Brass and Bronze are basically the same thing; alloys of other metals, including copper, tin, zinc, and lead – mixed at different ratios to produce metals for different purposes.
Our ‘Spring Special’ this year will involve a rolling exhibition of Marine Art & Artefacts.
Australia is a nation built on ships & shipping, and so it is not surprising to find a rich heritage of Ship Art. We’re currently preparing a whole feet of fascinating ship pictures – often with fascinating stories of what they achieved, and what their fate was…..
‘Edith Holmes’ Australian sailing ship, late 19th century
Arnold Jarvis (1881-1951) detail of watercolour ‘Old Gums at Freshwater Creek’, c. 1920
Arnold Jarvis was a prolific artist, specialising in classic Australian vistas with ancient River Redgums, and once described as ‘The other Hans Heyson’. However, he doesn’t even come close to Heyson’s value today, and his story is somewhat neglected. He was born in South Australia, and literally ‘joined the circus’ in his teens, travelling as far as Perth to perform on stage. He had balance & tightrope acts – and a ‘speed painting’ show, where he would produce a painting from a blank canvas ready to hang on the wall in under 3 minutes! This was no doubt a brilliant way to refine his brushwork, as they say practice makes perfect, and he certainly perfected his impressions of ancient river redgums. By 1901, he was no longer a juggler, but a full-time artist.
Arnold Jarvis (1881-1951) large watercolour, English Thatch Cottage & Steamship, c. 1910
This fascinating example of Arnold Jarvis’s work is perhaps unique, having a very classic ‘English Cottage’ combined with his more usual Australian scenery. The positioning of it – actually only half-on the paper to the right – perhaps indicates this is not a simple ‘pretty picture’. Similar artists painted works depicting English Cottages at the same time, and they were very popular in the exhibitions held in Australia in the later 19th & earlier 20th century. Catalogues list traditional painters of ‘English Cottages’ such as Miles Birket Forster hanging alongside the likes of Arnold Jarvis and the other classic Australian artists. The audience flocking to these shows was predominantly English born, or had parents who were, and therefore the nostalgia of these very English scenes was the driving force behind their popularity.
Arnold Jarvis, however, was one of the very Australian- oriented artists, and his immense volume of work is predominantly Australian gumtrees with sweeping vistas of semi-cultivated land. The other small group of Jarvis’s work are the coastal scenes, often with a ship on the horizon.
With this work, Jarvis has shown that yes, he can depict an English Cottage if needed – but while the classic English artists would make their cottage the front-central focus, he has pushed it to the far right. The central portion is a distant view that is familiar to anyone along Victoria’s ‘Surf Coast’, the place where Jarvis spent a lot of time. The open paddock with cows leading to tee-tree scrub and a hint of sand dunes, along with the reddish colour of the distant headland, are typical of the area. The scruffy trees that make up the far left are not at all English in nature, but typical of any nondescript Australian bush scene. The gums he loved to paint so much would never grow in this coastal position, but the foliage shown – along with the dead branches – is typical of something like the Blackwoods growing in the region.
The work is therefore a merging of the ‘Old Country’ with the ‘New’ – England and Australia. The steamship is the lifeline between the two – steaming along the distant horizon, heading to or from Australia.
Arnold Jarvis (1881-1951) watercolour – Victorian Southern Coastal Scene
Have a preview of interesting Australiana currently being prepared for sale. Feel free to email any questions.
Australian Art
A fantastic story is emerging from three small works purchased in 2022. Two are miniature landscapes of Australian bush scenes; the other is a similar scene, Trompe l’oeil style on a gum leaf, surrounded by Australian wild flowers.
All were in original, neglected frames, and the backs all had the same artist attribution, added in pencil along with the instruction ‘For Ron’: ‘Painting by Jessie L. Evans, of Heidelberg School’.
On the two oil bush scenes: “For Ron – painting by Jessie L Evans” – incorrect attribution!
‘J L E’ signature
As is often the case with later attributions, this doesn’t make much sense when we look at her published works. She was very much an artist of the impressionistic school, like the other Heidelberg greats. However, there is one very interesting clue visible: the gum leaf has a signature with the correct initials – ‘JLE’ – for Jessie Laver Evans.
On reverse of ‘gum leaf’ watercolour: “Painting of Creek near Brighton (Vic) by Jessie Evans of Heidelberg School” – correct attribution (piece is signed)
This suggests that this piece at least is by her hand. The other pair however have no visible signature. Only one thing to do: de-frame them and look at the back! Nine times out of ten, there’s nothing of significance to be seen on the back of a de-framed picture. This is an example of when there is – not only a name for the artist, but also a date, and most excitingly, a direct link to Jessie L Evans!
