south australia illustrated: colonial painting in the land of promise

South AuStrAliA illuStrAtedColonial painting in the Land of Promise

Art GAllery of South AuStrAliA

North terrace Adelaide artgallery.sa.gov.au

EDUCATION RESOURCE

outh Australia was unlike the other Australian settlements, having been planned in London as a province of Great Britain, not as a penal colony. It was

promoted to potential immigrants as ‘the land of promise’. George French Angas’s major promotional publication South Australia Illustrated featured a series of his sketches and watercolours and showed the unfamiliar but strangely beautiful environment. It was released in London from 1846 and continued to ‘sell’ the colony to those looking for adventure and prosperity.

The prints, drawings, watercolours and oil paintings displayed in this exhibition, which has been curated by Jane Hylton, provide a colonial narrative that covers the exploration of South Australia, its settlement and development, and colonial life. Works by ‘settler artists’ William Light, Martha Berkeley and J.M. Skipper, among others, give impressions of the landscape of the 1830s and also show the interactions between the Indigenous people and settlers. These are followed by S.T. Gill’s lively street scenes, James Shaw’s recordings of colonial ‘events’, and Charles Hill’s portraits and places. Alexander Schramm, painting in the 1850s, focuses on the Aboriginal people of the Adelaide Plains, whose way of life was greatly disrupted by the arrival of white settlers.

The arrival of so many talented artists, some of them professional artists, in one place, meant that the colony of South Australia was home to a dynamic visual arts scene. Later in the century, many artists, including Rosa Fiveash, demonstrated the developing sophistication of life and art in the colony through their genre paintings.

The exhibition, and selected works of art included in this Education Resource, connects to the Australian Curriculum: history by engagement with and consideration of the following:• WhatlifewaslikefortheAboriginalpeoplebeforethe

arrival of Europeans• WhyEuropeanssettledinSouthAustralia• The nature and consequence of contact between

Aboriginal people and settlers• HowtheSouthAustraliancolonydevelopedovertime,

and how it changed the environment.In association with South Australia Illustrated: colonial

painting in the Land of Promise are the exhibitions Bounty: nineteenth-century South Australian gold and silver, and South Australia Illustrated: from the street.

Bounty, curated by Robert Reason, provides an insight into aspects of nineteenth-century colonial society through decorative art and jewellery, including church silver, presentation objects for important events, and ceremonial items. The work of South Australia’s early goldsmiths and silversmiths, Julius Schomburgk and Henry Steiner, is featured.

South Australia Illustrated: from the street, curated by Lisa Slade, shows the work of contemporary South Australian artists, including Ali Baker, James Dodd and Peter Drew, as they respond to the Art Gallery of South Australia’s colonial art collection. Applying the visual language of the streets through the use of paste-ups, stencilling and aerosol paining, their work is displayed both in the Gallery and on the streets of Adelaide.

South AuStrAliA illuStrAtedIntroduction

S

otential settlers from England and Europe relied, for information about South Australia, on handmade maps and pictures, as well as journals produced as a result of scientific expeditions

undertaken by navigators such as Captain Matthew Flinders and Captain James Cook. The professional artists who accompanied the expeditions were employed to record these newly discovered lands and places.

Artist William Westall was just nineteen years old when, in the early 1880s, he accompanied Flinders on his journey from England to map the coasts of Australia. Westall’s job was to depict Australian lands for the expedition’s sponsors, who were also often future settlers.

On Kangaroo Island Westall went ashore from the moored Investigator, taking with him portable art materials, including pencil and charcoal. He made observational drawings of new plants, animals and coastal views. Back on board he would complete watercolour or oil paintings from these drawings. Westall was a keen observer, his line work showing great sensitivity, particularly his animal drawings.

This ‘view’ gives the impression of a land of abundance andplenty, a tranquil land: seals are sunning themselves;kangaroos and emus are grazing. The background hills are densely covered with natural vegetation.

After Westall returned to England some of his paintings were copied by an engraver, Mr William Woolnoth. This was a usual practice in the publishing industry, at a time before photography was widely used. Engravings of Westall’s paintings were then printed in illustrated books describing journeys of exploration.

This black line engraving by Woolnoth has the same name as Westall’s original painting of Kangaroo Island. It was included in a picture book publicising new lands in South Australia, called Views of Australian scenery, printed in London in 1814.

FOCuS quESTIOnS AnD ACTIvITIES

• Whyisthisworkofartanimportantvisualrecord?• Explainwhy the coastlinewas the landscape feature

most often recorded by early navigators and exploration artists.

