Milton Kent

Lore & Background

Milton Kent was born in 1888 above his father Charles Kent's photographic studio at 314 George Street, Sydney. Apprenticed to his father from age ten, he set up his own commercial business in 1909. His first contract was to photograph the fighter R. L. ‘Snowy’ Baker at Rushcutters Bay Stadium.

In the years before World War One, he rode a motorcycle to jobs. He married Lillian Cropper in 1911. Alert to the possibilities of aerial photography, Kent took images during flights with aviator William Hart using rapid panchromatic glass plates.

In 1916 he was appointed official photographer to the State Government Aviation School at Richmond Sydney, learning about oblique aerial photography at altitudes from 500 to 5000 feet. The greatest problem was the lack of sensitivity of the plates, requiring full aperture at around 1/200 of a second and images could only be taken in full sunlight with no cloud. In 1920 he imported a half-plate oblique aero camera from Carl Zeiss AG in Germany for factory projects and real estate subdivisions. He joined the New South Wales Aero Club around 1924 and was awarded his licence in November 1926.

In 1927 he bought a Westland Widgeon two-seater monoplane, feeling the single wing gave a clearer view for his photographic work. He used the plane to win the speed championship at the Aerial Derby in Queensland on 12 November 1927. The following year he tried to break the plane speed record from Sydney to Brisbane but was forced to crash-land his plane on a cliff after his motor cut out over Broken Bay; he and his co-pilot were not injured.

From the Ring to the Skyline

Milton Kent's photographic career began in the world of sport. After establishing his own commercial studio in 1909, his first major assignment was capturing the boxer R. L. 'Snowy' Baker in action at Rushcutters Bay Stadium. Working with a Mentor camera, Kent had to overcome the limitations of early plate film and poor indoor lighting by positioning himself in the sunlit corridors surrounding the bleachers. Between 1914 and 1918 he documented a roster of heavyweight fighters, including Sid Francis, Jimmy Hill, Herb McCoy, Jeff Smith, and Les Darcy, in dramatic fighting poses.

His commercial reach extended beyond the ring; he found steady work photographing Sydney's nascent motor industry, earning referrals from satisfied clients and travelling to assignments by motorcycle in the years before the First World War. The pivotal shift came in 1920, when Kent imported a half-plate oblique aero camera from Carl Zeiss AG in Germany, purpose-built for factory projects and real estate subdivisions. That single acquisition redirected his entire practice toward the sky, and by the 1940s he had established himself as Sydney's principal aerial photographer, with his images reproduced across thousands of newspaper and magazine advertisements.

Wings, Speed, and Survival

Kent's passion for aviation began in 1912 when he constructed box-kites inspired by Lawrence Hargrave's designs, and deepened when he met aviator William Hart, for whom he captured images during a flight using rapid panchromatic glass plates. In 1916 he was appointed official photographer to the State Government Aviation School at Richmond, Sydney, where he befriended chief instructor Captain W. J. Strutt. Though never officially permitted to pilot an aircraft, Kent learned to fly "under the lap" during photographic patrols over Sydney, restricted to neither taking off nor landing. He mastered oblique aerial photography at altitudes between 500 and 5,000 feet, working around insensitive plates that demanded full aperture at roughly 1/200 second and clear, cloudless sunlight.

That chapter ended abruptly when Strutt vanished over the Bass Strait. Undeterred, Kent hired aircraft from Nigel Love to continue his photographic work. In 1927 he purchased a Westland Widgeon monoplane and used it to win the speed championship at the Aerial Derby in Queensland. The following year, an engine failure over Broken Bay forced a crash-landing on a cliff; Kent and co-pilot Larry Phipps escaped injury but had to dismantle the aircraft and carry it through dense scrub to a road.

A Studio Above George Street

Milton Kent's connection to photography was literally written into his birthplace. His father, Charles Kent, had purchased the Murrell & Co. photography business and operated from 314 George Street, Sydney, and Milton was born in the apartment directly above the studio in 1888. From the age of ten he was apprenticed to his father, absorbing the craft of commercial photography in the heart of the city. In 1911 he married Lillian Cropper, daughter of a former mayor of Petersham, and by 1918 Charles had handed the family business over to his son before relocating to Queensland.

The enterprise continued to evolve: by 1953 Milton's own son Lindsey was working alongside him, and the company had been renamed Milton Kent and Son, with its studio situated beside the family home at 19 O'Conner Street, Haberfield. Milton retired in 1961, and after his death on 13 April 1965, Lindsey carried on managing the studio until 1989, when he sold the business and its thousands of negatives to Ernest Dorn. The family's three children—Freda, Gweneth, and Lindsey—survived their father, and Lillian outlived him as well.

A City Seen from Above

For five decades, Milton Kent's camera served as a witness to Sydney's physical transformation. His aerial images documented the opening of new blocks of land across the city, the construction of the Harbour Bridge, and countless other events, continuing right up until his death in 1965. In 1921, aerial views of Kirribilli and Circular Quay that he had captured were published in the Sydney Morning Herald, and three years later the same paper printed his striking image of the area around Long Bay Correctional Centre, where a woman's body had been discovered in May 1924. He also covered the Rothbury Riots in the Northern New South Wales coalfields for the Herald.

In 1929 he submitted a series of 24 aerial photographs to a competition run by the Photographers Association of America and received one of the association's highest awards. By the 1940s his work was so in demand that it appeared in thousands of advertisements across newspapers and magazines. Today, the State Library of New South Wales holds his aggregated collection of negatives—chiefly aerial views of Sydney spanning roughly 1920 to 1982—preserving glass negatives from multiple decades as a permanent record of the city's evolution.

Reader's Guide

Milton Kent's significance lies in his pioneering role in aerial photography in Sydney from the 1920s through the 1960s. He captured the opening of new blocks of land, the construction of the harbour bridge, and many other events. His work appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, including an aerial view of the area around Long Bay Correctional Centre where a woman's body was found in May 1924.

He photographed the Rothbury Riots in Northern New South Wales coalfields for the Herald. In 1929 he submitted a series of 24 aerial photographs to a competition held by the Photographers Association of America and received one of the highest awards. By the 1940s he was the principal aerial photographer in Sydney, and his work was reproduced in thousands of advertisements in newspapers and magazines. His legacy is preserved in the State Library of New South Wales, which holds his aggregated collection of negatives, chiefly aerial views of Sydney from ca. 1920-1982.

His son Lindsey worked with him from 1953, and the company was renamed Milton Kent and Son. Kent retired in 1961 and died on 13 April 1965. Lindsey continued to manage the studio until 1989 when he sold the business and thousands of negatives to Ernest Dorn.

Did You Know?

• He crash-landed his Westland Widgeon on a cliff in 1928 after the motor cut out over Broken Bay, but he and his co-pilot were uninjured.
• He photographed Charles Kingsford Smith's 'Southern Cross' as it landed at Sydney in June 1928.