Roberts was particularly interested in promoting a national ‘homegrown’ culture and this title suggests he considered his subject, of Anglo-Celtic descent, a typical young ‘native-born’. This reflects the degree of national fervour in Australia in the decade leading up to Federation.

This is likely a portrait of Australian contralto singer, Ada Crossley (1871–1929), who was a member of the Melbourne-based Austral Salon of Music, Literature and the Arts. Crossley had auburn-brown hair and dark eyes, a long nose, full cheeks and smiling mouth. Aged 17 in 1888, she was at the very beginning of her career. She referred to herself as ‘a regular bush youngster’, and was described in the New Zealand Evening Post as ‘an Australian native’.