photographer, was born in Islington, London, second daughter of Millice Culpin, medical doctor, and Hannah Louisa, née Muncey. She came to Brisbane with her family about 1891 and her father established a medical practice in the Taringa – Indooroopilly – Brookfield area. Rose attended the Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School and studied art at Brisbane Technical College with Godfrey Rivers . On 30 March 1900 she married John Howard Simmonds (d.1939), a 37 year-old monumental mason who recorded his tombstone commissions with a large plate camera and had a darkroom at home for developing and printing his negatives. They had two sons. Rose Simmonds apparently began photography by assisting her husband but was soon taking and processing her own photographs, mainly snapshots of her sons.

She was active professionally from about 1927 to the early 1940s. In 1941 she had a solo exhibition of her photographs in Brisbane. A number of her albums containing hundreds of small photographs survive with the family (Dr J. H. Simmonds collection). Her photos include Untitled (small girl climbing out of a billy-cart) c.1938, printed 1984, gelatin silver print from 70 mm transparency, sepia toned; The Three Witches [three bent trees] c.1937, Bromoil print (reproduced Smith); and Last Rays on the Sand Dunes c.1939-1940, Bromide print 23.7 × 29.5 cm, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Qld. (empty beach reproduced in Centre Gallery catalogue p.206 and in Smith p.14).

She died on 3 July 1960 at Auchenflower and was cremated. Her two sons survived her.

Writers:
Staff Writer
Date written:
1995
Last updated:
2011