• Find another work in this exhibition by Westall.Consider the locations selected and the detail of the scene recorded. How might this view of Australian scenery have supported immigration to the new colony?

• List theways inwhich featuresofnewlydiscoveredAustralian lands were recorded in the early 1880s. If you were an explorer today, what different methods wouldyoubeabletousetorecordyourdiscoveries?

PWilliam Woolnoth, engraver, Britain, active 1806-1836, after William Westall, Britain/Australia, 1781–1850, View of the north side of Kangaroo Island from Views of Australian scenery,c.1814,London;publishedbyG.&W.Nicol,London,1814,etching,engravingonpaper,16.0x23.0cm(image);

South Australian Government Grant 1969. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

William Woolnoth A

olonel William Light was South Australia’s first surveyor-general. He was fifty years old when he arrived in South

Australia in 1836. He became known for his hard work and for his considerable artistic talent. Given his surveying role, Lighthadtoquicklyunderstandthenaturalenvironment.Because the settlement had to sustain domestic, farming and agricultural uses, easy access to fresh water and arable land was necessary. The settlement also had to be in a location large enough to support its growth into a city, and it had to be close to a harbour.

During his short time as surveyor-general, Light came under enormous pressure and received unfair criticism from the distant bureaucrats in London – as well as many local people in South Australia – over his choice of the site for the settlement. But interestingly, Light always looked on the design of Adelaide from the viewpoint of an immigrant, as well as of the surveyor-general. He always intended to make his home in Adelaide and wanted to leave his mark on the place he surveyed. It is thanks to Light that Adelaide has wide streets, a belt of surrounding parklands,andfivecitysquares.

As an artist as well as a surveyor and planner, Light combined his knowledge of cartography, topography, surveying, and art to produce many sketches and paintings that brought to life the early years of the settlement. unfortunately, Light’s residence, a small hut, caught fire in January 1839, and many of his works of art, as well as official and private papers, were destroyed.

This painting is an unfinished self-portrait. Art historians think it was begun by Light in the last year of his life. The feverish look suggested by the rosy cheeks may be because Light was ill at the time. The painting gives the impression of being unfinished.

Almost two hundred years after the portrait was made, contemporary South Australian artist Peter Drew has taken the enigmatic self portrait of Light and created his own version of the portrait using stencilling and aerosol. Drew hasalsoinvitedtwelveotherSouthAustralianartists(JakeBresanello, James Cochran, Sam Evans, Kate Gagliardi, Jake Holmes, Madeline Reece, Garry Seaman, Matthew Stuckey, Joel van Der Knaap, Dan Withey and Kerri Ann Wright) to create their own versions of the portrait intheir signature styles. During the project these portraits will be set free on the streets of Adelaide for members of the public to collect.


• The canvas seems to have been re-used. What clue is thereforthis?

• IfyoucouldinterviewWilliamLight,whatquestionswouldyouaskhimabouthissurveyingof the settlement site and his designs for the city of Adelaide?ResearchthecontroversyregardingLight’sselection of the site for Adelaide.

• WhowereAdelaide’sfivesquaresnamedafter?Whatdid these people contribute to the development of Adelaide?

• Paintaself-portraitincolonialfashion.• Nowtrymakingaself-portraitusingastreetart

styling.

Learn more about immigration from the Maritime Museum link: www.history.sa.gov.au/maritime/edu/docs/southwardbound.pdf

C

William Light, 1786–1839, Self portrait, c.1839, Adelaide, oil on canvas, 58.1x42.2cm;GiftofG.G.Mayoonbehalfofhisfather,thelateGeorge

Mayo, FRCS 1905. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

William Light B

artha Berkeley and her husband, Charles, arrived in South Australia in February 1837. Martha was an artist and Charles was a police officer. They spent the first

eight months of life in Adelaide living in a tent on the banks of the River Torrens. As a busy and proficient artist, Martha recorded the colony’s development over time.

Mount Lofty from The Terrace, Adelaide, was painted four years after South Australia had been proclaimed a colony. Berkeley does not tell us which terrace she has painted from, but the twin peaks of Mount Lofty and Mount Bonython in the background indicate that it is probably East Terrace. There is no evidence of settler development, except for thedirt track (The Terrace) in the foreground.A settler walks beside his bullock dray on this track, and Aboriginal people seem to be engaged in traditional hunting and gathering activity, suggesting the coexistence of settler and Indigenous groups in the area.

Martha Berkeley

Martha Berkeley, 1813–1899, Mount Lofty from The Terrace, Adelaide,c.1840,Adelaide,watercolouronpaper,34.5x45.0cm;South Australian Government Grant 1935. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

M FOCuS quESTIOnS AnD ACTIvITIES

• Findoutmoreaboutthetraditionalhuntingand gathering practices of the Kaurna people of Mikawomma(theKaurnanamefortheAdelaidePlains).

