Beez Neez now Chy Whella - Museum of Sydney

Museum of Sydney

Beez Neez now Chy Whella

Big Bear and Pepe Millard

Sat 9 Jan 2016 23:17

Museum of Sydney

Arthur Phillip. The modern look of the museum and Bear with the jib crane.

We started our museum visits with the Museum of Sydney, partly because it was the first we came to after getting off the bus and because we had to start somewhere.

Arthur Phillip, Australia’s first governor, 1788-1792. .....a Man who has seen much of the Service, and much of the World and studied it. He is possess’d of g’t [great] good Sense, well inform’d, indefatigable upon Service, is humane, and at the same time spirited and resolute. Naval Officer Daniel Southwell describing Arthur Phillip in a letter to the Reverend Butler, 2nd of August 1787.

Arthur Phillip was the founding governor of the colony of New South Wales, 2014 was the two hundredth anniversary of his death on the 31st of August 1814. As commander of the First Fleet, Captain Arthur Phillip led eleven ships on a remarkable eight-month journey across the world. The success of the voyage was due to Phillip’s meticulous planning prior to the fleet’s departure from England. On arrival at Botany Bay, Phillip found the location unsuitable and searched for a more habitable spot for the settlement, which he found in Port Jackson – the site of Sydney today.

From Australia’s first Government House, where the Museum of Sydney now stands, Phillip ruled the colony with absolute power and responsibility. His determination and strength as a leader were tested during the first years of settlement when crops failed, supply ships did not arrive, his authority was challenged and initial attempts to broker a harmonious relationship with the local Aboriginal people were largely unsuccessful.

In spite of these hardships, in just five years Phillip had laid the foundations of a colony, and today is remembered for his many achievements.

The cast iron jib crane Bear is posing with, circa 1820, was located at the north end of a wharf on the west side of Sydney Cove, part of an impressive complex of warehouses and wharves owned by trading company Campbell & Co, founded by ‘merchant prince’ Robert Campbell. Made of cast iron and incorporating a winch drum and drive gears, the crane assisted with the heavy task of unloading shipments of goods such as textiles from India and tea from China, and loading exports such as merino wool, seal oil and skins bound for foreign markets.

The crane was moved to Goat Island in Sydney Harbour in 1947 where it was kept in working use by the Maritime Services Board. Realising its historical significance, it was conserved and returned to the mainland by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service which is responsible for the heritage of the Sydney Harbour National Park.

This jib crane is reputedly the oldest surviving crane used on Sydney harbour.

We spent time looking at the model of the Governor’s House and its fascinating history, watched an interesting video of the excavation and findings, then looked across to the models of the First Fleet. We were not allowed to take pictures in that area, but the detailed models and accounts of each ship were quite something. The months at sea, the officers, crew, convicts, supplies, illnesses, births and deaths, all very colourful and as a result of that incredible journey became the birth of the colony.

Upstairs, in the main hall a ‘touch desk’ dominated the space, thousands of pictures of the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the early settlement and on the walls some of the key people involved. An alcove led to a window where we could look down on the footprint of the original Governor’s House and in the next room the early relationships with the local Aboriginal people.

Bear’s favourite picture.

Mine was of Sydney ‘on a quiet afternoon’.

There was an exhibition dedicated to the life and works of Lloyd Rees, who could draw a tree better than anyone one else. We sat and watched a video with excepts of him, his family and friends, then we enjoyed his beautiful drawings and paintings.

Simply stunning. The attention to detail.

The simple tools of the trade. Interesting how long Lloyd liked his pencil leads.

Back in the main hall along the far wall was a very long pair of photographs. We had to take them in sections. and chop the wall space out between them to fit them on this blog. The top set of Darling Harbour and Parramatta; North Shore; Sydney Harbour looking North East; City of Sydney – looking South taken by the Freeman Brothers around 1864. The original photographs are held in the Mitchell Library NSW.

The pictures below are from the panorama taken at Sydney Observatory to replicate the Freeman Brothers’ panorama taken by Christopher Shain in 2008. Sydney Living Museums.

In 1864 the Freeman Brothers imported the latest in photographic equipment: a Sutton panoramic camera that allowed them to take larger panoramic views than this one. Taken in four parts from Observatory Hill, the panorama gives us a sweeping view of Sydney from the busy wharves of Darling Harbour across the densely populated city. One hundred and forty years later Sydney photographer Christopher Shain set out to re-create the Freeman Brothers panorama from twenty one photographs ‘stitched together’, Shain’s 2008 panorama depicts a dramatically different view of Sydney. The changes are many: streets have disappeared, skyscrapers dominate the city skyline and the working harbour has been transformed. However, look closely and you will discover some of 1860’s Sydney remains.