Showing 40 items
matching australian art - 19th century
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Kew Historical Society Inc
Painting, Herbert J Woodhouse, River Yarra Near Dights Falls, c.1892
... australian art - 19th century... depiction of the Yarra at Studley Park. australian art - 19th ...Herbert James Woodhouse (1854-1937) was born in Essex and arrived in Australia with his family in 1857. A painter-lithographer like his father and three of his brothers, he was a prizewinner in the South Australian Society of Arts exhibition of 1885. He also received commendations in exhibitions at the Victorian Academy of Arts and the New South Wales Arts Society. At an exhibition of his paintings at Scott’s Hotel in Collins Street in 1892, the reviewer for Table Talk noted that the ‘artist paints almost solely in the open air, and his studies are generally carried out during the trips of the Victorian Sketching Club’. One of the paintings singled out for praise was: ‘A very effective river scene at Willsmere, aptly named A Midstream Mirror, ... a picture powerful in its effective reflection of sunlight in the river.’ Herbert Woodhouse died in Geelong in June 1937, aged 82, and was buried in the Eastern Cemetery. A number of his sketchbooks are held in the collection of the State Library of Victoria.Framed oil painting on board of the River Yarra at Studley Park, Kew, by Herbert James Woodhouse (1858-1937). The artist has framed the narrow painting with trees in the foreground and a view of the Yarra River and rolling hills in the background. Verso, written by artist: "River Yarra Near Dights Falls"australian art - 19th century, herbert james woodhouse (1854-1937), yarra river - studley park -
Kew Historical Society Inc
Work on paper - Sepia Wash & Ink, G B Richardson, Creek and Old Watering Stage, on the Yarra, East Collingwood, 1854, 1854
... australian art - 19th century...) - kew (vic) colonial artists australian art - 19th century ...Blind Creek was located between the Abbotsford Convent and what is now the Collins Bridge in Studley Park. In an 1858 map of East Collingwood by Clement Hodgkinson, in the State Library of Victoria, one can see how the creek was originally a significant landmark in Collingwood; remaining vacant land until a barrel drain enclosed it. The area was later filled in, surveyed and developed. The position where Blind Creek entered the Yarra was in the immediate vicinity of Hodgson’s Punt, which had linked Kew to the other side of the Yarra from 1839. The Punt was purchased by the Colonial Government in 1852 and was in use until the opening of the Studley Park Road (Johnston Street) Bridge in 1858 made its continued use redundantThe point of view selected by the artist for the watercolour is from the banks of Blind Creek in East Collingwood, looking across the Yarra to the Kew side of the river.Inscribed verso 'Creek and Old Watering stage, on the Yarra East Collingwood 1854 / Trees, stage, &c have long since disappeared / [Artist Signature] / FT 110 / Creek itself now being filled in 1903.gb richardson, blind creek - abbotsford, yarra river - abbotsford (vic) - kew (vic), colonial artists, australian art - 19th century, george bouchier richardson -
Unions Ballarat
Eureka revisited: The contest of memories, Beggs Sunter, Anne et al, 2004
... art, australian - 19th century - exhibitions... - ballarat ballarat trades and labour council art, australian - 19th ...Comprehensive and brief account of the Eureka rebellion and the story of the flag of the Southern Cross. Includes photographs of various artistic representations that are held in the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. Written for the 150th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade. Contents: Machine derived contents note: Eureka Timeline and Personalities 6 Eureka Revisited: the contest of memories 9 Anne Beggs Sunter The Eureka Flag and its champions 23 History of the Flag 24 Holy Relics - the puzzle of the pieces 35 Design and making of the Eureka Flag 38 Symbols and Legend 40 Artistic interpretations 40 Films 44 Writing and dramatising the legend 47 Songs and Musicals 49 The living tradition of protest 50.Relevant to the history of Ballarat, gold mining, Ballarat Reform League and the Eureka Rebellion.Book; 56 pages; pictorial. Front cover: white background; colour painting, "Pioneer", by Sally Smart; blue and gold text; title.btlc, ballarat trades hall, lalor, peter, humffray, john, eureka stockade, eureka stockade - anniversary, eureka flag, southern cross flag, art and history, ballarat reform league, history - ballarat, ballarat trades and labour council, art, australian - 19th century - exhibitions -
City of Ballarat
Sculpture - Public Artwork, Ruth by Charles F. Summers, 1899
... a central figure in Australian art from the mid 19th Century... by Charles Summers a central figure in Australian art from the mid ...Statue of Ruth is a religious reference to the harvest and to the importance of motherhood. Ruth was sculpted by Charles Summers a central figure in Australian art from the mid 19th Century. Summers was a founder of the Victorian Society of Fine Arts in 1856 and in 1863 he became a member of the commission of inquiry into the promotion of the fine arts in Victoria. He created many portraits and busts and is known for his bronze depiction of Burke and Wills in MelbourneThe sculpture is of historic and aesthetic significance to the people of BallaratMarble sculptural depiction of the biblical figure RuthPresented to the City of Ballaarat by the following citizens./ H F Elliot Mayor/ The Hon E Morey MLC/ Cr C B Retallack/ Cr J Heinz/ Cr C C Shoppee/ J N Wilson/ T Stoddart/ ruth, harvest -
Orbost & District Historical Society
eggs
These eggs could be ostrich eggs from an ostrich farm which operated just out of Marlo. It is likely that they were donated by Kate and Richard Earle who ran the enterprise. Emu and ostrich eggs are perfect for decorating, painting or carving. Emu egg shells have multiple layers ranging from an inner white layer through to the dark green outer layer. The contents must be removed through a small hole (either tool drilled or poked with a needle). After the yolk has been blown out (scrambling the yolk first by poking with a needle will make it easier to remove), the egg needs to be washed through and left to drain dry. It can then be painted, carved, etched or decorated. Emu decorating is a traditional Aboriginal art. The carving of emu eggs by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people was popular in the late 19th century but production declined in the 20th century, partly due to the protection of eggs through legislation. This has been overturned in recent years with the development of commercial emu farms. In the period between the two world wars particularly, with the production of other Aboriginal artefacts for an outside market, the carving of emu eggs provided an important source of income for Aboriginal people in many parts of Australia. It was a widespread practice in the south-east and it was not unusual for Aboriginal people to decorate their own homes with carved eggs and other items created by themselves or community members, serving to affirm an Indigenous identity within the domestic environment. (ref National Gallery of Australia)This item is significant for its uniqueness and aesthetic appeal.Two painted eggs on stands. 1907.1 is painted black and has white emus or ostriches painted on it. 1907.2 is painted white and has black emus or ostriches painted on it. Both stands are wooden with brass pedestals. The eggs are possibly ostrich eggs.handcraft emu-egg ornament ostrich-egg -
Orbost & District Historical Society
emu egg
Emu eggs are perfect for decorating, painting or carving. Emu egg shells have multiple layers ranging from an inner white layer through to the dark green outer layer. The contents must be removed through a small hole (either tool drilled or poked with a needle). After the yolk has been blown out (scrambling the yolk first by poking with a needle will make it easier to remove), the egg needs to be washed through and left to drain dry. It can then be painted, carved, etched or decorated. Emu decorating is a traditional Aboriginal art. The carving of emu eggs by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people was popular in the late 19th century but production declined in the 20th century, partly due to the protection of eggs through legislation. This has been overturned in recent years with the development of commercial emu farms. In the period between the two world wars particularly, with the production of other Aboriginal artefacts for an outside market, the carving of emu eggs provided an important source of income for Aboriginal people in many parts of Australia. It was a widespread practice in the south-east and it was not unusual for Aboriginal people to decorate their own homes with carved eggs and other items created by themselves or community members, serving to affirm an Indigenous identity within the domestic environment. (ref National Gallery of Australia)This item is significant for its uniqueness and its aesthetic appeal.An emu egg which has been painted white and decorated with glued on cord/thread to make a pattern of flowers and leaves.emu-egg ornament handcraft -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Ephemera - Token, Hickford Mayoral token
This so-called Hickford medal was a medal struck in 1897 by the Town of Warrnambool (bearing Walter Hickford’s name as the Mayor at the time) to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the reign of Queen Victoria. Walter John Hickford was Mayor of Warrnambool 1895-6-7 and President of the Committee that organized the Warrnambool Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896-7. A skilled decorative artist, Hickford carried out art work in many private houses, business and churches in Warrnambool. His shop in Liebig Street supplied paint materials for households, businesses and artists. Hickford Parade is named after him. The 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign was celebrated widely throughout Australia and the British Empire. This medal is one of several owned by the Warrnambool and District Historical Society. It is of some importance as it shows the extent to which civic authorities and individuals in places like Warrnambool were concerned with all things British and the influence of the British monarchy in Australian affairs in the late 19th century. It also shows the importance attached at the time to the position of Mayor, with his name being inscribed on the medal.This is a medal, possibly bronze, with the logo of the Town of Warrnambool on one side and two images of Queen Victoria on the other. Side one: Town of Warrnambool, W.J.Hickford, Mayor Side two: 1837-1897, Queen Victoria’s 60th Year of Reign queen victoria, town of warrnambool walter hickford -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Functional object - Seal: Woodford Mechanics Institute, 19th century