• FindEastTerraceonGoogleEarth.Lookattheurban development that has occurred between East Terrace and Mount Lofty since 1840.

C


• Imagineyouareoneofthepeopleontopoftheoldgum tree. Describe what you see and hear.

• Collect a copy of the key to the reading of theProclamation. Find the Governor and Mrs Hindmarsh, the Colonial Secretary, and the artist J.M. Skipper.

• NoticethatonthiskeytheKaurnapeoplearelabelled‘natives’. Discuss in class how the words used to describe the Indigenous inhabitants of Australia have changed since this time.

• Later, source the words of the Proclamation.Whatreference was made in this document to the Indigenous people?

Charles Hill

C harles Hill took twenty years to complete this famous painting, The Proclamation of South Australia 1836. In the painting a flag is about to be raised, as the Colonial

Secretary, Robert Gouger, proclaims South Australia to be a colony of Great Britain. Settlers and officials, many of whom would have arrived on the first boats to land earlier that year at Holdfast Bay, observe the ceremony. Hill has also included several small groups of Kaurna people, who watch from a distance. Interestingly, Hill was not present at the Proclamation, which took place some years before he migrated to South Australia.

Hill could imagine how the scene had looked, and he cleverly also included some information from real life. He took his art materials to Holdfast Bay shore from his home in the city and drew the site in accurate detail. For many of the two hundred people in the crowd, Hill created mini portraits of real people who were actually there. But, strangely, he included several dignitaries who were not present at the ceremony. Colonel William Light is visible, for example, but we know he was elsewhere at the time.

The old curved gum tree in the background is the site oftheyearlycelebrationsofProclamationDay,heldon28December.

CharlesHill,1824–1915,The Proclamation of South Australia 1836,c.1856–76,Adelaide,oiloncanvas,133.3x274.3cm;MorganThomasBequestFund1936.ArtGalleryofSouthAustralia,Adelaide

D

ames Skipper came to South Australia to start a new adventure – which began on board the ship Africaine, where he met his future wife! He arrived in the colony

in november 1836. He came with the understanding that making works of art was an important aspect of colonial life. Skipper became well respected as an artist because of his accurate representations of the local scenery and the features of colonial settlement.

In this painting Skipper records activity he observed in the first few days after landing at Holdfast Bay. At this time there was no easy road between Holdfast Bay and the site for Adelaide, so stores and supplies had to be carried or put onto drays pulled by bullocks. The movement of supplies would have been difficult, given the extensive sandhills around the site at the mouth of the Patawalonga.

At the centre of the painting, on top of a tall flagpole, flies the Royal Ensign, symbolising the arrival of the English. The flag flies against a large open sky, showing the openness of the landscape accommodating this settlement.

notice the grid lines Skipper has drawn onto the page. This was a common practice if the artist intended to make an oil painting from a sketch.


• DescribetheactivitiestakingplaceinSkipper’spainting.

• Whywerebullocksthepreferredanimalfortransportinggoods?

• FindWilliamLight’spaintingofthesamesite.Compare and contrast the two works.

• Later,researchwhyHoldfastBaywaschosenasalanding site, and why it was so named.

J

J.M. Skipper

J.M. Skipper, 1815–1883, Holdfast Bay, South Australia 1836, 1836, Holdfast Bay, South Australia, watercolour on paper, 16.0x24.0cm;MorganThomasBequestFund1942.ArtGalleryofSouthAustralia,Adelaide

E

hen Gill arrived in the colony there was already a thriving art scene, and as an artist, he was keen to capture the bustling lifestyle of the colony and

produce images that celebrated its prosperity. By the mid-1840s he was a familiar figure around Adelaide town, and his presence, with his sketch book in hand, was expected at all the important events in the colony.

Gill’s original images were exhibited in England as part of a promotional lecture tour organised by James Allen, a newspaper editor from Adelaide. The purpose of Allen’s tour was to promote immigration to the new colony, and Gill’s lively recordings of colonial life would have helped Allen’s cause. Allen selected thirty-six works by Gill to highlight the economic wealth of the copper mines of Kapunda and Burra and to boast about the increasing prosperity of the settlement.

The colony’s first produce show was held in the parklands near north Terrace. Gill’s highly detailed watercolour shows marquees and tents set up undertall sheltering gums, and a crowd, including settlers and Kaurna people, gathering to view the displays of locally produced fruit and vegetables. Also on display would have been agricultural implements and samples of leather goods produced by the colonists.


