POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Photograph of ferries and a barge lined up at Milson's Point

Object No. 2013/23/54-11

This image from a photograph in an album produced between 1885 and 1898 shows a busy scene at the Milsons Point ferry base and transport interchange on Sydney's North Shore. Ferries provided transport across the Harbour until the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. At the right a vehicular paddle ferry is waiting for a load to go to the ramp at Bennelong Point. A woman is watching a child who is exploring the area, while a workman carries two baskets of coal slung from a shoulder pole. Close to the shore the collier, 'Merksworth', is unloading coals into the coal bunkers at the ferry base. The 'Merksworth' was built of iron in 1874 and was sunk at sea with the loss of nine lives, when she was overwhelmed during the 'Maitland Gale' of 1898. The collier is using a portable steam boiler on deck to work her cargo boom. A paddle ferry, similar to the 'Sapphire' (1877-1893), has left the base to take up her shift. Several other ferries of similar and larger size are rafted up with one partly showing the 'Neutral Bay' sign. This is probably the SS 'Lily' (1882-1911). In the distance at left is Kirribilli Point. To the right is Garden Island with several units of the Royal Navy's Australia Station at anchor. The photographer was Henry King. Graeme Andrews OAM, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences volunteer under the supervision of Margaret Simpson, Curator, May 2016 This photograph is one of 147 albumen prints made by some of the most significant photographers who worked in New South Wales during the 19th century. Most of the views are of places and buildings which played a role in the development of Sydney as a city. Some have become tourist destinations while others have been supplanted or been demolished as part of city expansion over the 20th and 21st centuries. These photographs are important reminders of the way Sydney has changed over the years since white settlement in 1788. This object is also part of the Royal Australian Historical Society (RAHS) collection which was donated to the Powerhouse Museum in 1981. The RAHS was formed in 1901 and is the oldest historical society in Australia. Many of the objects in this collection are of great significance to Australia and to New South Wales, some directly associated with people and families like the Marsdens, Henry Parkes, Douglas Mawson and John Verge, and some significant relics from Australia's history, such as convict handcuffs and the Ben Hall 'Wanted' poster. The importance of the entire RAHS collection and the way in which it was acquired adds to the significance of this object.