This dedication, a few days after Christmas in 1885, shows a direct connection between Alfred William Eustace, a well-respected colonial painter of the Goldfields era, who was 65 when he met ‘Miss Evans’, aged 25. At this stage, Alfred Eustace was famed for his paintings on broad, flat gum tree leaves, and in the early 1880’s had several exhibitions of these very Australian works in Melbourne galleries.
Miss Evans attended Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria Art School 1880-91, so she no doubt came into contact with Eustace at one of his Melbourne exhibitions; the watercolour we are examining is the visual proof, as it is an accurate impression of his oil-on-leaf creations – with her own addition, the wildflowers that surround it. This is an early work, when she is just learning to paint and has yet to ‘find her style’. She did this in the following years, being taught at the Art School by Frederick McCubbin, E. Phillips Fox, and Tudor St George Tucker, having as her fellow students
More to come on this exciting piece of research, with a blog post dedicated to the story of Jessie ( her father wouldn’t let her be ‘commercial’ and sell her paintings as it would appear her father couldn’t support her …. but she still opened a gallery in central Melbourne!) and the remarkable tale of Alfred William Eustace, ‘Gumleaf-Painter to Her Majesty’ !
The Port Jackson Painter – in the style of….
Blue-faced honeyeater, left: The Port Jackson Painter, 1789 | right: Moorabool Antiques, Geelong
View in Eltham by Kit Turner
Little-known artist Kit Turner has a fascinating tale to tell. Born in England, she studied art & copper smithing, travelled to NZ where she was an accomplished arts & crafts metal worker, married a fellow metalsmith, and moved to Melbourne where she lived at Eltham. There she became familiar with Walter Withers of ‘The Heidelberg School’. That’s his house, visible in the distance over the creek, beyond the chickens and the cows, in the oil above by Kit.
Walter Withers – View in Eltham with two ladies conversing, signed & dated 1904
Margery Withers – Portrait of Kit Turner c. 1920
We also have a Walter Withers watercolour, painted from the other side looking towards where Kit would have painted this picture… and Walter depicts two ladies, one quite young, the other older…. Mrs Withers…. or could it be Kit?
Walter’s daughter, Margery, was also an artist; there’s a watercolour by Margery (in the Eltham Council’s collection) titled ‘Kit Turner’s House’. It’s a view from the place shown above, looking at a different angle: Kit Turner has painted her oil view literally just outside the door of her studio. On a recent information-gathering trip to Eltham, we were elated to discover her house – and studio – are still standing! No records or literature seem to note this. We have gathered a terrific lot of info on Kit Turner, metal-worker and painter in oils, including photographs of her in her studio. In one of those moments of serendipity, at an auction in Melbourne, 2023, there was a Margery Withers oil portrait of a Woman – which is the clear, strong features of Kit Turner herself…..
Kit Turner in her Studio (metalworking) c. 1920
More info to come on a special blog post on Kit & the Withers, including Australian Sterling Silver by Kit Turner and more works. If anyone has any other pieces, please contact us.
Skinner Prout sepia watercolour, 1830’s
‘The Old Post Office, Lavender Bay’ watercolour by Charles Tindall, signed & dated 1891
WJ Wadham
W J Wadham (1863-1950) large watercolour – River view, NSW, c. 1890, work 49 x 74cm. frame 89 x113cm.
A fascinating story evolves from this large watercolour. The style is very unusual for the period, being a technique much used in the latter 20th century; however, the artist is a well documented English-Australian, who was active here in the 1870’s-80’s.
British born, the Wadham brothers William Joseph and Alfred Sinclair were the sons of a notable deaf & dumb painter, Benjamin Brassett Wadham (1816-1904). W.J. had his first painting accepted by the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, aged 14. He migrated to Australia in 1885 – his brother followed in 1887. They had exhibitions in Melbourne in 1889 and 1895, which were well received. They settled in Adelaide, joining the South Australian Society of Arts. They ran “Wadham & Sinclair’s Fine Art Institute” in Adelaide where they also gave lessons; travelling extensively, they were in New Zealand in 1896, Western Australia in 1897. Alfred returned to London in that year, and also in 1897 their works were well received at the London Exhibition of Dominion Art, attended by the Prince of Wales. Joseph continued to travel, visiting & painting in South Africa and Canada as well as New Zealand and Australia. He helped found the Royal British Society of Artists which held their first exhibition in 1902. In latter years, he opened a commercial Art Gallery in Sydney, selling notable British artists including Birket Foster, Lord Leighton, Moreland, Wilkie, and the Pre-Raphaelite master, Sir John Millais. He sold up the Gallery & moved back to England in 1923.