• WhathastheHorticulturalSocietyShow,shownhere,becometoday?Describehowithaschanged.

• Thiseventin1843wasnotonlyanopportunityforproducersandcraftsmentodisplaytheirproduce;it was also a social occasion for the colonists. Find out what other social occasions colonists might have enjoyed.

• Writeaboutashow,orfarmers’/producemarketyou may have visited. Discuss in class how shows or markets have developed over 150 years.

• LearnmoreaboutAboriginalplantuseontheAdelaide Botanic Garden Education Service link: http://www.openaccess.edu.au/outreach/oes/botanic/discov.htm#

WS.T. Gill, 1818–1880, Horticultural Society Show, Adelaide,1843,Adelaide,watercolouronpaper,20.8x30.8cm;

GiftofM.J.M.CarterAOthroughtheArtGalleryofSouthAustraliaFoundation2004.ArtGalleryofSouthAustralia,Adelaide

S.T. Gill F

ill arrived in the colony with his family in December 1839, living first in Gawler Place, from where he advertised his artistic services to the colonists of

Adelaide. His intention was to earn his living solely as an artist by painting ‘correct likenesses’ of the colonists, their families, animals and properties. Gill was also interested in a vast array of subjects such as street scenes, the activity occurring at Port Adelaide, public events and mining activities.

The watercolour Port Adelaide looking north along Commercial Road captures all the hustle and bustle of the busy port. The tall masts of the sailing ships which arrived regularly from overseas can be seen in the background. These ships were the lifeline of the colony, bringing the various goods the settlers depended on; they thentransported the colony’s agricultural and mining products back to England.

A slipway fills the centre of the painting. A man with a long stick in his hand may be searching for marooned fish in a puddle left by the falling tide. Around the slipway

G small groups of people are interacting. A sailor leans on a wooden barrel and chats with an Aboriginal family. On the other side of the slipway, another family, perhaps new immigrants, waves to people passing by in a horse and buggy. Some of these people might be residents of the Portarea;somemayhavecometocollectgoodsarrivingfrom overseas. The buildings shown would have been used for storage – wool or wheat – and as business offices and shops. Many of the old colonial buildings can still be seen at Port Adelaide today.


• WhatdoyouthinktheslipwayinthemiddleofGill’spaintingwasusedfor?Areslipwaysstillinusetoday?

• Whatwouldthepurposeofthewoodenrowingboatshavebeen?

• Isthisportasimportanttodayasitwasincolonialtimes?Discussyouranswerinclass.

S.T. Gill

S.T. Gill, 1818–1880, Port Adelaide looking north along Commercial Road,1847,Adelaide,watercolouronpaper,20.3x32.0cm;MorganThomasBequestFund1923.ArtGalleryofSouthAustralia,Adelaide

G

amuel Thomas Gill was one of the most important observers and painters of life in colonial Adelaide. He never lost an opportunity to be present at, and record,

special events. One of these was the departure on 10 August 1844 of Captain Charles Sturt’s overland expedition.

Sturt had been resident in Adelaide since 1839, working in a government position. He made known to the people of Adelaide that he intended to organise an expedition to ‘settle the debate’ as to whether there was a sea in the middle of the continent. He had already explored the interior of South Australia, and in London a record of these earlier explorations, Two expeditions into the interior of South Australia, had been published.

The expedition of 1844 departed from the corner of Currie and King William streets, and because a holiday had been declared in honour of the occasion, a large number of onlookers had gathered. Gill’s painting shows the crowd and many horses and riders, but it’s difficult to determine who was part of the actual expedition group. Several important people were present, including the governor of the time, Sir George Grey, and also John Morphett, who is remembered for his contribution to horse racing in South Australia.(MorphettvilleRacecourseisnamedafterhim.)It is clear from the painting that many people dressed in their finest clothes – women in gowns and bonnets, men in formal suits and top hats, and some in uniform – to farewell the expedition.

It was a large expedition: Sturt set off with sixteen men, eleven horses, three hundred sheep, thirty-two bullocks, six dogs, and an assortment of carts and wagons!


• FindJ.M.Crossland’sportraitofCaptainCharlesSturt(c.1853)intheexhibition.

• Later, research Sturt’s journey.Was the expedition asuccess?Presentinformationtosupportyouranswer.

• Imagine you have been employed as the artist toaccompany the expedition and to record the landscape. Create an image of a place you saw while travelling overland with Sturt.

• We often take for granted the names of streets andplaces where we live, or visit. Select a well-known street name in Adelaide, and find out what, or who, is behind the name.

