Optometry practice of Carter and Werner

Historical Significance: Carl Werner founded a two-generation optometry firm in Melbourne and the members of the family were influential in the early development of optometry in Victoria. Karl Werner came to Australia in 1870 from Kiel in Holstein, at the age of 18, to live with an uncle in Ballarat. He had received some early optical training in Germany and joined the firm of Alex, Marks and Co. in Ballarat. Here, he worked with William Henry Carter, who had done an apprenticeship as jeweller and watchmaker in Melbourne. Henry Carter and Carl Werner started their own business (Carter and Werner) as jewellers, opticians and importers of optical instruments in Lydiard Street, Ballarat. They later opened a branch in Launceston, Tasmania and agencies in other towns. Karl Werner later travelled to London to study for the Fellowship of the Spectacle Makers Company (FSMC) which he completed in 1896, obtaining certificate No 1 of this newly established Fellowship qualification, See Werner's profile under the tab 'People who made history'. This photo may be of the practice in Lydiard Street Ballarat.