WJ Wadham, Australian River Landscape watercolour, 1880’s
WJ Wadham, Australian River Landscape watercolour, 1880’s
John F Norton
J F Norton – Australian River LandscapeJ F Norton – Australian River Landscape
John. F. Norton has been recorded in the Art Literature as ‘Active 1898-1918’. These two oils are clearly dated 1932, indicating a much later working period than recorded. As many works in the sales records are not dated, they may belong to this later period of his work.
Australiana Silver
‘Corio Cricket Club’ prize, 1874, won by E.S.Willis…. one of the Willis Brothers who wrote the first ‘Aussie Rules’ rulebooks, and basically invented the game! English Sterling Silver – more fascinating history of this item to come. The clipping is the newspaper report from 1874.
Here’s unimportant piece of Sporting Memorabilia…. particularly for Geelong residents who follow ‘The Cats’.
Bonjour…. in celebration of today’s French significance, we have a nice array of French items for you to browse, Fresh to Stock at Moorabool.
French ‘close-plated’ tankard (the French version of Old Sheffield Plate) with Revolutionary engraving, dated 1793
This interesting Revolutionary relic celebrates 1793: the year the Revolution ‘crossed the line’, executing the King & Queen, and purging the Ancien-Regime from France. The Cannon and cannonballs show the militant direction the revolution took, as 1793 was also the year France declared war on pretty well every European nation. Below is an inscription, ‘a ca ira’ – It’ll be OK, or as the Australian slang goes, ‘No worries!’
A ca ira…. It’ll be OK
This is the chorus of a popular French song, ‘Ca Ira’. Ironically, the music is slightly older than the revolution, said to be a favourite of Marie Antoinette who would play it on her harpsichord. The words were put to it around 1790, and came to include a reference to Marie – calling her ‘the Austrian Slave’ ….
It was said to be the great Benjamin Franklin, while in France at the time as representative of the fledgling United States, who inspired the chorus. He had successfully led the revolution to free the people of America from tyranny – inspirational for the French seeking something similar. When asked for an opinion on France’s revolution, he would reply in broken French “Ça ira, ça ira” (“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine”).
It was a ‘working song’ for the preparations for the first Fête de la Fédération, held on the 14th July 1790, being the one year anniversary of the storming of Bastille – and still celebrated 232 years later…..
‘Ca Ira’ is repeated after every verse: the verses were elaborated on and changed as the revolution progressed; an earlier version goes:
“An armed people will always take care of themselves. We’ll know right from wrong, The citizen will support the Good.
Ah ! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine When the aristocrat shall protest, The good citizen will laugh in his face, Without troubling his soul, And will always be the stronger
Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine…”
By the end of the revolution, as the blood of the nobles flowed, the words used were:
”aristocrats to the lamp-post Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine the aristocrats, we’ll hang them!
If we don’t hang them We’ll break them If we don’t break them We’ll burn them…..
We shall have no more nobles nor priests Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine Equality will reign everywhere The Austrian slave shall follow him Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine And their infernal clique Shall go to hell Ah! It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine, It’ll be fine….”
1793 was the year ‘The Terror’ began. After Louis XVI and Marie Antionette lost their heads, the purge of the ancien regiem gathered pace as more and more privileged aristocrats came under suspicion of not being loyal. Heading the purge was Georges Jacques Danton. As head of the ‘Committee of Public Safety’, he was able to remove all opposition, using that French favourite, the guillotine. Until one day, he himself met the same fate for not being radical enough! The ‘character jug’ below is French, of the Revolutionary period – and looks just like him. Read More to follow our attribution of this character to the feared Georges Danton.
Often mis-labelled a ‘Toby Jug’, this is an early version of a comical jug that becomes popular in the latter 19th century, sometimes identified as ‘Puck’. We believe this head jug is a distinctive character, and as it belongs to the period of the French Revolution, his identity must be found in that timespan. His appearance matches that of Georges Jacques Danton (17591794), an important public figure of the late 18th century in France, and the perfect candidate for a slightly humorous head mug like this.
Jean-Baptiste Perronneau pastel portrait, signed & dated 1751
In the upstairs centre of our Geelong premises we have constructed a ‘French Salon’. The walls are the basis, being a series of rare surviving early 19th century wallpaper panels. They were never used – they still have the trim marks along the edges, usually cut-off when installed. The fabrics you see are all rather special – Aubusson weavings, including large floor carpet, wall panels, large & small upholstery panels, curtain pelmets, and even a pair of shield-shape fire screens…. all unused, purchased in France on the eve of WW1, shipped out, and left in the boxes until now. In other words, brand-new Antique fabrics, ready for the keenest of French decorators…. we’re hoping they will sell as a complete group, otherwise there will be a split-up into groups. Email if this sounds interesting. There’s also a series of rather special French pieces, some already online, with more to be added shortly.
