Daniel Long’s sketchbook dates from 1856 and contains charming watercolours and pencil drawings depicting various locations in Gippsland.

A watercolour and pencil on paper by D. R. Long, showing a river with tree covered bank and hills.

Guilfoyl’s Bluff, Tambo R. [i.e. River] [Gippsland], H2003.91/44

Daniel Rutter Long was born in England and trained as a pharmacist and emigrated with his wife and family to Port Phillip, Victoria in 1840. By 1843 he had his own chemist shop in Bourke Street, later erecting a well known pharmacy on the corner of Bourke and Exhibition streets.

A watercolour and pencil on paper by D. R. Long, showing a river winding left through fenced fields.

 Mossy[?] face, Tambo River [Gippsland, Vic.]H2003.91/42

Retiring from the business in 1857 Long took up painting, sometimes returning to his original profession. He painted hundreds of landscapes in other colonies as well as in Victoria. Long participated in local affairs and was one of the earliest members of the municipal council.

A watercolour and pencil on paper by D. R. Long, showing a steam driven pleasure craft seemingly run aground.

Little Sarah in distrefs [i.e. distress], Tambo River [Gippsland] Jan. 7th 1883, H2003.91/40

In 1859 he was elected mayor and instrumental in the erection of Prahran Town Hall. For many years he was also a member of the Police Court Bench. Daniel Long died at the age of eighty-three in 1886.

Long’s sketchbook contains 52 drawings,  all of which have been digitised by the State Library of Victoria. The National Library of Australia also holds some of Long’s paintings.

The State Library’s catalogue offers access to many other online resources relating to Gippsland, including diaries and early reminiscences, maps and books.

Written by Paul Dee
Librarian, Australian History and Literature Team

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