Mechanics Institutes were first established in the 19th century in Scotland and England to improve the education of working class men and to instruct them in their various trades. In Australia Mechanics’ Institutes were set up in the late 1920s with the first one in Melbourne dating from 1839. The Institutes in Victoria were (and some still are) a feature of Victorian country towns, usually consisting of a hall containing a Library and in bigger centres art class rooms and other recreation areas. The Woodford Mechanics’ Institute was established in 1861, enlarged in 1868 and burnt down in 1917.This seal is of major interest as it is the only seal we have of Mechanics’ Institutes in our district. These Mechanics’ Institutes were very important in the educational and social development of Victorian country towns. This is a seal or stamp made of brass and attached to a wooden handle. The wood on the handle is of a dark colour and is urn-shapedStamp - Woodford Mechanics Institutemechanics’ institutes, woodford, early mechanic institute seal -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Booklet, Art Gallery Ballarat, 2015
This is the program for the exhibitions and activities conducted by the Art Gallery of Ballarat in the winter of 2015. It includes the exhibition of the works of James Meek, of particular interest to Warrnambool as Meek was resident there for a number of years in the 19th century. The Ballarat Art Gallery is the largest and oldest regional art gallery in Australia, being established in 1884. The booklet is of interest as it shows the depth and variety of exhibitions and activities held at a regional art gallery. It includes the exhibition of the works of James Meek, a 19th resident of Warrnambool where he was well-known as a fishing company operator, a punt operator, a fisherman, a writer and lecturer and a gold prospector in the Otway Ranges. His calligraphy works are of great interest, both artistically and historically and one of his works belonging to the Warrnambool and District Historical Society was loaned to Ballarat for this exhibition. This is a booklet of 32 pages containing the program of the Art Gallery of Ballarat for Winter 2015. It contains logos of sponsors, a floor plan of the gallery, black and white and colour photographs and sketches and printed material on each exhibition. The cover has a reproduction of an image from Norma Redpath’s ‘Flight From Jerusalem’ art work. Front Cover: ‘Art Gallery of Ballarat, Winter 2015’art gallery of ballarat -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Musical Instrument, Edison Phonograph, 1905
The phonograph is a mechanical device for the recording and reproduction of sound and originally used a tinfoil sheet wrapped around a rotating cylinder to produce the sound. It was invented by Thomas Edison of U.S.A. in 1877 and was the model for all phonographs or gramophones made and developed throughout the 20th century. This machine is of particular interest to the Warrnambool and District Historical Society as it is an Edison phonograph and an earlier model of this phonograph was used in Warrnambool late in the 19th century to make an important recording. In 1896 Thomas Rome, an employee in a Warrnambool boot and shoe shop, purchased an Edison phonograph that could both play and record sounds. At the Warrnambool Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896-7 visitors to the Exhibition paid a fee to listen to music on this phonograph. But Rome also recorded some local Warrnambool people singing and speaking and these recordings survive today. They are regarded as the oldest surviving recordings made in Australia. Thomas Rome later became a shoe shop proprietor in Warrnambool and was a well-known person in the town/city for a great number of years. This is an Edison Gem Phonograph. It has a black-painted wooden base, now detached from the main mechanism. The phonograph is made of metal which is now heavily rusted. It has a cylindrical turntable for playing the Edison cylindrical records and a handle with a wooden knob. The turning mechanism and belt are now broken. The name of the manufacturer and details of the patents are on a metal plate attached to the side of the phonograph. The amplifier mechanism at the top of the machine is missing. The cover of the machine is made of wood and has a wooden handle attached with a piece of metal and two metal screws. There are also two metal screws on the side of the cover. The cover has a slot on the side to allow the turning handle to be accommodated outside of the cover. The cover is much stained and spotted. ‘Edison Gem Phonograph’ thomas edison, history of sound recordings, thomas rome (warrnambool) -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Book, Battarbee & Namatjira, 2014
This book gives details on the lives of the artists Rex Battarbee and Albert Namatjira. It is written by Martin Edmonds. The book explores the relationship between the two artists and the effect on each other of artistic philosophies and techniques, described as each being ‘a catalyst and a primer for the other, each shimmering alongside the other’. This book is of considerable interest as Rex Battarbee was born and reared in Warrnambool and his older sister Florinda was his first art teacher and an important influence in his artistic development. She was also a talented artist and a well-known art teacher in Warrnambool and many of her works survive. The Warrnambool Art Gallery holds works by both Rex and Florinda Battarbee, with the works of the latter belonging to the Warrnambool and District Historical Society. The Battarbee family members were prominent in Warrnambool business and artistic circles at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Rex’s father was a shopkeeper and had a bacon and ham curing business and the family lived in East Warrnambool at ‘Skiddaw’. This is a soft cover book of 342 pages. It tells the stories of the artists Rex Battarbee and Albert Namatjira. It contains a Contents page, an Introduction, ten chapters, a Note on Sources and Acknowledgements. The front cover has a black and white photograph of Battarbee and Namatjira. The text includes several black and white photographs. rex battarbee, albert namatjira, florinda battarbee, history of australian art, history of warrnambool, warrnambool art gallery -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Framed Paintings, 1 The Frame Shop, Fairfield, Melbourne .2 Kardinia Picture Framing, Geelong, 1Warrnambool Botanical Gardens .2 Hopkins River, Warrnambool, 1953
These two works of art are by Dr Don Edgar, a sociologist, educator and author. He taught sociology at Stanford University, the University of Chicago, Monash University and La Trobe University and was the founding Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. In the 1950s Dr Edgar was a student at Warrnambool High School and these works of art were produced at that time. For a school project he researched the early history of the Warrnambool Art Gallery and some of its collection, dating from the 19th century. In 2019 he published a book, ‘Art For the Country’, the story of Victoria’s regional art galleries and the book includes information on the founding and the later history of the Warrnambool Art Gallery.These works of art are of interest as they were painted by Dr Don Edgar, a noted academic and author today and a former resident of Warrnambool. The two works of art also have historical interest as they depict Warrnambool scenes painted over 60 years ago. .1 An art work (oil on artboard) – the Warrnambool Botanical Gardens with bridge and reflections, a gum tree and a poplar tree, all in green and orange tonings. The wooden frame has a light varnish with gold and white trim .2 An art work (oil on artboard) – multi-coloured view of the mouth of Hopkins River with the Hopkins River bridge, Lyndoch bungalow and boathouse. The frame is wooden with a mottled varnish and a white insert edging. .1 Don Edgar 1953 Don Edgar 1953 (High School Student) .2 D.E. 53 Don Edgar 1953 (High School Student) dr don edgar, sociologist, author and educator, warrnambool art gallery, history of warrnambool -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Souvenir Supplememt, Weekly Times Newspaper, Supplement to the Weekly Times, 1896
This is a supplement issued by the Weekly Times newspaper in 1896 to commemorate the opening of the Warrnambool Industrial ad Art Exhibition in November 1896. The exhibition ran for three months in the Warrnambool Town Hall/Mechanics Institute area with some temporary buildings. The attendance was recorded as 70,000, making it one of the biggest events ever held in Warrnambool. There were displays, competitions, concerts and operas and sporting and cultural events. The exhibition was historically important as being the time and place when the earliest surviving sound recordings made in Australia were produced by Tommy Rome on an Edison phonograph. The supplement came from the estate of Bruce Morris, the editor of the Warrnambool Standard from 1946 to 1968 and an important Warrnambool historian.This paper, although tattered is a most important souvenir of the Warrnambool Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896-7, a significant event in Warrnambool’s history. The supplement is also a valuable record of businesses and people of the late 19th century in Warrnambool.This is a supplement to an 1896 newspaper. It has 20 pages but is incomplete. It has printed material and black and white and sepia photographs. Most of the pages are loose and are tattered. warrnambool industrial and art exhibition 1896-7, bruce morris, warrnambool, thomas rome, warrnambool -
Warrnambool and District Historical Society Inc.