Note the portrait in the centre: this is signed & dated pastel, a portrait of Jeanne-Marie- Malles, aged 18, as ‘Dianna the Huntress’. It’s by the pastel master, Jean Baptiste Perronneau (1716-83), regarded by leading scholar in the field, Neil Jeffares, as one of the two ‘best pastel portraitists‘ of the 18th Century (alongside M. de La Tour 1704–1788).
There’s a strong French Connection with Australia: we could well have been a French colony….. This interesting map shows just the top left of Australia,
As a footnote, I can’t resist posting a pair of rare hand coloured French ‘Australiana’ lithographs. They reflect the French interest in Australia – just days after the first British colonists arrived at Botany Bay in 1788, the French appeared, having travelled along the southern coast and then arriving right at the spot the British had chosen for their new colony. Coincidence? Not quite – Louis XVI was very interested in the idea of a colony in the South Seas, to compete with the British, and had instructed Lapérouse to report on the British actions on the Great Southern Land.
Note ‘An VII’ – Year 7 …. the Revolutionary fresh start to date years began in 1791, making this map 1798.
Nouvelle Holland, on the 1792 map – depicting Lapérouse’s exploration, up to the moment he sailed direct to ‘Port Jackson’ and encountered the fledgling British colony in 1788. He left his dispatches and charts – luckily – as after leaving the coast, he was never seen again. No outward-plot of his voyage is shown….
Of course, the Revolution soon took hold back in France – but science & exploration still carried on. In 1785, Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was put in charge of a mission to the Pacific. The voyage of Lapérouse took a keen interest in the Great Southern Land, made keener by the colonising actions of their main competition, the British. They had arrived on the 18th January, after 252 days sailing from Britain. Lapérouse had been exploring for several years, but in one of those serendipity occurrences history throws up, arrived at the same point as the British just 6 days later! They stayed for six weeks, and then sailed off never to be seen again….
Baudin’s Map of South Australia, note the names!
Nicolas Baudin was the next Frenchman to explore the South Pacific. He was selected by Napoleon in 1798 to explore the southern coast of Australia, or ‘New Holland’ as it was known. While the right-hand portion was the British colony of New South Wales, there was so much more promising land as-yet unclaimed. The tension between the French & the English is illustrated by the events at ‘Encounter Bay’, now in South Australia: Mathew Flinders was completing the first-ever complete navigation of Australia when he stumbled across Baudin’s ship heading the other direction… with the same intent! They cautiously approached, uncertain if they were meant to be enemies or allies, as when Bourdain had left France, they were at war. However, in the name of science, they met peacefully and proceeded on their way. While Baudin died on the way back to France, the charts made it and were published, including all the French names he had given to the features he mapped – ‘Napoleon’s Land’ features ‘Gulf de Napoleon’ next to ‘Gulf de Josephine’, for example. Unfortunately, Mathew Flinders had already mapped & named the same areas, giving them good British names like ‘Spencer Gulf’, names which were officially published a little later, and which remain to today.
Hobart, during the stop-over of the Astrolabe, 1827
Hobart, during the stop-over of the Astrolabe, 1827
The fine French views of Hobart were published in 1833, the result of yet another French expedition to the region: confusingly, in a ship named in honour of the lost Lapérouse expedition: another Astrolabe, under Dumont D’Urville. He was instructed by the re-instated French monarch, Louis-Phillipe, to head south & claim the South Pole for France!
He left France on his first voyage in 1826, and was away for three years in total, visiting Hobart in 1827 to re-supply, when the sketches that were used for these lithographs were made. His voyage was published in ‘Voyage de la corvette “l’Astrolabe’, 1833, from which these come.
He was also responsible for solving the mystery of the disappearance of Lapérouse and his Astrolabe – which he did, discovering relics of the wreck on Vanikoro, in the Solomon Islands.
So Australia has a fair share of French History to celebrate!
This group of silverplate trophies are an interesting insight into the origin of Australian’s obsession with Sporting Events, which were used as a means of bringing the newly established colonial communities together and giving them a sense of ‘Pride of Place’ that is still very active today.
Moorabool recently discovered this trio of interesting local trophies, all won by a Mr R. D. Booth, Banks Club.
The first (on the right, above) is an elaborate fine-quality piece of English electroplate, engraved with fruiting vine & with handles dripping with grapes – a curious choice for the prize for the 1879 Colac Regatta. Most probably, it was simply a case of what was available in the English imports at the Melbourne jewler’s shops.
1879 was the first year that the event was held on Lake Colac, the largest inland lake in Australia. It required quite an effort to organize, with boats being transported overland from Ballarat, Geelong, and even Warrnambool to compete. The freshly laid Colac – Geelong railway connection allowed the logistics of transporting them such a long distance.
