John Caris's general store in Vulcan Street Moruya, opposite the Adelaide Hotel, was crammed with an extraordinary array of goods for Christmas. Inside the store, he sold everything from axes to washing soda and men's suits. Caris was also a watchmaker and an optician. He joined the Coolgardie gold rush with his brother in the mid 1890s and eventually opened Caris Brothers, Perth's largest jewellery store. Moruya was an isolated community, too small for a local professional photographer, and itinerants like Charles Keys, who visited the town in 1888, took portraits and views during short visits.