Sam Hood

Parkline Place is delighted to showcase the work of notable Australian commercial photographer and photojournalist, Samuel John Hood (1872 – 1953).

Sam Hood grew up in Glenelg, Adelaide in a creative family, with both his father and grandfather working as artists. He moved to Sydney in 1899 and soon became known for his prowess in photographic portraiture and weddings.

Over the years, press photography became the major focus of his studio, and he provided photographs to some of the most popular newspapers of the time, including the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hood was hailed as a trailblazer in this genre, renowned for his skill in portraying both the sensational and the everyday. He was well-known for his talent in depicting Sydneysiders in action, whether engaging in sport or documenting life on the street. During World War II, Hood worked for the Ministry of Information to record the armed forces.

In 1899, Hood opened his own studio in Young’s Chambers on the corner of Pitt and Park Streets, within the site of Parkline Place (see Figures 2 and 3 – these are the maps). Hood operated here for almost twenty years, until he purchased the nearby Dalny Studio at 124 Pitt Street in 1918. Hood worked out of his Dalny Studio for another 31 years until he retired to the Blue Mountains in 1949.

Hood died in 1953, leaving his photographic archives to the State Library of New South Wales. At the link below, you can continue to experience his legacy – the moments of Sydney life that he captured from the 1880s to the 1950s.

Figure 1. Photograph of Sam Hood outside Dalny Studios at 124 Pitt Street, taken in 1953 by his son. Source: State Library of NSW

The map on the left shows Sydney in 1822, marking the height of Sam Hood’s career, with a red outline indicating the approximate location of the Parkline Place site. Source: National Library of Australia.

The map on the right presents a contemporary view of the immediate vicinity of Parkline Place.