S.T. Gill

S.T. Gill, 1818–1880, Sturt’s Overland Expedition leaving Adelaide, 10th August, 1844,1844–45,Adelaide,watercolouronpaper,41.3x72.0cm;South Australian Government Grant 1939. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

S

H

andscape paintings and ‘portraits’ of houses were the chief means by which S.T. Gill earned a living. He was described by fellow artist F.R. nixon as

‘the Colony’s pre-eminent landscape artist’. By 1848, when this painting was created, the colony of

South Australia was only twelve years old, but already large areas of land as far away as Mount Barker had been fenced and cultivated by settlers. The property of master mariner Captain William Davison was typical of those owned by the growing middle class in this convict-free colony.

In this painting we see a two-storey house in the distance, with smaller buildings and sheds alongside. Much of the land has been cleared, but some gums have been left near the entrance gate and on the crest of the hill. Cattle can be seen grazing, while a bullock and a farmer plough the land. A settler leans on the fence in the foreground, talking with an Aboriginal family.

The painting of his house and property would have given Captain Davison the opportunity to boast to his family back in England about his prosperity in the new colony.

S.T. Gill

L FOCuS quESTIOnS AnD ACTIvITIES

• ImagineyouareCaptainDavison.Describewhattheland was like on arrival near Mount Barker. Make a list of the tasks you would have had to undertake to establish your farm.

• Thispaintingshowsevidenceoftheland-clearingpractices of the early settlers. What were some of theconsequencesofthesepracticesontheland,thenativefloraandfauna,andtheAboriginalpeople?

S. T. Gill, 1818–1880, Captain Davison’s house ‘Blakiston’ near Mount Barker,1848,Adelaide,watercolouronpaper,21.3x33.8cm;South Australian Government Grant 1979. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

I

eorge French Angas arrived in South Australia in January 1844. His father was chairman of the company which had been set up to manage the

commercial settlement of South Australia. Angas was a prolific sketcher, and he began sketching within days of arriving. He travelled to many parts of South Australia not usually visited, as illustrated by the lithographs of his work on the wall at the beginning of this exhibition.

In Rapid Bay Angas has given a view of Aboriginal life at the time of early contact. A shelter, protected by shrubs, can be seen clearly, and a fire nearby is perhaps cooking recently caught fish. The group of Aboriginal people includes a number of generations. The Kaurna people called this place‘Patparno’; the white settlers named itafter the ship on which William Light arrived: the Rapid.

The painting draws the viewer’s gaze in a number of directions: to the group by the water, to the campsite, and to the sheltering cliffs behind. A sense of serenity is reinforced in the colours and tones the artist has used.


• Describetheobjectsyoucanseenearthecampsite.Howmighttheshelterhavebeenmade?

• WhatareyourimpressionsofthispaintingasarecordofAboriginallifeatthetime?Whatevidencecanyou find that shows that the Aboriginal people in the paintinghavehadcontactwiththesettlers?

• ThispaintinggivesaviewofRapidBaybeforesettlerdevelopment of the area. using any medium, create a contrasting work that represents Rapid Bay as it is today. Find Rapid Bay on Google Earth to view the development of the town of Yankalilla.

www.maplandia.com/australia/south-australia/yankalilla/rapid-bay/rapid-bay-google-earth.html#map

GG.F.Angas,1822–1886,Rapid Bay,1844,Adelaide,watercolourandgouacheonpaper,25.7x35.5cm;

On permanent loan from the national Trust of South Australia. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

G.F. Angas J

ulius Schomburgk, a goldsmith and silversmith, emigrated from Prussia in 1850, following his older brothers Richard and Otto, who were scientists,

to South Australia. In South Australia in the nineteenth century the

trade of silversmithing/goldsmithing was dominated by migrants who had come from Germany and surrounding countries. They produced some of the finest silver and gold work in colonial Australia. Creating presentation and testimonial pieces was an important part of their work. Such pieces were often of elaborate design and sometimes included representations of local events, flora and fauna, and Indigenous people.

The Presentation Cup, made of silver and silver gilt, was completed in October 1861. It was one of the last pieces independently made by Schomburgk before he joined the jeweller J.M. Wendt in Rundle Street, Adelaide.

On the elaborate top are kangaroos and various birds, and a grass tree plant. At the base, beneath the tree fern, are emus, a lizard, and Aboriginal figures in traditional clothing and holding spears.

Centrally placed on each side of the cup are pieces of silver-encased malachite, heavily decorated with vine leaves and grapes, ears of wheat and grazing sheep, symbolising the development of agriculture in the colony.