Wooden Plane Tool, Late 19th century
This tool, along with many other vintage tools in the collection of the Warrnambool and District Historical Society, is believed to have belonged to Henry Phillips, a19th century Warrnambool identity. English-born Henry Phillips (1821-1896) came with his wife Elizabeth to Australia in 1849 and lived in Port Fairy for some years. In 1865 Phillips formed a partnership with Christopher Beattie in the Warrnambool undertaking business of Beattie and Phillips. This was a major business in Warrnambool, continuing after the deaths of Phillips and Beattie until the year 2000. Henry Phillips was involved in the management of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute and the Art Gallery. This tool is of interest as an example of a 19th century tool and as a memento of a prominent Warrnambool businessman of the 19th century, Henry Phillips. This is a planing tool with a rectangular-shaped wooden body and two round polished wooden handles at either end. The wooden piece is curved on the base. A metal plate with a curved end is inserted in an opening on the top of the wooden piece and extends down to a small slit at the base. Metal screws keep the handles and the metal blade in place. vintage carpentry tools, henry phillips, warrnambool, history of warrnambool -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Book, Angus B. Watson, Lost & almost forgotten towns of colonial Victoria : a comprehensive analysis of census results for Victoria, 1841-1901, 2003
Lists all towns and villages with entries in the Victorian censuses between 1841 and 1901. It includes in excess of 1400 entries with the latitude and longitude for each town, numbers males and females in the town, and the number of occupied dwellings (where available). For many of these settlements the only visible trace of them today is in the census results collected by the fledgling governments of Colonial Victoria. It is a comprehensive reference and a fascinating insight into the movements of early populations of new Australians.cities and towns victoria, history 19th century, statistics, ghost towns - victoria, geographical names victoria, victoria census -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Book, The Birds of Australia Vol 3 - 4
The Work “The Birds of Australia; containing over 300 full-page illustrations, with a descriptive account of the life and characteristic habits of over 700 species” by Gracius J. [Joseph] Broinowski – Australian author, artist and ornithologist - was created in 40 parts for subscribers and sold for 10s [shillings]., These parts were later published in six volumes, which were later published and bound in pairs to make three volumes, each of which contain two of the six original volumes, numbered volumes, “I”, “III” and “V” on their fly page, but numbered “Vols. I-II”, “Vols. III-IV” and “Vols. V-VI” on their respective spines. The volumes were all published by Charles Stuart & Co. (Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, New Zealand, and Tasmania). All of the beautifully drawn and coloured illustrations in The Birds of Australia were illustrated by Broinowski. They were printed using a new 19th century method called chromolithography. This is the art of making multi-coloured prints. The skilled lithographer would work from an original coloured painting and create a copy for every one of the many layers of colour used to build the painting. These layers were then printed carefully over each other to re-build the picture. Gracius J. Broinowski’s Work “The Birds of Australia” was described by Jean.Anker as “a semi-popular but comprehensive treatment of the subject” in the book “Bird Books and Bird Art: an outline of the Literary History and Iconology of Descriptive Ornithology” 1979. It may be that these books were donated to, or ordered specifically for, the Warrnambool Public Museum, due to the embossing on the spine “WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC LIBRARY”. The acquisition of these books would most likely to have made 1891-1910, between the date the books were published and the date that the Museum amalgamated with the Mechanics Institute, which then became part of The Museum and Art Gallery. These three books were part of the collection of books belonging to the Warrnambool Public Museum, established 1873 by Joseph Archibald. The Museum moved into the back of the Mechanics’ Institute in 1885, along with the Art Gallery and School of Dancing. In 1886 it was officially opened as The Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery, with Joseph Archibald as its curator. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former court house in Timor Street, with Joseph Archibald as Curator until 1897. In 1910 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian. He developed his own sorting and cataloguing system and organised the collection of books accordingly. In the 1960’s the Warrnambool City Council closed down the Museum and Art Gallery and the books and artefacts were redistributed to other organisations in Warrnambool. Each spine of this book set, The Birds of Australia by Gracius Broinowski, shows a space on which a previous cataloguing label may have been affixed. The volumes are amongst the many books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village that display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. Some other Australian Libraries also include these books in their collections; Australian National University, University of NSW, University of Western Australia, State Library of Western Australia, Deakin University, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, University of Adelaide, University of Queensland, University of Tasmania. The Library of Congress and the University of British Columbia also have sets of these volumes. These books are considered as Rare Book; a set of Broinowski’s 3 volumes was advertised in Melbourne’s Rare Book Fair 2012, “for ornithological collectors”. (See the more detailed information below in “Warrnambool Public Museum and Mechanics Institute” and the “Pattison Collection”.) GRACIUS JOSEP BROINOWSKI Gracius Joseph Broinowski (7/3/1837 – 11/4/1913), artist and ornithologist, was born in Walichnowy, Poland, son of a landowner and military officer of the same name. He was educated privately then later, at the Munich University, he was a student of languages, classics and art. To avoid conscription into the Russian army, he migrated to Germany. At the age of about 20 years he migrated to Portland (Victoria, Australia), working his passage as part of the crew of a windjammer. Broinowski worked in the country for a few years then found employment working for a Melbourne publisher and later sold his own paintings. In about 1863, while on one of his many travels in eastern Australia painting landscapes and scenes, he married Jane Smith in Richmond, Victoria (her father was captain of a whaler). In 1880 he settled in Sydney where his work involved teaching painting, lecturing on art and exhibiting his own work at showings of the Royal Art Society. Also in the 1880s he began to publish illustrated works on Australian natural history, including; - illustrations of the birds and mammals of Australia, commissioned by the Department of Public Instruction, New South Wales, and mounted, varnished and hung on walls in many classrooms - "The Birds and Mammals of Australia"; a bound collection of illustrations with appropriated text - 1888 "The Cockatoos and Nestors of Australia and New Zealand" - 1890-1891, "The Birds of Australia" Broinowski died in 1913 at Mosman, Sydney, survived by his wife, six sons and a daughter. His son, Leopold, became a significant political journalist in Tasmania. WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC MUSEUM & MECHANICS INSTITUTE Warrnambool's Mechanics' Institute (or Institution as it was sometimes called) was one of the earliest in Victoria. On 17th October 1853 a meeting was held where it was resolved to request the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony to grant land for the erection of a Mechanics' Institutes building. A committee was formed at the meeting and Richard Osburne chaired the first meeting of this committee. The land on the North West corner of Banyan and Merri Streets was granted but there were no funds to erect the building. The Formal Rights of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute's encompassed its aims and these were officially adopted in1859; "This Institution has for its object the diffusion of literary, scientific, and other useful knowledge amongst its members, excluding all controversial subjects, religious or political. These objects are sought to be obtained by means of a circulating library, a reading room, the establishment of classes, debates, and the occasional delivery of lectures on natural and experimental philosophy, mechanics, astronomy, chemistry, natural history, literature, and the useful and ornamental arts, particularly those which have a more immediate reference to the colony." The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute opened its first reading room in December 1854 in the National School building at the corner of Banyan and Timor Streets. The Institute was funded by member subscription, payable on a quarterly, half yearly or yearly basis. Samuel Hannaford, the Manager of the Warrnambool Bank of Australasia, was the first Honorary Secretary of the Mechanics' Institutes, and an early President and Vice-President. He also gave several of the early lectures in the Reading Room. Another early Secretary, Librarian and lecturer was Marmaduke Fisher, the teacher at the National School. Lecture topics included The Poets and Poetry of Ireland', 'The Birth and Development of the Earth', 'The Vertebrae - with Remarks on the pleasures resulting from the study of Natural History' and 'Architecture'. In 1856 the Reading Room was moved to James Hider's shop in Timor Street, and by 1864 it was located in the bookshop of Davies and Read. In the 1860's the Mechanics' Institute struggled as membership waned but in 1866, after a series of fund raising efforts, the committee was able to purchase land in Liebig Street, on a site then called Market Square, between the weighbridge and the fire station. A Mechanics' Institute building was opened at this site in August 1871. The following year four more rooms were added to the main Reading Room and in 1873 the Artisan School of Design was incorporated into the Institute. The same year, 1873, Joseph Archibald established the Warrnambool Public Museum [Warrnambool Museum], however it deteriorated when he was transferred to Bendigo in 1877. In 1880, with Archibald's return to Warrnambool, the Museum was re-established and he served as Curator 1882-1897. In 1885 a new building was added to the back of the Mechanics’ Institute to accommodate the re-created School of Design, the Art Gallery and the Museum. It was officially opened as the Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery on 26th July 1886 with Mr Joseph Archibald as Curator. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former court house in Timor Street (for some time the walls of the building formed part of the TAFE cafeteria but all is now demolished). In 1910 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. The Museum and Art Gallery became one and housed many fine works of art, and the Library continued to grow. The building was well patronised, with records showing that at the beginning of the 20th century there were between 500 and 800 visitors. During World War One the monthly figures were in the thousands, with 3,400 people visiting in January 1915. The Museum was a much loved Institution in Warrnambool until 1963 when the Museum and Art Gallery was closed and the contents removed to make room for the Warrnambool City Council Engineers' Department. The contents were stored but many of the items were scattered or lost. The Museum has never been re-opened. When the original building was demolished the site became occupied by the Civic Centre, which included the new City Library. (The library was temporarily located in the old Palais building in Koroit Street.) In the process of reorganisation the Collection was distributed amongst the community groups: -The new City Library took some of the historic books and some important documents, historic photographs and newspapers. -The Art Gallery kept the 19th Century art collection and some of the artefacts from the museum. -The Historic Society has some items -The State Museum has some items -Some items were destroyed -Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has old newspapers, Government Gazettes, most of the Mechanics' Institute Library (which included books from the Warrnambool Public Museum), ledgers and documents connected to the Mechanics' Institute Library, some framed and unframed art works and some photographs. THE PATTISON COLLECTION These books “The Birds of Australia” by Broinowsky, are also listed as part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute building was pulled down in 1963 a new civic building was erected on the site and the new Warrnambool Library, on behalf of the City Council, took over all the holdings of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute were distributed from the Warrnambool Library to various places, including the Art Gallery, Historical Society and Flagstaff Hill. Later some were even distributed to other regional branches of Corangamite Regional Library and passed to and fro. It is difficult now to trace just where all of the items have ended up. The books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village generally display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. RALPH ERIC PATTISON Ralph Eric Pattison was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1891. He married Maude Swan from Warrnambool in 1920 and they set up home in Warrnambool. In 1935 Pattison accepted a position as City Librarian for the Warrnambool City Council. His huge challenge was to make a functional library within two rooms of the Mechanics’ Institute. He tirelessly cleaned, cleared and sorted a disarrayed collection of old books, jars of preserved specimens and other items reserved for exhibition in the city’s museum. He developed and updated the library with a wide variety of books for all tastes, including reference books for students; a difficult task to fulfil during the years following the Depression. He converted all of the lower area of the building into a library, reference room and reading room for members and the public. The books were sorted and stored using a cataloguing and card index system that he had developed himself. He also prepared the upper floor of the building and established the Art Gallery and later the Museum, a place to exhibit the many old relics that had been stored for years for this purpose. One of the treasures he found was a beautiful ancient clock, which he repaired, restored and enjoyed using in his office during the years of his service there. Ralph Pattison was described as “a meticulous gentleman whose punctuality, floorless courtesy and distinctive neat dress were hallmarks of his character, and ‘his’ clock controlled his daily routine, and his opening and closing of the library’s large heavy doors to the minute.” Pattison took leave during 1942 to 1945 to serve in the Royal Australian Navy, Volunteer Reserve as Lieutenant. A few years later he converted one of the Museum’s rooms into a Children’s Library, stocking it with suitable books for the younger generation. This was an instant success. In the 1950’s he had the honour of being appointed to the Victorian Library Board and received more inspiration from the monthly conferences in Melbourne. He was sadly retired in 1959 after over 23 years of service, due to the fact that he had gone over the working age of council officers. However he continued to take a very keen interest in the continual development of the Library until his death in 1969. References: Archibald Street, Discover the History of Warrnambool Streets, https://www.warrnambool.vic.gov.au/sites/warrnambool.vic.gov.au/files/images/Property/roads/The%20story%20of%20Warrnambool's%20streets.pdf Broinowski, Bird Books and Bird Art etc, Jean Anker 1979, https://books.google.com.au/books?id=B5TpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=the+birds+of+australia,+broinowski,+bird+books+and+bird+art&source=bl&ots=nQroxqePdY&sig=a3lnn-_FqB-ZcFAwqRYVK6Y7ZeM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5sL7-2JTSAhWIyLwKHaCHAJcQ6AEIUTAN#v=onepage&q=the%20birds%20of%20australia%2C%20broinowski%2C%20bird%20books%20and%20bird%20art&f=false Broinowski, Gracius Joseph, by A.H. Chisholm, Australian Dictionary of Biography http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/broinowski-gracius-joseph-3061 Chromolithography, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromolithography Document, Flagstaff Hill, ‘Mechanics’ Institute Collection’: Books on Dean, Melbourne Rare Book Fare 2015, BookFare Newsletter #5, www.anzaab.com/newsletters/BookFare_1207.pdf Flagstaff Hill archives; document “Re: Ralph Eric Pattison”] Gracius Broinowski, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracius_Broinowski Gracius Joseph Broinowski, Design & Art Australia online, https://www.daao.org.au/bio/gracius-joseph-broinowski/biography/ Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Pg ix, 283; Significance Assessment, Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Books, FHMV, 2010 The Birds of Australia by Gracius J. Broinowski, Libraries of Australia, Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/12425131?q&sort=holdings+desc&_=1487246530281&versionId=210683608 The Birds of Australia, Broinowski; www.Librarything.com The History of Warrnambool, R. Osburne, 1887, p.72, p. 283 The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute – FHMV datasheet Warrnambool Art Gallery History, Warrnambool Art Gallery Foundation Information Booklet, http://www.wagf.com.au/cms/downloads/WAGF-Information-Booklet.pdf Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery, The Argus, 29th July 1886 Web; The Birds of Australia (Broinowski), Wikipedia The Birds of Australia by Gracius J. Broinowski is a respected source of scientific information. It is also significant for its rarity and as an early Australian Work. The book is significant for its association with the Warrnambool Public Museum, which played an important educational and social role in the early settlement of Warrnambool and District. The book is also significant for its association with the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute Library book collection, which is deemed to be of great importance because it is one of the few collections in an almost intact state, and many of the books are now very rare and of great value. The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Collection is primarily significant in its totality, rather than for the individual objects it contains. Its contents are highly representative of the development of Mechanics' Institute libraries across Australia, particularly Victoria. A diversity of publications and themes has been amassed, and these provide clues to our understanding of the nature of and changes in the reading habits of Victorians from the 1850s to the middle of the 20th century. The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. The collection also highlights the Warrnambool community’s commitment to the Mechanics’ Institute, reading, literacy and learning in the regions, and proves that access to knowledge was not impeded by distance. These items help to provide a more complete picture of our community’s ideals and aspirations. The book is also significant for its inclusion in the Pattison Collection, a collection that as a whole shows a snapshot of the types of reading material offered to the local public at that point in time. The Birds of Australia Vol 3 - 4 Author and Illustrator: Gracius J Broinowski Publisher: Charles Stuart & Co Date: 1890Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2 BRO Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library Embossing added to spine “WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC MUSEUM” flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gracius joseph broinowski, charles stuart & co, joseph archibald, warrnambool public museum, warrnambool museum, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, warrnambool city librarian, pattison collection, ralph eric pattison, samuel hannaford, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, rare books, australian bird illustrations, australian bird text, australian natural history, the birds of australia vol 3 - 4 -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Book, The Birds of Australia Vol 5 - 6
The Work “The Birds of Australia; containing over 300 full-page illustrations, with a descriptive account of the life and characteristic habits of over 700 species” by Gracius J. [Joseph] Broinowski – Australian author, artist and ornithologist - was created in 40 parts for subscribers and sold for 10s [shillings]., These parts were later published in six volumes, which were later published and bound in pairs to make three volumes, each of which contain two of the six original volumes, numbered volumes, “I”, “III” and “V” on their fly page, but numbered “Vols. I-II”, “Vols. III-IV” and “Vols. V-VI” on their respective spines. The volumes were all published by Charles Stuart & Co. (Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, New Zealand, and Tasmania). All of the beautifully drawn and coloured illustrations in The Birds of Australia were illustrated by Broinowski. They were printed using a new 19th century method called chromolithography. This is the art of making multi-coloured prints. The skilled lithographer would work from an original coloured painting and create a copy for every one of the many layers of colour used to build the painting. These layers were then printed carefully over each other to re-build the picture. Gracius J. Broinowski’s Work “The Birds of Australia” was described by Jean.Anker as “a semi-popular but comprehensive treatment of the subject” in the book “Bird Books and Bird Art: an outline of the Literary History and Iconology of Descriptive Ornithology” 1979. It may be that these books were donated to, or ordered specifically for, the Warrnambool Public Museum, due to the embossing on the spine “WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC LIBRARY”. The acquisition of these books would most likely to have made 1891-1910, between the date the books were published and the date that the Museum amalgamated with the Mechanics Institute, which then became part of The Museum and Art Gallery. These three books were part of the collection of books belonging to the Warrnambool Public Museum, established 1873 by Joseph Archibald. The Museum moved into the back of the Mechanics’ Institute in 1885, along with the Art Gallery and School of Dancing. In 1886 it was officially opened as The Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery, with Joseph Archibald as its curator. