Frederick Dally was born in Southwark, London, on July 29th 1838 and emigrated to Victoria in Canada aged 24. Whilst there, he set-up his own shop which he later sold in 1866 to establish himself as a photographer. He began his new career taking portraits of the local populace and the surroundings. As his reputation grew, he accepted commissions from the Colonial Office and the governor of Vancouver Island, during which he took portraits of indigenous peoples on the Island. Following the destruction of his studio in Barkerville in British Columbia during a fire in 1868, Dally sold his business to a local firm of photographers in 1870 and returned to England to practise Dentistry in 1872.
