Australian War Memorial Logo
Search
  • Online Shop Use this login for Shop items, and image, film, sound reproductions
    Cart  |  Log In
  • Collection Open Information Close Information
    • Official Histories & Unit Diaries
    • Understanding the Collection
    • Research at the Memorial
    • Donating to the Collection
    • National Collection Loans
    • Projects
  • People
  • Visit
  • Commemorate Open Information Close Information
    • Last Post Ceremony
    • Honour Rolls
    • Anzac Day
    • Remembrance Day
    • Customs & Ceremony
    • Speeches
  • Learn Open Information Close Information
    • Schools & Teachers
    • Memorial Articles
    • Encyclopedia
    • Understanding Military Structure
    • Podcasts
    • Glossary
    • Wartime Magazine
  • Get Involved Open Information Close Information
    • Donations & Bequests
    • Corporate Partnership
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Volunteer at the Memorial
    • Friends of the Memorial
    • eMemorial Newsletter
    • Grants, Scholarships & Residencies
    • Research Papers
  • Shop Open Information Close Information
    • Help and Information
    • Lone Pine Seedlings
    • Images, film and sound

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. About the Australian War Memorial
  3. Our Work
  4. Publications
  5. Contact: Photographs and the modern experience of ...
  6. Official photographers
  7. Phillip Hobson (1922-2006)

Main navigation

  • Our People
  • Our Work
    • Projects
    • Publications
    • Year in Review
  • Our Organisation
  • Media Centre
  • Memorial Articles
  • Speeches

Phillip Hobson (1922-2006)

Arthur Gulliver's portrait of Phillip Hobson, Korea

Arthur Gulliver's portrait of Phillip Hobson, Korea State Library of Victoria H2002.199/3992

Phillip Hobson enlisted in the army in 1942 and served in the Pacific theatre during the Second World War. In 1945 he travelled to Japan with 67th Battalion and became the battalion’s photographer. Photographs taken by Hobson were bought by other members of the battalion, and also contributed to a comprehensive photographic record of the battalion’s activities. In late 1949 Hobson was appointed an army public relations photographer and spent the next five years photographing events in Japan and Korea. He was posted to Malaya in 1955, where he photographed the work of the Far East Land Forces for three years.

Phillip Hobson, Lance Corporal Charles “Chilla” Moran, 1953 HOBJ3958

Phillip Hobson, Lance Corporal Charles “Chilla” Moran, 1953 HOBJ3958

Between 1950 and 1955 Hobson made at least 17 trips into Korea from Japan as an army public relations photographer. He produced many fine portraits of Australian soldiers serving in Korea and some spectacular views of action. These photographs were intended to circulate in Australian newspapers and magazines to publicise and promote the presence of Australian soldiers in Korea. Accordingly, soldiers were often pictured in ways that emphasised their stoicism and industriousness. Hobson’s photographs also reveal an intimacy with his subjects, one developed through his earlier experiences as a soldier and unit photographer for his battalion.

"Members of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), walk carefully across a valley of snow covered rice paddies and up a hillside during an operation in Korea."

Phillip Hobson, 3RAR in Korea, 1951 HOBJ2046

Photographers

  • Alan Queale
  • Harold Dunkley
  • Phillip Hobson
  • Ian Robertson
  • Mike Coleridge
  • John Fairley
  • Andy Mattay
  • Denis Gibbons
  • Tim Page
  • Heide Smith
  • George Gittoes
  • David Dare Parker
  • Stephen Dupont
  • Ben Bohane
  • Allan Cuthbert
  • Barbara Isaacson
  • Claude Holzheimer
  • Allan Lambert
  • Lloyd Brown
  • Herbert Baldwin
  • Charles Bean
  • Frank Hurley
  • Hubert Wilkins
  • Damien Parer
  • George Silk
  • Vernon Smith
  • Herbert Appleby

Last updated: 25 February 2021

Explore the Collection

Explore the Collection

Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in Australia’s military forces.

Find out more
The Donations and bequests

Donations & Bequests

Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains – today and into the future.

Find out more
The placesofpride

Places of Pride

Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia.

Find out more
Visit the Australian War Memorial

Visit the Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial is open for visitors as we work to expand our galleries. All visitors require a free timed ticket to enter the Memorial Galleries and attend the Last Post Ceremony.

Find out more
Canberra Highlands in Grayscale

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
TRADITIONAL CUSTODIANS

The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
Location map of The Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial building

The Australian War Memorial

Treloar Crescent
Campbell ACT 2612
Australia
View on Google Maps (opens in new window)
Google Map data ©2023 Google
Australian War Memorial Logo
  • Go to AWM Facebook
  • Go to AWM Twitter
  • Go to AWM Trip Advisor
  • Go to AWM Instagram
  • Go to AWM Youtube

Footer

  • Memorial Articles
  • About
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Wartime Magazine
  • Donate Today

The Australian War Memorial

Treloar Crescent

Campbell ACT 2612

Australia

 

Opening Hours

10 am to 5 pm daily (except Christmas Day)

 

In preparation for the daily Last Post Ceremony,

galleries are progressively closed from 4 pm.

 

Public entrance via Fairbairn Avenue, Campbell ACT 2612

Book your ticket to visit: awm.gov.au/visit

 


Please enter a valid email address

Legal

  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Freedom of information

Copyright 2023 Australian War Memorial, Canberra. All rights reserved