The Colac Regatta, 1879 – from the Australasian Sketcher, 1880
There had been an earlier ‘regatta’ on Lake Colac on March 29th, 1879; the newspaper reports on it wax lyrical, describing a crown of 2,500 people from Geelong, Ballarat, Melbourne, and everywhere in-between all having a jolly good time: the Colac Herald reports on April 1st 1879 the “flags of all nations were blowing”, and the sight of all the boats & flags “…brought to the recollection of many the youthful remembrances of bygone years.” – in other words, the gathering was a time of bonding by the settlers over memories of the ‘Old Country’, a nostalgic celebration of what was commonplace in Europe, but a first on this far-away picturesque Australian lake in the Western District of Victoria.
“Old and Infancy; the youth and beauty of Colac and district were there, all eager to witness the interesting excitement of aquatic contests”….
A Colac Regatta of the 1880’s
“One or two slight mishaps occurred during the day which tended to amuse those present more than mar the proceedings, and were caused by the capsising (sic) of three boats…. “ One of these was the Maiden Sculling Race: ” only two started. At the start both men pulled away together, but the ripple of the water was too strong for the frail craft pulled by Parkinson, and the result was that he came to grief by the boat swamping when about half the distance had been pulled….. (he) swam to one of the posts and clung there until he was rescued by one of the boats of the Colac club.”
A Yacht on the 1881 Melbourne Regatta Prize
Fine entertainment indeed! And it was this ‘ripple of water’ caused by ‘a strong breeze blowing incessantly during the day (meant) the water was rather too much ruffled for the rowing contest….”
The success of this regatta showed the potential for a regular event to be held on the lake, and also the inappropriate nature of the windy season at the start of the year; and so the committee decided to schedule one for the same year. This second event has gone down in history as the official ‘First Regatta’, held on December 13th.
Booth’s 1879 Colac Regatta Prize
This event built on the experience of the first, and was a major event for the town.The Most Hon. George Augustus Constantine Phipps, Marquess of Normanby, GCB GCMG PC, in his role as the Governor of Victoria attended until the 8-oared race, after which the crowd cheered him to his special train which was to take him ‘back to town’ (Melbourne). The Australasian covered the spectacle on December 20th, 1879: “That an inland town so far removed from at least two of the principal boating centers should have attracted such numerous entries … speaks volumes for the exertions of the committee to provide first-class sport on their beautiful lake.” The boats were again brought by train: “Several first-class yachts were brought down by rail from the golden metropolis at considerable trouble and expense, while two eights (from Melbourne and Geelong) … made the eights the feature of the day”.
Our cup was a prize for this 8-oared race, and was awarded to the Banks Club as 2nd prize, this cup going to R.D.Booth, the no. 6 in the boat.
The ‘Banks’ club is a famous Melbourne rowing club, established very early, in 1866 on the ‘banks’ of the Yarra River in Melbourne – from where it still operates, producing many champion rowers for the present Australian sporting world. It is the ‘Banks’ club not because of the location, but due to the Bankers who were the founders: only Bankers were welcome to join, and the fees per annum were rather high – £1/1/ to join, then £2/2/ per year – a substantial amount in today’s money. But with secure bank-jobs, and the captain a manager, money wasn’t really a concern – unlike the working class Footscray crew, as we will explore later on in this article.
Booth’s 1879 Colac Regatta Prize
In 1879, Banks Club packed their 8-oared clinker outrigger boat onto a Colac-bound train, and took on the teams of the Corio Bay Club (Geelong), Civil Service Rowing Club (Melbourne), the Ballarat Rowing Club , and the Barwon Rowing Club (Geelong). The prize total for this 8-oared, “about 2 mile” race was £105 – with first price being a decent £80. However, as only 5 entries were received (they were hoping for 8) this was reduced to £60 for first, £20 second and £5 third. The crew of 8 and their cox were all ‘weighed in’, with R. Booth being on oar no. 6, as recorded on our cup. They made their way out onto the lake towards a start position, all five crews trying to line up in a pesky breeze with limited success – and when the question came from the small steamer bearing the race official “….Are you all ready?”, several replied no – but the whistle was blown, and those not ready scrambled to catch up; Banks careered into Ballarat in the scramble, nearly fouling them, and the others gradually pulled away towards their goal. Like the Olympic commentators of today, the reporter described the flow of the teams as they pull up, then drop back…. “Ballarat seemed overmatched from the jump, and were in addition badly steered…. after the first half mile the Banks and Corio forged ahead gradually, Barwon having retired from the foremost position…” Then it all came unstuck for Banks:
When about half the course had been traversed, No 7 of the Banks caught a crab, and this accident, together with the advantage already possessed by Corio, enabled the latter to secure a lead of about a length, which was maintained the remainder of the journey, and Corio were proclaimed the winners by about a length.”
