a case in point. No information other that the photographer's name is written on the card. Being
that the card was purchased from a seller in New South Wales, Australia helped to possibly localize it to that area of
the world.

Pursuing the identity of the photographer I have come across only one under the name of R. Duryea. He operated out
of Albany, Western Australia during the 1880-1900 period. Based upon that I have identified this soldier as a member
of one of Albany's volunteer units, probably a rifle volunteer unit. Possibilities include the Albany Defense Rifles and
Albany Rifle Volunteers. I have not found a reference for the cap badges of these two units at this time. The badge
strongly resembles that of the Victorian Rangers (Ballarat Rangers) of Victoria, Australia..


Carte de Visite
R. Duyea - Photographer
Albany, Western Australia
c. 1890