Photograph album relating to the surveying expedition of HMS Alert between 1879 and 1882, commanded by Captain John Fiot Lee Pearse Maclear. The photographs were taken by Frederick North while he was paymaster on HMS Alert from 27 August 1878 to 20 September 1882. Containing 154 photographic prints with captions (except for the images of the officers and crew). Some of the photographs feature in ALB0808, and the majority also in ALB0186.

Dr R. W. Coppinger, surgeon on board HMS Alert published an account of the expedition, which includes engravings based on Frederick North's photographs, for which he is credited in the book. His account has been used to provide dates and some descriptions for context, although his language and terminology is dated by today's standards. The book: Cruise of the 'Alert'. Four Years in Patagonian, Polynesian, and Mascarene Waters (1878-82) by Dr. R. W. Coppinger, published May 1884.

The album covers five main themes:

1) Photographs of the crew and officers onboard Alert (uncaptioned)
2) The photographs taken of the landscape and indigenous people around the Strait of Magellan - including Trinidad Channel, Tom Bay, Tilly Bay and Puerto Bueno. Subjects include the settlements and canoes of the "Fuegians" and views of the ship in Cockle Cove, Playa Parda Cove, Tilly Bay and Rio Frio.
3) A brief visit to Chile covering Santiago, Talacahuano, and Coquimbo.
4) The voyage through the South Pacific visiting the various archipelagae, recording the people, settlements and landscape - including Tahiti, Paumatau Group, Tongatabau (Friendly Islands), Samoa, Fiji (including Mbau, Levuka, Ovalau). Photographs include the Queen of Tahiti and King Thakambau of Fiji as well as settlements and the indigenous people posing for photographs.
5) The stay in Sydney, NSW, Australia. Here there are images of Alert in dry dock, fighting a sham naval battle with on-lookers on the foreshore, the Exhibition building (burnt in 1882), the Blue Mountains, and views of Queensland and the Aboriginal people and canoes. It also covers the settlements of the Strait of Torres with huts and canoes near Port Denison, and the islands of Thursday, Friday and Tuesday.
Finally there is a photograph of Sir George Tryon with officers of HMS Nelson, taken 1887.

See NOTES Field for full list of the plates with descriptions relating to this album.

Administrative / biographical background
The album is held by the Historic Photographs Section with the reference ALB0167.