More suitable prizes for the occasion are the other two cups. These are splendid English silver plate examples, the base with coiled rope, the support modelled as three oars lashed together with a ribbon. These are marked ‘Lee & Wigfull Sheffield’, a manufacturer who specialised in sporting trophies, but only formed in 1879: these were brand-new designs from a freshly-formed English company. The cups are engraved with scrollwork framing panels to either side – one with a very nicely executed small sailboat. Once again, these were won by Booth as part of the eight oared race, and then the four oared – but this time on their home turf – in the Melbourne Regatta of 1881.
The fabulous ‘Clarke Challenge Cup’, by the Walsh Brothers of Collins Street. Note the detail of oars –
This event took place on the ‘Salt Water River’ – nowdays known as the Maribyrnong, flowing into the Yarra not far from its mouth. 7-8,000 spectators cheered them on, and The ‘Illustrated Australian News’ for 12th March 1881 carried the report along with an engraving of the winning moment for the Footscray crew, winning the Clarke Challenge Cup. This silver cup, valued at 100 guineas, was the most valuable race trophy in the world at the time, and is still held by the Footscray Club. It has two oarsmen perched on its shoulder, holding aloft their equipment on an angle – complimenting our trophies which would have sat alongside it, as prizes for the ‘Amateur’ races in 1881.
The Footscray crew dominated the race – as they had in their wins the previous 2 years – and this caused problems with the other teams, as these men were “…men who gained their living by manual labour”. This was seen as an unfair advantage, as the other teams didn’t, rather being ‘amateurs’ – ie most probably Clerks, or some other sort of desk-job. The issue raised was these ‘amateurs’ were unable to compete with “..those whose daily vocations are such that they may be said to be in training all year round.”! As a result, a definition of Amateur was arrived at, and applied to certain race classes,
Our trophies relate to the footnote at the bottom of this article, “The Banks Club won the Junior Fours and Eights in excellent style,…”. And on our smaller example, the committee has chosen to make a point about the amateur vs workman debate by inscribing
Maiden Clinker – Four Oared Race – Bona Fide Amateurs …. Won by Banks Club
Robert D Booth was an interesting character who loved his rowing: he has been described as ‘one of the greatest oarsmen of his time’. He was a bank clerk with the Commercial Bank when he joined the Banks Club, during which time he won these three trophies. Soon after, he was a part of the Melbourne Club. He represented Victoria in the ‘Intercolonial’ events for may years, beginning with a win in 1878 against NSW . His list of placings is impressive, with barely a 2nd-place marring the list of first place prizes. In 1887, he was part of the crew who won the title for Victoria against NSW on Sydney harbour. An interview with the Sydney Morning Herald on May 30, 1887 gives us a fascinating insight into this true Australian sportsman:
Mr. Robert D Booth, stroke of the Victorian crew, is a clerk in the employ of the Union Mortgage and Agency Company, Victoria, and a broad-shouldered, sinewy young man, affording in his person a good argument that the pen is not necessarily incompatible with muscular development. Mr. Booth’s physiognomy is an infallible and open index to his temperament A subdued, unostentatious manner, it is impossible to dissociate from it determination and tenacity of purpose, resettled by the square-cut features and resolute chin. Mr Booth, interviewed by our representative, said that he all along expected a close race, and the opinion was not shaken by the brave appearance presented by the New South Wales crew on Saturday. As to the victory and details of the race, he so as reticent and becomingly modest, although Mr Booth allowed himself to say, in a moment of excusable enthusiasm,that he never doubted the result for a moment, in spite of the opinions expressed in the press…..
The interstate rivalry is extremely clear in the rest of the article, a classic press-bashing that would not be out of place on the back page of today’s average paper….. Sport has not changed a bit beneath the surface!
Melbourne Regatta 1881
Seen as an ‘entertainment’, these nautical Regatta events – along with horse races, athletic meets, and cycling, were in fact an important part of forming a sense of unity – through competition – amongst what was a large and diverse group of new arrivals to the region. The sense of pride conveyed in the various paper’s reports at the time show a healthy competition between the various regional cities, and between the States of Australia that certainly still flourishes. These trophies, as reminders of the origins of today’s rivalries, are important historical memories.
Old Sheffield Plate teapot with gadrooned half body and gadroon & leaf border, wooden handle, circa 1835.