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former court house in Timor Street, with Joseph Archibald as Curator until 1897. In 1910 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian. He developed his own sorting and cataloguing system and organised the collection of books accordingly. In the 1960’s the Warrnambool City Council closed down the Museum and Art Gallery and the books and artefacts were redistributed to other organisations in Warrnambool. Each spine of this book set, The Birds of Australia by Gracius Broinowski, shows a space on which a previous cataloguing label may have been affixed. The volumes are amongst the many books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village that display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. Some other Australian Libraries also include these books in their collections; Australian National University, University of NSW, University of Western Australia, State Library of Western Australia, Deakin University, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, University of Adelaide, University of Queensland, University of Tasmania. The Library of Congress and the University of British Columbia also have sets of these volumes. These books are considered as Rare Book; a set of Broinowski’s 3 volumes was advertised in Melbourne’s Rare Book Fair 2012, “for ornithological collectors”. (See the more detailed information below in “Warrnambool Public Museum and Mechanics Institute” and the “Pattison Collection”.) GRACIUS JOSEP BROINOWSKI Gracius Joseph Broinowski (7/3/1837 – 11/4/1913), artist and ornithologist, was born in Walichnowy, Poland, son of a landowner and military officer of the same name. He was educated privately then later, at the Munich University, he was a student of languages, classics and art. To avoid conscription into the Russian army, he migrated to Germany. At the age of about 20 years he migrated to Portland (Victoria, Australia), working his passage as part of the crew of a windjammer. Broinowski worked in the country for a few years then found employment working for a Melbourne publisher and later sold his own paintings. In about 1863, while on one of his many travels in eastern Australia painting landscapes and scenes, he married Jane Smith in Richmond, Victoria (her father was captain of a whaler). In 1880 he settled in Sydney where his work involved teaching painting, lecturing on art and exhibiting his own work at showings of the Royal Art Society. Also in the 1880s he began to publish illustrated works on Australian natural history, including; - illustrations of the birds and mammals of Australia, commissioned by the Department of Public Instruction, New South Wales, and mounted, varnished and hung on walls in many classrooms - "The Birds and Mammals of Australia"; a bound collection of illustrations with appropriated text - 1888 "The Cockatoos and Nestors of Australia and New Zealand" - 1890-1891, "The Birds of Australia" Broinowski died in 1913 at Mosman, Sydney, survived by his wife, six sons and a daughter. His son, Leopold, became a significant political journalist in Tasmania. WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC MUSEUM & MECHANICS INSTITUTE Warrnambool's Mechanics' Institute (or Institution as it was sometimes called) was one of the earliest in Victoria. On 17th October 1853 a meeting was held where it was resolved to request the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony to grant land for the erection of a Mechanics' Institutes building. A committee was formed at the meeting and Richard Osburne chaired the first meeting of this committee. The land on the North West corner of Banyan and Merri Streets was granted but there were no funds to erect the building. The Formal Rights of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute's encompassed its aims and these were officially adopted in1859; "This Institution has for its object the diffusion of literary, scientific, and other useful knowledge amongst its members, excluding all controversial subjects, religious or political. These objects are sought to be obtained by means of a circulating library, a reading room, the establishment of classes, debates, and the occasional delivery of lectures on natural and experimental philosophy, mechanics, astronomy, chemistry, natural history, literature, and the useful and ornamental arts, particularly those which have a more immediate reference to the colony." The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute opened its first reading room in December 1854 in the National School building at the corner of Banyan and Timor Streets. The Institute was funded by member subscription, payable on a quarterly, half yearly or yearly basis. Samuel Hannaford, the Manager of the Warrnambool Bank of Australasia, was the first Honorary Secretary of the Mechanics' Institutes, and an early President and Vice-President. He also gave several of the early lectures in the Reading Room. Another early Secretary, Librarian and lecturer was Marmaduke Fisher, the teacher at the National School. Lecture topics included The Poets and Poetry of Ireland', 'The Birth and Development of the Earth', 'The Vertebrae - with Remarks on the pleasures resulting from the study of Natural History' and 'Architecture'. In 1856 the Reading Room was moved to James Hider's shop in Timor Street, and by 1864 it was located in the bookshop of Davies and Read. In the 1860's the Mechanics' Institute struggled as membership waned but in 1866, after a series of fund raising efforts, the committee was able to purchase land in Liebig Street, on a site then called Market Square, between the weighbridge and the fire station. A Mechanics' Institute building was opened at this site in August 1871. The following year four more rooms were added to the main Reading Room and in 1873 the Artisan School of Design was incorporated into the Institute. The same year, 1873, Joseph Archibald established the Warrnambool Public Museum [Warrnambool Museum], however it deteriorated when he was transferred to Bendigo in 1877. In 1880, with Archibald's return to Warrnambool, the Museum was re-established and he served as Curator 1882-1897. In 1885 a new building was added to the back of the Mechanics’ Institute to accommodate the re-created School of Design, the Art Gallery and the Museum. It was officially opened as the Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery on 26th July 1886 with Mr Joseph Archibald as Curator. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former court house in Timor Street (for some time the walls of the building formed part of the TAFE cafeteria but all is now demolished). In 1910 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. The Museum and Art Gallery became one and housed many fine works of art, and the Library continued to grow. The building was well patronised, with records showing that at the beginning of the 20th century there were between 500 and 800 visitors. During World War One the monthly figures were in the thousands, with 3,400 people visiting in January 1915. The Museum was a much loved Institution in Warrnambool until 1963 when the Museum and Art Gallery was closed and the contents removed to make room for the Warrnambool City Council Engineers' Department. The contents were stored but many of the items were scattered or lost. The Museum has never been re-opened. When the original building was demolished the site became occupied by the Civic Centre, which included the new City Library. (The library was temporarily located in the old Palais building in Koroit Street.) In the process of reorganisation the Collection was distributed amongst the community groups: -The new City Library took some of the historic books and some important documents, historic photographs and newspapers. -The Art Gallery kept the 19th Century art collection and some of the artefacts from the museum. -The Historic Society has some items -The State Museum has some items -Some items were destroyed -Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has old newspapers, Government Gazettes, most of the Mechanics' Institute Library (which included books from the Warrnambool Public Museum), ledgers and documents connected to the Mechanics' Institute Library, some framed and unframed art works and some photographs. THE PATTISON COLLECTION These books “The Birds of Australia” by Broinowsky, are also listed as part of the ‘Pattison Collection’, a collection of books and records that was originally owned by the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute, which was founded in Warrnambool in 1853. In 1935 Ralph Pattison was appointed as City Librarian to establish and organise the Warrnambool Library, as the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute was then called. When the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute building was pulled down in 1963 a new civic building was erected on the site and the new Warrnambool Library, on behalf of the City Council, took over all the holdings of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute. At this time some of the items were separated and identified as the ‘Pattison Collection’, named after Ralph Pattison. Eventually the components of the Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute were distributed from the Warrnambool Library to various places, including the Art Gallery, Historical Society and Flagstaff Hill. Later some were even distributed to other regional branches of Corangamite Regional Library and passed to and fro. It is difficult now to trace just where all of the items have ended up. The books at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village generally display stamps and markings from Pattison as well as a variety of other institutions including the Mechanics’ Institute itself. RALPH ERIC PATTISON Ralph Eric Pattison was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1891. He married Maude Swan from Warrnambool in 1920 and they set up home in Warrnambool. In 1935 Pattison accepted a position as City Librarian for the Warrnambool City Council. His huge challenge was to make a functional library within two rooms of the Mechanics’ Institute. He tirelessly cleaned, cleared and sorted a disarrayed collection of old books, jars of preserved specimens and other items reserved for exhibition in the city’s museum. He developed and updated the library with a wide variety of books for all tastes, including reference books for students; a difficult task to fulfil during the years following the Depression. He converted all of the lower area of the building into a library, reference room and reading room for members and the public. The books were sorted and stored using a cataloguing and card index system that he had developed himself. He also prepared the upper floor of the building and established the Art Gallery and later the Museum, a place to exhibit the many old relics that had been stored for years for this purpose. One of the treasures he found was a beautiful ancient clock, which he repaired, restored and enjoyed using in his office during the years of his service there. Ralph Pattison was described as “a meticulous gentleman whose punctuality, floorless courtesy and distinctive neat dress were hallmarks of his character, and ‘his’ clock controlled his daily routine, and his opening and closing of the library’s large heavy doors to the minute.” Pattison took leave during 1942 to 1945 to serve in the Royal Australian Navy, Volunteer Reserve as Lieutenant. A few years later he converted one of the Museum’s rooms into a Children’s Library, stocking it with suitable books for the younger generation. This was an instant success. In the 1950’s he had the honour of being appointed to the Victorian Library Board and received more inspiration from the monthly conferences in Melbourne. He was sadly retired in 1959 after over 23 years of service, due to the fact that he had gone over the working age of council officers. However he continued to take a very keen interest in the continual development of the Library until his death in 1969. References: Archibald Street, Discover the History of