Schomburgk was an extremely talented craftsman and designer, but perhaps not such a good businessman, since he met with considerable hardship in his later years.

JJulius Schomburgk

Julius Schomburgk, Australia, 1819–1893, Presentation cup, 1861, Adelaide, silver, silvergilt,malachite,57.0cm,14.0cm(diam);J.C.EarlBequestFund2011.ArtGallery of South Australia, Adelaide

K

his beautiful ewer-shaped Cup is made of twenty-carat gold and it is likely that Steiner used locally mined gold, which was often around twenty carats in refinement. This gold might have come

from the Jupiter Creek mine in the Adelaide Hills, or from mines around Birdwood or in the Barossa valley. It is a fine example of a colonial goldsmith’s work, in what is termed neoclassical style, meaning that it resembles designs used in ancient Greece.

The body of the Cup is finely engraved with grape vines and other decorative designs. The handle is curved and elaborately scrolled. The base is also elaborately decorated. The Cuphasbeendescribedas‘antique’inshape,andatthetime comparisons were made in the Adelaide newspapers with similar gold objects found at archaeological digs at Troy and Mycenae.

The engraving on the body of the Cup reads:Adelaide Hunt Club Cup, 1870. Won by R. Barr-Smith’s unknown.

There is a bit of mystery to the Cup, given that it was not made until 1878, several years after the race was held in the East Parklands, on 15 October 1870. The delay may have been because the colony at the time was suffering an economic depression, with accompanying mass unemployment and civil unrest. People had also begun to leave rural areas. The Adelaide Hunt Club, patronised by the wealthy upper level of society, was itself in financial difficulties. It was decided that the race meeting would go ahead, but no trophy was presented to the winner. It is likely that Barr Smith himself commissioned Steiner to make the Cup as a memento of his win.


• Examinetherangeofworksbygoldsmiths/silversmiths/jewellers in the Bounty exhibition. In what ways have these artists/artisans contributed to our understanding of life in the early days of the colony?

• Whyhavesilverandgoldbeenconsideredpreciousanddesirablemetalsoverthecenturies?Whydojewellersliketoworkwiththesemetals?

• Designacuptobepresentedforaneventatyourschool. What motifs/engravings would you choose to decoratethiscup,andwhy?

Henry Steiner

T

H. Steiner, c.1860–1884, Adelaide Hunt Club Cup 1870, c.1878, Adelaide, gold,31.5x12.5x15.8cm;PurchasedwiththeassistanceoftheAustralianGovernment through the national Cultural Heritage Account assisted by the J.C.EarlBequestFundandtheLillemorAndersenBequestFund2008Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

L

lexander Schramm’s large activity-filled painting of an encampment of Kaurna people, possibly including Aboriginal people from other areas, by the River

TorrenseastofAdelaide(wherethesuburbsofKensingtonandMarryatvillearenow)wasoneofthelargestpaintedinthe colony at that time. nearly eighty Aboriginal people, over fifty dogs and puppies, as well as two settlers with horses (one man dismounted), are shown in a crowdedscene.

The Indigenous people were from many different areas and had retreated to the Adelaide Plains as they had nowhere else to go following the expansion of settlers’ farms and townships. They had become displaced people.

Groups can be seen in the foreground and background engaged in various activities. Some Aboriginal people can be seen throwing spears, others are making nets and some are reclining in their wurleys. One Aboriginal man is portrayed half-way up the gum tree and is chopping branches for firewood. Children are playing, and dogs roam between the shelters.

Schramm was known for his skill and sensitivity in representing Aboriginal people. He connected with the Kaurna people soon after he arrived in 1849. Because he felt great empathy for their situation, he was welcomed in their campsites. He had some freedom to move amongst them, indicating that he was known and trusted.


• Observethepaintingclosely.Listtheitemsusedbythe Aboriginal people that indicate contact with settlers.

• ResearchwhysomanyAboriginalpeoplewerelocated in this area.

• Imagineyouareachildinthispainting.Describeyour life on the Adelaide Plains.

• Later,visittheSouthAustralianMuseum’sAboriginalCultures Gallery to view Aboriginal artefacts and to learn more about Aboriginal culture, events and stories.

A

Alexander Schramm

Alexander Schramm, 1813–1864, Adelaide, a tribe of natives on the banks on the River Torrens, 1850, Adelaide, oil on canvas, 86.7x130.2cm;Purchased2005.NationalGalleryofAustralia,Canberra

M

his painting shows the Hill family in an outdoor garden setting. The artist Charles Hill is relaxing with his wife and his eight children. Hill had recently

moved with his family from Pulteney Street to live on South Terrace. In the centre of the painting we can see the Adelaide Hills in the distance.