Re-purposed in 1929 as a cattle Trophy Prize for the Royal Melbourne Show, inscribed as follows;
THE FRANK REYNOLDS MEMORIAL TROPHY / presented by AUSTRALIAN HEREFORD SOCIETY / best pair of yearling Bulls, MELBOURNE ROYAL SHOW 1929 / won by Mrs J BIDDLECOMBE / Golf Hill Royal Standard, Golf Hill Royal Sceptre.
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Janet Russel – later Biddlecombe – of Golf Hill, Victoria, a work in the National Gallery of Victoria by Mathew William Webb, circa 1890
Mrs Janet Biddlecombe (1867-1954) was the daughter of George Russell, the well known settler who was one of the earliest in Victoria, claiming his ‘squat’ at Shelford (just north of Geelong) in 1836 and naming it ‘Golf Hill’. She was a private person who refused to let her gifts to charity be published – but was clearly a great patron of many things. In the last year of her life, she donated the contents of the historic ‘Golf Hill’ to the National Gallery of Victoria, and also many items to the Geelong Art Gallery. (An auction to clear the remainder was held in 1955, attended by a very young John Rosenberg!)
Janet Biddlecombe (Russel) with a prize bull at the 1939 Royal Melbourne Show
Janet Biddlecombe was the youngest daughter of eight children, and when the property passed to a brother who proved incapable of maintaining it, she was able to assume control. She married several years later, to an English born Navy officer; they had no children. After his death in 1929, she continued to run the station, and attained the highest standards with her livestock. At the Royal Melbourne Show & the Royal Easter Show, Sydney, she consistently won every prize in her division – including this lovely teapot, repurposed from a 100 year old English piece for the purpose. Interestingly, the teapot was made in England at about the same time her father came to Port Phillip as one of the first settlers….
Here’s the newspaper report of her win, where she was awarded this ‘Antique’ teapot in 1929.
This interesting unsigned watercolour was an exciting recent purchase from a local estate. Exciting, because my imagination ran wild… I could see:
Colonial period ships.
Rather dark people standing up in a ‘canoe’…
The tree so prominently featured looks just like a large Eucalypt specimen, as depicted by early colonial artists.
On the left are a whole row of large, dead trees, birds circling above.
The lack of any town or development, with large ships close to shore.
A Georgian building typical of early Colonial Australia….
Was this an exciting discovery, an early view of the Hawkesbury River, or Tasmania, or somewhere in Sydney Harbour perhaps?
Closer examination was clearly needed. Once deframed, the backing was prised off to reveal the reverse, and a very interesting inscription and date:
“St Vincent’s Peak – from Nightingale Valley, 1823”
So what is ‘Nightingale Valley’ ? -and where is ‘St Vincent’s Peak’ ? a quick trip to Google, and all was revealed….
An 1813 scene on a page from Turner’s sketchbooks in the Tate bears a very similar inscription: “The Avon Gorge near Bristol; St Vincent’s Rocks from Nightingale Valley”. Turner also did studies of the same ship types, being towed by the same row-boats, in 1798.
The view is not Australian, but British. St Vincents Rocks are an outcrop in the high ridge the river Avon cuts through on its way to the sea at Bristol. In this image, the ships are being slowly towed upstream by row-boats towards the docks of Bristol, which lies just beyond the horseshoe-bend and then the Gorge (‘Nightingale Valley’) through which the river flows to the left. The road cut into the headland to the left is the ‘Portway’, no doubt allowing passage for the horse teams that could be used to tow the sailing ships up the river if needed.
The ‘X’ marks artsit’s location, the \/ his line of sight.
I believe it could be looking upriver towards Bristol, around the position of present-day Shirehampton Park on the left, the first major bend in the river for ships coming in from the sea at the point where the Avon cuts into the high ground. St Vincent’s Rocks would be just to the left of the view, not far from where Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the remarkable Clifton Suspension Bridge which dominates the gorge today, having opened in 1864.
Leigh Court, built 1814.
The large Palladian style Country House visible on the ridgeline can be pinpointed on a map today, and is Leigh Court, a gem of Georgian architecture built in 1814, and today a popular wedding venue.
Certainly a long way from the gumtrees of Sydney Harbour…..
A fascinating and most probably unique creation is also the most modern item in stock at Moorabool – dating to the 1960’s, it is an Australian Pottery ‘Medieval’ chess set, by David & Hermia Boyd, members of the remarkably artistic Boyd family.
Medieval Chess set by David & Hermia, 1960’s
David & Hermia Boyd Chess set board
David Boyd (1924-2011) was born in Murrumbeena, Victoria, the third son of Merric and Doris Boyd. He met Hermia when she was decorating pots for his brother Guy Boyd in his Sydney studio. Married in 1948, they headed over to London in 1950, where they potted & painted for the next 5 years. After returning to Australia for a few years, they were off to Europe again in 1961, where they lived & worked in Rome and London, returning to Australia in 1975. It was probably during this trip they created the chess set, perhaps as a personal piece or a special commission. Certainly, it was not a commercial production and appears to have been only on the market once before, at Christie’s, Melbourne, in the 1980’s.