Warrnambool Streets, https://www.warrnambool.vic.gov.au/sites/warrnambool.vic.gov.au/files/images/Property/roads/The%20story%20of%20Warrnambool's%20streets.pdf Broinowski, Bird Books and Bird Art etc, Jean Anker 1979, https://books.google.com.au/books?id=B5TpCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=the+birds+of+australia,+broinowski,+bird+books+and+bird+art&source=bl&ots=nQroxqePdY&sig=a3lnn-_FqB-ZcFAwqRYVK6Y7ZeM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5sL7-2JTSAhWIyLwKHaCHAJcQ6AEIUTAN#v=onepage&q=the%20birds%20of%20australia%2C%20broinowski%2C%20bird%20books%20and%20bird%20art&f=false Broinowski, Gracius Joseph, by A.H. Chisholm, Australian Dictionary of Biography http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/broinowski-gracius-joseph-3061 Chromolithography, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromolithography Document, Flagstaff Hill, ‘Mechanics’ Institute Collection’: Books on Dean, Melbourne Rare Book Fare 2015, BookFare Newsletter #5, www.anzaab.com/newsletters/BookFare_1207.pdf Flagstaff Hill archives; document “Re: Ralph Eric Pattison”] Gracius Broinowski, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracius_Broinowski Gracius Joseph Broinowski, Design & Art Australia online, https://www.daao.org.au/bio/gracius-joseph-broinowski/biography/ Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Pg ix, 283; Significance Assessment, Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Books, FHMV, 2010 The Birds of Australia by Gracius J. Broinowski, Libraries of Australia, Trove http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/12425131?q&sort=holdings+desc&_=1487246530281&versionId=210683608 The Birds of Australia, Broinowski; www.Librarything.com The History of Warrnambool, R. Osburne, 1887, p.72, p. 283 The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute – FHMV datasheet Warrnambool Art Gallery History, Warrnambool Art Gallery Foundation Information Booklet, http://www.wagf.com.au/cms/downloads/WAGF-Information-Booklet.pdf Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery, The Argus, 29th July 1886 Web; The Birds of Australia (Broinowski), Wikipedia The Birds of Australia by Gracius J. Broinowski is a respected source of scientific information. It is also significant for its rarity and as an early Australian Work. The book is significant for its association with the Warrnambool Public Museum, which played an important educational and social role in the early settlement of Warrnambool and District. The book is also significant for its association with the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute Library book collection, which is deemed to be of great importance because it is one of the few collections in an almost intact state, and many of the books are now very rare and of great value. The Warrnambool Mechanics’ Institute Collection is primarily significant in its totality, rather than for the individual objects it contains. Its contents are highly representative of the development of Mechanics' Institute libraries across Australia, particularly Victoria. A diversity of publications and themes has been amassed, and these provide clues to our understanding of the nature of and changes in the reading habits of Victorians from the 1850s to the middle of the 20th century. The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. The collection also highlights the Warrnambool community’s commitment to the Mechanics’ Institute, reading, literacy and learning in the regions, and proves that access to knowledge was not impeded by distance. These items help to provide a more complete picture of our community’s ideals and aspirations. The book is also significant for its inclusion in the Pattison Collection, a collection that as a whole shows a snapshot of the types of reading material offered to the local public at that point in time. The Birds of Australia Vol 5 - 6 Author and Illustrator: Gracius J Broinowski Publisher: Charles Stuart & Co Date: 1891 Label on spine cover with typed text RA 598.2 BRO Pastedown front endpaper has sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library Embossing added to spine “WARRNAMBOOL PUBLIC MUSEUM” flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, the birds of australia, gracius joseph broinowski, charles stuart & co, joseph archibald, warrnambool public museum, warrnambool museum, warrnambool library, warrnambool art gallery, warrnambool city librarian, pattison collection, ralph eric pattison, samuel hannaford, warrnambool mechanics’ institute and free library, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, rare books, australian bird illustrations, australian bird text, australian natural history, the birds of australia vol 5 - 6 -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Craft - Scrimshaw, Bringing in the Whale
When scrimshaw is mentioned, most people think of carving on sperm whale teeth only. But scrimshaw also includes engravings on skeletal whale bone–such as the jaw bone, called pan bone and ivory from other marine mammals such as walrus. Although scrimshaw is widely associated with nautical themes and designs of the 19th century whaling industry, vintage scrimshaw was also produced as tribal art in many cultures. Today, scrimshaw is recognized as a unique medium in which present-day artists have developed their own modern themes. Scrimshaw reproductions may take several forms. There are - New carvings on genuine ivory or bone with the deliberate intent to create an "antique” - New carvings on genuine ivory or bone sold as signed and dated contemporary art - Clearly marked synthetic museum reproductions and mass marketed - Unmarked synthetic replicas This scrimshaw work is done on a sperm whale's tooth. It is one of two pieces by artist Gary Tonkin in Flagstaff Hill’s collection. Sperm whales can live for 60 or even 70 years, so the tooth could be quite old. It came from the whaling station in Albany, Western Australia, which ceased processing whales in 1978 and is now a whaling museum. The two works were commissioned by Flagstaff Hill in the 1980s. Tonkin could spend from a few days to a few months in intensive work on each piece of scrimshaw. He is a world-renowned Master Scrimshander and a Fellow of the Australian Society of Marine Artists (FASMA), and lives in Albany, Western Australia. Gary Tonkin, FASMA – Tonkin was born in 1949 in Portland, Victoria, and grew up there with a history of whaling and related industries. He moved to Albany in southwest WA in 1971 and worked as an Export Meat inspector for the Federal Government. This small town also had a historical connection to whaling. The Cheynes Beach Whaling Station was still operating, and there were even three whaling ‘chaser’ vessels at the old jetty. In 1975, his employment now permanent, Tonkin bought an old cottage near the bay, purchased some whales’ teeth, and began learning the sailors’ art of scrimshaw, combining this with his artistic skills and knowledge of history. His job gave him access to buy as many whale teeth as he could afford, straight from the whaling station. Tonkin gained further marine knowledge as he sailed on the schooner ‘Esperance’ from Fremantle to Mauritius in 1988. He watched the sailors at work and experienced the rough and stormy sea conditions first-hand. Tonkin later visited whaling museums, galleries and libraries in England and America to gather reference materials and information on all aspects of whaling and scrimshaw. In 1993 he was Commissioned to engrave six large whale teeth, from the Albany whaling station, for the USA Gallery at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. This work is now in the museum’s permanent collection. From that time, Tonkin began working full-time as a Scrimshander. Tonkin’s work is now in galleries and museums in America and Australia, as well as in private collections. He is the founder of the Albany Maritime Heritage Association and was the inaugural President. In the 1990s he actively and successfully campaigned for the preservation of the Cheynes Beach Whaling Station in Albany, which is now Whale World, an open-air whaling museum. His continuing work as a Scrimshander contributes to the preservation of the art of scrimshaw and the history of whaling. This scrimshaw represents the ancient craft of scrimshaw, associated with mariners in the whaling trade in the early 19th century. The work is also Nationally significant for being created by world-renowned Scrimshander, Gary Tonkin, from Albany, Western Australia. Scrimshaw; whale tooth carved with an image of two whaleboats hauling a dead whale back to the mother ship. Inscribed Title and signature of artist Gary Tonkin.Inscribed "Bringing in the whale". Signature "G Tonkin"flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, maritime museum, flagstaff hill, perth, whaling, whales, australia, scrimshaw, scrimshander, gary tonkin, g tonkin, bone, tooth, craft, albany, western australia, cheynes beach whaling station, whale world, portland, engraving, maritime art, sperm whale's tooth, albany whaling station, albany whaling museum -
Greensborough Historical Society
Document, Formation of the Heidelberg School of Painting, 1885-1890
The Heidelberg School of Painting worked in the Yarra Valley area between Box Hill and Heidelberg in the late 19th Century and produced a number of famous artists. This article outlines the history of the School and also lists some paintings.The area in which they worked abuts our area of interest and may have overlapped it in the lower Plenty River area.Foolscap double sided typed document of 6 pages; includes list of paintings..Blue biro word on front page, "Fraser"heidelberg, yarra river, walter withers, heidelberg school of painting, australian art. -
Ringwood and District Historical Society
Book, Educational Media Services, Victoria College et al, Prelude to Heidelberg - The Artists' Camp at Box Hill, 1991
Image of a Tom Roberts painting on front of soft covered book titled The Artists' Camp at Box Hill - Eleanor Finlay, Marjorie MorganFOREWORD by William Dargie Kt., C.B.E., FRSA (London) FRAS (NSW) As one born between two worlds I find it difficult to identify wholly with either Australian art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries or the infinitely varied styles of today. At the beginning of the 1930s, when I first began to take any sort of interest in art, I had the natural feeling of youth that anything that had happened thirty to forty years ago was already far down the dark and backward abysm of time. As for today, all that one of my generation can do is to enjoy what is enjoyable and avert one's eyes and close one's ears against the rest. This is the time of life one realizes that distaste, as well as taste can be cultivated. Well, youth repeats itself in each generation and among the young there will always be .some determined and dedicated to the making of new images of the physical world. All artists throughout history have shared this common experience. All have remembered the suddenly-formed friendships, the sketching expeditions and camps, the first exhibitions, the formation of groups, the 'manifestos' - these last to return in later life all too often as embarrassments - but above all, the enthusiasm. 'Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive but to be young was very heaven'. Thus we can be time-travellers back one hundred and six years to that first plein-air camp set up by Roberts, McCubbin and Abrahams on part of David Houston's property at Box Hill. This was indeed the prelude to all that followed: Mentone and the meeting with the young Streeton painting on the rocks, and Heidelberg later. -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Painting - Vessel, C.K.M. (artist), S.S. Warrnambool, 1883