Hill had been in South Australia for twelve years when he painted this work. His eldest daughter, Henrietta, in her mid-teens, is serving food at the family table. She was twelve months old when she arrived with her parents in the new town of Adelaide. Henrietta is the small child featured in another of Hill’s paintings, The First Lesson.

In this portrait of his family Hill has added a little mysterybyhidinghisface;itistheonlyfacewecannotseein this family group. Although the family seem formally dressed, the scene is a casual one. Gardening tools are stackedontheleft;aredwateringcanandabucketareonthe other side. Three children have left the table – one is occupiedwithabook;anotherisplayingwithapet;thethird is hugging, and perhaps whispering to, her father.

T Hill painted his family with obvious affection, and this portrait is intimate and relaxed. He used a more formal style when painting scenes or places or works for public exhibition.


• Describethemealthefamilyareabouttohavefromthe clues you can see here. Think about where the food would have come from, or how it would have been made.

• Whatdifferencesmighttherehavebeenintermsofa‘family’ meal consumed by Indigenous people at this time?

• Createagroupportraitofyourfamilyrelaxingtogether. Include a familiar setting and other clues about your family life.

Charles Hill

CharlesHill,1824–1915,The artist and his family,late1860s,Adelaide,oiloncanvas,47.7x66.0cm;Gift of Mrs I. Rusk 1966. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

N

oon after the Proclamation of South Australia in 1836, settlers began to move away from Adelaide to establish farms in country areas. Georgetown was established in the mid-north, near

Gladstone, about 175 kilometres north of Adelaide. This was thought to be good country for growing wheat.

Artist Charles Hill packed his art materials and left Adelaide for Georgetown, travelling by horse-drawn carriage. This journey took several days. Hill was visiting Georgina, his second eldest daughter, who was a young teacher there. He completed the painting Georgetown in 1877 in his Adelaide studio.

The design of the town, Georgetown, appears to be quiteformalandalmostsymmetrical.Incontrast,thedailylife of the town is shown to be informal. A dusty road disappears into the distance. Shops line the street, and people who have come to town, some in their best clothing, to conduct business or to shop are shown in various groups. Severalworkvehiclesarebeingloaded;thereisacoachinthebackground–comingfrom,orgoingto,where?Teamsofanimalsareabouttobeginhauling;amanandawomansit in a passenger vehicle, perhaps having completed their shopping, while a man walks and plays with his dogs.

S There has been some development in the town. Hill shows a major technological innovation, the electric telegraph, which reached South Australia in 1858. notice the telegraph wires which run from the Telegraph Office on the left-hand side of the street, to the other side. A fewyearslater,in1872,theOverlandTelegraphLinewascompleted. This crossed the continent, linking Melbourne and Adelaide to Port Augusta, and through Darwin, to London, by electronic telegraph.


• Describeseveralrurallivelihoodsandactivitiesshownin this painting.

• Whatmightbethedifferentpurposesofthebuildingsinthisscene?IfyouevervisitGeorgetown,youwillnotice that some of these buildings, and also the large main road, are still there today.

• ResearchtheOverlandTelegraphLine.

Charles Hill

CharlesHill,1824–1915,Georgetown,1877,Adelaide,oiloncanvas,96.5x139.0cm;MrsMaryOvertonGiftFund1998.ArtGalleryofSouthAustralia,Adelaide

O

ames Shaw came to Adelaide from Scotland in the late 1850s. In Edinburgh he had been both a portrait painter and photographer.

Shaw joined the newly formed South Australian Society of Arts and contributed a landscape and six other works of art to its first exhibition in March 1857. He competed keenly for the prizes that were awarded each year by the Society, often for specific topics. Although Shaw also produced landscapes of developing ‘suburbs’, such as Kent Town and norwood, his main income was from commissions for house portraits.

Shaw’s photographic experience proved to be an asset when recording details for his paintings. This is evident in the detail of SouthAustralian Parliament; the House ofAssembly. Shaw has carefully collaged tiny photographic portraits of the men who were members of the House of Assembly in 1867 onto the painting. We can’t recognise some of them because they have their backs to us, but others can be identified.

The building in the painting still stands on its original site, just west of what is now called Parliament House, which is today a much larger building.

J

James Shaw


• Noticetheformalityofthesceneandtheclothingworn by the Members. How would this scene be different,orsimilar,today?

• ImagineyouareoneoftheMembersshownhere.WhatissuesarebeingdiscussedintheHouse?

• UsethefollowinglinkstolearnmoreabouttheHouse of Assembly.