British Museum – Lewis Chessmen, 12th century
The board has wonderful mottled glazes, giving it an ancient feel, and is made up of four ’tiles’; these have firing fissures and cracks, and are mounted on a wooden backing with beading edge, all finished with a limewash. This work is probably by the hand of David, and is reminiscent of his other ‘Medieval’ sgraffito wares.
The set is very reminiscent of the ‘Lewis Chessmen’, a part set of 12th century Norwegian game pieces made from Walrus Ivory, discovered in the Outer Hebrides in 1831. Some of these would have been on show in the British Museum in the 1960’s when David & Hermia were in London.
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The pieces are all individual creations, and are probably the work of Hermia. It may just be my imagination, but one of the knights appears to have disguised initials…. ‘H / B’.
An exciting find at Moorabool is this portrait silhouette of Sir John Franklin.
His name is very familiar in Tasmania; as stated on the back of this newly discovered portrait, he was Governor there 1837-43, and his name appears across the state with a town on the Huon River, and a major river which narrowly avoided being dammed, an electorate, plus his splendid statue in the middle of a fountain in Hobart.
This silhouette is a majorly important piece, being a very personal depiction for which he would have had to sit; a frontal painted portrait could be mocked up from a printed image, and often was of famous people (for example Napoleon). However, a profile must be drawn from life, and this portrait has a secret beneath the image in the form of an original ‘trade card’ for the artist; in this case, George Atkinson, ‘Profilist to His Majesty’ (George III) at no. 40 Old Steine, Brighton. What is exciting about finding the trade card is it allows us to date the piece to 1822 -1828, the years he operated out of that address.
During this time, Sir John must have visited and sat for his profile to be taken. Not for long – George Atkinson prided himself in his speed, advertising a sitting took ‘less than one minute’. One can imagine Sir John dropping in, dressed in his Navy uniform, before striding out a minute later to take the airs on the promenade at Brighton!
These portraits were the equivalent of a studio photograph today. Atkinson charged 10s 6d for a detailed profile, a not so insignificant amount. So who did he have a portrait done for – to whom was this portrait gifted?
A look at his activities 1822-28 provide the most likely answer. He was quite an active Navy officer, spending some time exploring the Arctic reaches above Canada, but still found time to marry in 1823 to a Romantic poet named Eleanor Porden. They had a child in 1824; she died in 1825. He was off on another Arctic expedition shortly after, returning to England in 1827. Was it at this time he visited Brighton, for a little R&R? Perhaps having a portrait done to give to a special friend of his late wife, Jane Griffin…. and perhaps it worked, as they were soon married, in November 1828. She was the fascinating strong-willed ‘Lady Franklin’, who came to Tasmania in 1836 and is considered by some to have been the driving force behind Franklin’s time as Governor. This portrait came from a local Victorian source, and perhaps came to Australia with The Franklins in 1836, only to be left behind in 1843 when they returned to England.
Jane Griffin, later Lady Franklin
Internationally, Franklin has recently been of increasing interest due to his exploits after he left his position in Tasmania. This interest stems from the tragedy of his final adventure, his quest for a North-West passage through the Arctic ice above the American continent, a short-cut to the Pacific ocean that would have had great consequences for trade – if it had existed at the time. Ironically, with ‘global warming’ ships have recently been able to pioneer this northern route between the oceans – but when Sir John attempted it in 1845, he found no way forward. No way back either… surrounded by thick sea ice, he and his two ships on the expedition, Erebus and Terror were stuck. They were well equipped for such an incident, but a decision was made to try and walk out; all men and their commander disappeared in the Arctic wilderness, along with the ships. They had three years worth of provisions, but once that time was up the British Admiralty offered a £20,000 reward for resolution. Expeditions were mounted, but only a few graves and cryptic clues were found; Sir John Franklin and his 128 men had perished.
The recent interest came as a result of the excited announcement from Parks Canada in 2014 – they had discovered the wreck of Erebus. Two years later, their search revealed the Terror. Both are in relatively shallow and accessible waters, and dives on them have been nothing short of sensational; the state of preservation in the low temperatures is superb.
HMS Erebus, on the seabed 2014 in this side-sonar image from the moment of discovery.
An announcement in April 2018 by the British Government has resulted in the British ‘gifting’ the remains to Canada; an exciting future awaits as plans are proposed to recover items from these incredibly important ships – indeed, perhaps even the ships themselves!
We are thrilled to have discovered this previously unknown silhouette portrait of Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin.
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