This oil painting is in a handmade, carved frame, dates back to the period of the old Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery. The two-masted, sail-and-steam-powered ship has the sails and bow shape of a tall clipper ship plus the extra power of steam. It dates to the transition between the clipper ships with their billowing sails and the steam-powered ships, which happened in the late 19th to early 20th century. The flag flown from the stern is that of the British Merchant Navy that traded around the world to transport cargo, and later passengers, from one destination to another. The painting was originally catalogued as the "S.S. Warrnambool" although it has a different design. It was also attributed to the ship portrait painter, the renowned C.K.M. - Charles Keith Miller - but differs from his style. Further research is being carried out at this time. In 1966, between the closure of the old Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery and the distribution of the painting to Flagstaff Hill, this painting was repaired by David Heysen, son of the German-born artist Hans Heysen OBE. David was born in Hahndorf (called Ambleside for a short period of time), South Australia, married Lyly Refshauge from Melbourne, and they raised a family on their property in Kalangadoo, near Penola, in South Australia.The painting's frame is an example of handmade carving and joinery created in the late 19th century. The artist has depicted the image of a historical sail-and-steam ship of the type in which cargo was traded across the world, including to and from Australia. Vessels such as this also brought migrants to Australia.Painting, oil on board, in hand carved wooden frame with floral and geometric pattern, inner border painted gold. Image of a two-masted sail and steam ship, sails raised, black funnel emitting smoke. Hull is black with white horizontal stripe and white trim around sides of deck. Three lifeboats are visible. Bow is ‘clipper shape’ with what appears to be a figurehead. A red ensign flag flies at the stern and a blue and red flag is attached to the mainmast. The frame has been assembled using Mortice and Tenon joints, one of which is exposed on the back, lower right corner. Chandelier chain has been attached for hanging. There is no visible signature, date or title on the front of the painting. The back board has empty holes spaced around the edge and is held in place by staples. The visible surface has remnants of adhesive from two rectangular attachment s. There are two small white stickers attached, one with a hand written inscription. There are pencil and pen inscriptions. The painting is protected by cardboard with inscriptions in marking pen.On back board, written in the style used by the Warrnambool Museum and Art Gallery: - On white sticker, in pen “A-P31/1-74” - Pencil “A27/1883 / Artist CKM 1883 / Title SS Warrnambool / oil on board” Written in pen by the repairer - “Repaired & re-drilled – cleaned etc. / David Heysen 11/66” Written by Flagstaff Hill’s Cataloguer - Pencil “3031” On cardboard wrapper, in marking pen: - “S.S. Warrnambool / by / C.K.M. 1883” - “A-P/31/1-74” - “3031”flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, s s warrnambool, charles keith miller, charles miller, steam and sail ship, british merchant navy, slipper shaped bow, 19th century sea trade, warrnambool museum and art gallery, old warrnambool art gallery, hand carved picture frame, mortice and tennon picture frame, migrants, c.k.m. -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Ceramic - Chamber Pot, 1912
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, J. & G. Meakin were important, large-scale producers of good quality, ironstone tableware (‘White Granite’ ware) that met a ready market in the United States, South America, Australia, and other traditional British markets. By the 1890s the company was one of the world’s largest earthenware manufacturers. Although export teaware and tableware was the factory’s staple commodity, Meakin also manufactured toilet ware, kitchen ware and a wide range of fancy earthenware. The company was amongst the first British pottery firms to experiment with modernist designs associated with the art deco period. The Moderne' range was introduced in 1929 consisting of an angular shape decorated design with geometric patterns and often highlighted with silver or gold. This range remained in production through the 1930s. Post 1945 the company introduced the streamlined Studio shape (1953) and Horizon shape (1955) both heavily influenced by the Russell Wright ‘American Modern’ tableware. In 1964 a new Studio shape was released with tall streamlined coffee pots used as the background for many contemporary patterns now associated with the 1950s and 1960s. Designs by Jessie Tate and Eve Midwinter, some originally found on Midwinter shapes, also appear on 1970s Studio ware. The Studio range was one of Meakin’s most successful and continued in production until the late-1970s. The enormous range of floral, geometric, and abstract designs make Studio Ware collectible in its own right. In the 1970s and 1980s as part of the Wedgwood Group Meakin produced contemporary products under the ‘Bull in a China Shop’ and ‘Creative Tableware’ names. ‘Sol’ (c.1912-1963), ‘Studio’ (1953 on) and ‘Royal Staffordshire’ (post 1968) were important J. & G. Meakin Ltd trade names. Meakin marks are numerous, but all include the J. & G. Meakin name. The significance of this item and pottery generally is that often earthenware is portrayed as being a landmark in the evolution of humanity. This is because these items are the few things from the past that have survived in a tangible form. Pottery is an important functional part of society and it has a critical role to play as it helps archaeologists to date other artefacts of the same time period. Also, the decorations on pottery have told much about the beliefs, lifestyles and lives of the people who bought them and used them. In other words it gives us today a snapshot of society from the past and how people used these items in their daily lives, their likes as well as societal and design trends. Earthenware white glazed ironstoneJ & G Meakin Hanley England stamped to base, with white flora designwarrnambool, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, pottery, earthenware, iron stone, alfred meakin, james meakin, george meakin, earthenware manufactures, chamber pot -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Domestic object - Flower Holder, Stayput Products, Late 19th to early 20th centuries
This spiky, pointy metal flower holder, often called a flower frog or kenzan, was made around the late 19th to the early 20th centuries by Stayput Products of Melbourne, Australia. The flat metal base has been made in layers with the head of the spikes between the layers. It is likely to be handmade. Heavy flower holders made of non-corrosive metals are designed to sit in the base of a vase, dish, bowl or other suitable holder so that cut flower stems can be pushed into the spikes and held firmly in the arrangement. Flower frogs can be made of glass, ceramics or, more recently, synthetic materials.The flower holder is an example of Victorian era domestic decoration aids that have carried through to the 21st century.Flower holder, rectangular block made from layers of metal, with spikes embedded into the metal. The block is heavy, likely to be lead, and the spikes are strong brass pints arranged evenly in rows. There are remnants of florist's putty between some spikes. An inscription within concentric oval rings is moulded in the flat base. Made by Stayput Products, Melbourne, Australia.Stamped into the metal: "STAYPUT / PRODUCTS / MELB. AUST."flagstaff hill, flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, maritime museum, maritime village, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, flower frog, flower arrangements, flower holder, pin-holder, stayput, flower aid, ikebana flower arrangement, kenzan, moribana style, flower support, melbourne manufacturer, spiky pin frog, metal flower holder, stayput products, flower block, flower arranger, vintage, antique, late 19th to early 20th centuries, vase accessory, decorative item, floral arrangement support, florist accessory, floral art, needle aids, victorian era -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Book - Tatting craft book, Paragon Art Needlecraft Pty Ltd, Tatting Designs, circa 1940's
Tatting is a form of knotted lace making using thread and a small shuttle. Twisted threads are tied around or through small, pointed shuttles that can be made of bone, mother of pearl, tortoise shell, steel or plastic. This produces a stable, strong lace using simple knots of two half hitches to make rings and chains embellished with picots. The origins of tatting are not clear but early versions of decorative knotting were used by the Egyptians on their ceremonial dress. Tatting also has elements of fishermen's net making techniques and the decorative knotting that was practiced by aristocratic women from the 15th century. Tatting, as we know it today, emerged in the first half of the 19th century. The new availability of mercerised thread from 1835 encouraged a burgeoning of lace crafts of all sorts. It was known in Italy as "occhi" and in France as "la frivolite". It looks fragile but is both strong and durable. An article in a column named "Wives and Daughters" published in the Star newspaper in May 1910 describes the durability of tatting lace - "there is edging and insertion still in existence that have outworn two sets of pillow slips." In the 19th century and well into the 20th century, tatting was used like crochet and knitted lace for decorative edgings, collars, doylies, tray cloths etc. At first, different tatting patterns were passed along by word of mouth from person to person, however in time, patterns regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines well into the 1950's. Paragon knitting, crochet and tatting books have been distributed throughout Australia since the 1930's, originally by "Paragon Art Needlework Pty Ltd" of Sydney, N.S.W. From 1946 these books were designed and printed in Australia from patterns provided by British and Australian thread companies. Consequently these patterns may also appear in similar British and American publications. Paragon Book No. 104 is an instruction book designed for the "beginner" whilst Paragon book No. 105 is designed for the more experienced tatter. The layout of these books was typical of the 1940s period when paper was in short supply. Most of the pattern books were approximately 18 cms wide by 24 cms high and some were smaller at about 13cm by 21 cms. The type used was small (about four lines of text per centimetre) which was difficult to read. This item is an excellent example of a needle work pattern book available to women in the 1940's in Australia.A soft covered, 16 page instruction book titled "Tatting Designs". It has black and white photographs and detailed patterns for tatted doilies, a tray mat, a chairback and arm rests, a cheval set, a luncheon set, collars and edgings for an underskirt, gloves and handkerchief. It is published by Paragon Art Needlecraft of Sydney.Front cover - "Paragon's No 105" "PRICE 1/3" "Tatting Designs" "Household Linens * Personal Wear" Plus a stylized drawing of a deerflagstaff hill maritime museum and village, great ocean road, warrnambool, shipwreck coast, tatting book, tatting patterns, craft, handiwork, handcraft, needlework, shuttle -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Book - Tatting craft book, Paragon Art Needlecraft Pty Ltd, Learn to Tat, circa 1940's
Tatting is a form of knotted lace making using thread and a small shuttle. Twisted threads are tied around or through small, pointed shuttles that can be made of bone, mother of pearl, tortoise shell, steel or plastic. This produces a stable, strong lace using simple knots of two half hitches to make rings and chains embellished with picots. The origins of tatting are not clear but early versions of decorative knotting were used by the Egyptians on their ceremonial dress. Tatting also has elements of fishermen's net making techniques and the decorative knotting that was practiced by aristocratic women from the 15th century. Tatting, as we know it today, emerged in the first half of the 19th century. The new availability of mercerised thread from 1835 encouraged a burgeoning of lace crafts of all sorts. It was known in Italy as "occhi" and in France as "la frivolite". It looks fragile but is both strong and durable. An article in a column named "Wives and Daughters" published in the Star newspaper in May 1910 describes the durability of tatting lace - "there is edging and insertion still in existence that have outworn two sets of pillow slips." In the 19th century and well into the 20th century, tatting was used like crochet and knitted lace for decorative edgings, collars, doylies, tray cloths etc. At first, different tatting patterns were passed along by word of mouth from person to person, however in time, patterns regularly appeared in newspapers and magazines well into the 1950's. Paragon knitting, crochet and tatting books have been distributed throughout Australia since the 1930's, originally by "Paragon Art Needlework Pty Ltd" of Sydney, N.S.W. From 1946 these books were designed and printed in Australia from patterns provided by British and Australian thread companies. Consequently these patterns may also appear in similar British and American publications. Paragon Book No. 104 is an instruction book designed for the "beginner" whilst Paragon book No. 105 is designed for the more experienced tatter. The layout of these books was typical of the 1940s period when paper was in short supply. Most of the pattern books were approximately 18 cms wide by 24 cms high and some were smaller at about 13cm by 21 cms. The type used was small (about four lines of text per centimetre) which was difficult to read.This item is an excellent example of a needle work pattern book available to women in the 1940's in Australia.A soft covered 16 page instruction book with black and white photographs and detailed instructions explaining how to tat and eight tatting projects including how to make a collar and handkerchief edgings, published by Paragon Art Needlecraft of Sydney.Front cover - "PARAGON BOOK NO. 104" "PRICE 1/3" "Learn to/ TAT' Back Cover - "36/D5 E/A DO2" - handwritten in pencil flagstaff hill maritime museum and village, warrnambool, great ocean road, shipwreck coast, tatting, tatting pattern book, tatting instructions, handicraft, needlework, shuttle, tatting shuttle, paragon needlecraft, paragon craft book -
Federation University Historical Collection
Book, Charles Auguste Albert Racinet, Polychromatic Ornament, 1877 (exact)
Monsieur Charles Auguste Albert Racinet was born in Paris on July 20th, 1825. His job was representative of a group of 19th-century industrial draughtsmen, teachers of technical drawing and factory studio manager. He helped in spreading the most significant design of the decorative arts of the time. Racinet learned his trade from his father. He was trained by neo-classical artists in the ambit of Percier and Fontaine. August Racinet was influenced by the Schinkel tendency and supported by architects such as Hittorf and Voillet-le-Duc.Book. Large red leather cover. Title written in gold on spine. Illustrations (black & white), 100 of chromolithographic plates in gold, silver and colours. Various styles of ancient, oriental and medieval art including the Renaissance, the 17th, and the 18th centuries. Subjects are arranged in historical order. Text translated from the original French. The book includes a table of contents, a list of plates, a classified index and an introduction.A book plate inside front cover with a heading "Ballarat School of Art Library No. R/171. Stamped with "Reference","Education Department" and "Ballarat School of Art Library"art, paintings, textile, designs, decoration and craft, ornaments, ballarat technical art school library, bookplate -
Federation University Historical Collection
Book, Ballarat School of Mines Tertiary Orientation Programs, 1980, 1980
148 page yellow covered book outlining the Tertiary Orientation Programs offered by the Ballarat School of Mines in 1980. The courses offered were TOP Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Workshop Practice and Drawing, Home Economics, Applied MAthematics, General Mathematics (Computing Option), Pure Mathematics, Physical Education, Physics, Craft, Ceramics and Sculpture, Garment Construction, Graphic Communication, Graphic Design (including Design Studies and Printmaking), History of Art, Painting and Drawing, Drawing, Photography, Accounting, Advanced Typewriting, Economics, Legal Studies, Secretarial Studies, 19th Century Australian History, 20th Century Australian History, Australian Media, Behavioural Studies, Drama, English Expression, Field Studies, Film Studies, Introduction to Psychology, Literature, Music, Political Studies and Sociology. Programs were offered in Applied Science, Nursing, Physical Education, Home Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, Accounting, Secretarial, Humanities and Social Sciences, Art & Design and Fashion and Design.ballarat school of mines, tertiary orientation program, top, courses -
Federation University Historical Collection
Photograph - Photograph - Colour, Ian Reid, Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria, opens the University of Ballarat Arts Academy, Camp Street, 22/07/2008
The University of Ballarat (later Federation University_ inherited the Camp Street Arts Precinct. As the functions of the former public buildings were moved elsewhere, the Victorian Government of the time recognised the importance of maintaining the heritage buildings and the opportunity to create a cultural precinct extending from the Art Gallery. The 19th century architecture along Lydiard Street and the dogleg bend of Camp Street define the precinct. With substantial financial assistance from both State and Commonwealth Governments, the Art Gallery Ballarat has been extended through to include the 1884 Police Station on Camp Street. The Post Office building (1864-1887) was acquired for the University. The 1904 and 1941 Courthouses and the c1900 Public Library building were also included. Two new buildings have been constructed. These six buildings will house the University's Visual and Performing Arts ProgramsColoured postcard size photograph of Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria, unveiling the plaque at the opening of the University of Ballarat Arts Academy, Camp Street. .1) L to R Kerry Cox (Vice Chancellor); Brendan Nelson (Federal Minister - Education); Chancellor David Caro; Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria. Photographer Ian Reiduniversity of ballarat, camp street, victorian government, commonwealth government, ballarat fine art gallery, police station, courthouse, public library, post office, art gallery ballarat, art gallery of ballarat -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village
Ceramic - Chamber Pot, J & G Meakin, Early to mid 20th century
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, J. & G. Meakin were important, large-scale producers of good quality, ironstone tableware (‘White Granite’ ware) that met a ready market in the United States, South America, Australia, and other traditional British markets. By the 1890s the company was one of the world’s largest earthenware manufacturers. Although export teaware and tableware was the factory’s staple commodity, Meakin also manufactured toilet ware, kitchenware and a wide range of fancy earthenware. The company was amongst the first British pottery firms to experiment with modernist designs associated with the art deco period. The Moderne' range was introduced in 1929 consisting of an angular shape decorated design with geometric patterns and often highlighted with silver or gold. This range remained in production through the 1930s. Post 1945 the company introduced the streamlined Studio shape (1953) and Horizon shape (1955) both heavily influenced by the Russell Wright ‘American Modern’ tableware. In 1964 a new Studio shape was released with tall streamlined coffee pots used as the background for many contemporary patterns now associated with the 1950s and 1960s. Designs by Jessie Tate and Eve Midwinter, some originally found on Midwinter shapes, also appear on 1970s Studio ware. The Studio range was one of Meakin’s most successful and continued in production until the late-1970s. The enormous range of floral, geometric, and abstract designs make Studio Ware collectible in its own right. In the 1970s and 1980s as part of the Wedgwood Group Meakin produced contemporary products under the 'Bull in a China Shop' and 'Creative Tableware' names. 'Sol' (c.1912-1963), 'Studio' (1953 on) and 'Royal Staffordshire' (post-1968) were important J. & G. Meakin Ltd trade names. Meakin marks are numerous, but all include the J. & G. Meakin name. The significance of this item and pottery generally is that often earthenware is portrayed as being a landmark in the evolution of humanity. This is because these items are the few things from the past that have survived in a tangible form. Pottery is an important functional part of society and it has a critical role to play as it helps archaeologists to date other artefacts of the same time period. Also, the decorations on pottery have told much about the beliefs, lifestyles and lives of the people who bought them and used them. In other words it gives us today a snapshot of society from the past and how people used these items in their daily lives, their likes as well as societal and design trends. Chamber pot ceramic white with handle at side and decoration around top. Unclearwarrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, champer pot, personal hygiene, personal item, ceramic pot, domestic object -
Federation University Historical Collection
Photograph - Colour, Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria, opens the University of Ballarat Arts Academy, Camp Street, 22/07/2008
The University of Ballarat inherited the Camp Street Arts Precinct. As the functions of the former public buildings were moved elsewhere, the Victorian Government of the time recognised the importance of maintaining the heritage buildings and the opportunity to create a cultural precinct extending from the Art Gallery. The 19th century architecture along Lydiard Street and the dogleg bend of Camp Street define the precinct. With substantial financial assistance from both State and Commonwealth Governments, the Art Gallery Ballarat has been extended through to include the 1884 Police Station on Camp Street. The Post Office building (1864-1887) was acquired for the University. The 1904 and 1941 Courthouses and the c1900 Public Library building were also included. Two new buildings have been constructed. These six buildings will house the University's Visual and Performing Arts Programs.3 Panorama photograph of the opening of the University of Ballarat Arts Academy, Camp Street. .2 Poster .1) L to R Kerry Cox (Vice Chancellor); Brendan Nelson (Federal Minister - Education); Chancellor David Caro; Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria. Photographer Ian Reiduniversity of ballarat, camp street, victorian government, commonwealth government, ballarat fine art gallery, police station, courthouse, public library, post office, art gallery ballarat