• MakealistofthecurrentMembers,andtheelectorates they represent.

• Whichelectoratedoyouresidein?• LearnmoreabouttheSouthAustralianParliament: Seating in Parliament www.parliament.

sa.gov.au/education/teachers/Facilitating%20A%20Parliamentary%20Debate/Documents/7HouseofAssemblyMap.doc

Members of Parliament www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Members/HouseofAssembly/Pages/List%20of%20Members.aspx

James Shaw, 1815–1881, South Australian Parliament; the House of Assembly,c.1867,Adelaide,oiloncanvas,64.0x93.0cm;South Australian Government Grant 1959. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

P

ames Shaw was one of colonial South Australia’s most prolific artists, and several of his works are included in the exhibition. He was self-trained as a photographer and painter and he used

his skills in these areas to record many events in the early life of the colony. This painting refers to a significant event in the maritime history of South Australia.

The SS Admella made regular runs between Adelaide, Melbourne and Launceston (hence its name).Travellingbyseawasthequickestandmostcomfortableoptionforearly colonial travellers, given the dangers of overland travel. At the time of its construction in Scotland in 1857, the Admella was one of the fastest, most technologically advanced and most luxurious ships on the Australian trade routes. It was a ‘steam sailer’, which meant that it could travel under sail as well as a coal-fuelled steamer.

On the night of 6 August 1859 the Admella was travelling from Adelaide to Melbourne with a cargo of copper, flour and general merchandise, as well as four racehorses due to run in the upcoming Melbourne Cup. In all, 113 people were on board. In heavy swell the Admella struck Carpenter’s Rocks off the southern coast of South Australia, near present-day Mount Gambier. Within fifteen minutes of hitting the rocks, the ship began to break up, leaving passengers and crew clinging to the wreckage.

At this time ships did not have particularly good navigation equipment or radios to signal for help.Unfortunately, the nearest lighthouse (with keeper) wassome distance away, and it took two seamen who had reached shore some time to get to Cape northumberland to raise the alarm. Captain McEwan had been able to distribute a little food and water, but many people had perished by this time – either by drinking salt water in

desperation or simply slipping away due to exhaustion. Although there were lifeboats on the Admella, two smashed as they were lowered into the water, and a third broke adrift.

Because of the continuing heavy seas, the rescue vessels, Ladybird and Corio, did not arrive in the area for several days. There were only twenty-four survivors, who had clung to the wreckage for eight days.


• Considertheimpactofthedisasteronthecolony.When news of the fate of the Admella reached Adelaide, businesses closed, and the Houses of Parliament adjourned. Communities immediately united to support the survivors. What does this tell youaboutthecolonyatthistime?

• InShaw’spaintingyoucanseethetreacherousnatureof the ocean. Write an account of the shipwreck from a survivor’s point of view.

• HowhasShawachievedasenseofthedramaticinthispainting?

• CompareShaw’spaintingwithCharlesHill’sWreck of the Admella, also in the exhibition. Describe the differences you can see between them. Which paintingdoyouprefer–andwhy?

• FindoutaboutshipwrecksalongtheSouthAustraliancoast in colonial times.

• LearnmoreabouttheAdmella on the South Australian Maritime Museum link: http://www.history.sa.gov.au/maritime/exhibitions/wrecked.html

J

James Shaw

James Shaw, 1815–1881, The Admella wrecked, Cape Banks, 6th August,1859,1859,Adelaide,oiloncanvas,68.5x97.7cm;GiftofPoppyBurgess and Gwen Holland in memory of their grandfather Mortimer Burman 1967. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

Q

osa Fiveash was an outstanding botanical illustrator. She received a commission to illustrate the book, The forest flora of South Australia by John Ednie Brown,

printedin1882.Sheprovidedmanydetaileddrawingsforother publications.

The governor of the day, Lord Tennyson, and Adelaide philanthropist, Robert Barr Smith, were so taken with Rosa Fiveash’s skills and her aesthetic sensibility that they bought many of her works and donated them to the Art Gallery of South Australia. Rosa Fiveash continued to paint until she was eighty years old, living and working as an artist in her family’s home in north Adelaide.

Xanthorrhoea semiplana (grass tree), c.1893, is an example of a detailed botanical illustration which the artist has also ‘developed’ into a watercolour depicting the natural environment of the grass tree. At the beginning of settlement in South Australia there was no photography, so the work of scientific artists and botanical artists was important in creating a record of the natural environment, including the flora and fauna. Today, botanical illustrations continue to be used to help identify, classify and record flora.

R FOCuS quESTIOnS AnD ACTIvITIES

• Whatistheadvantageofincludinginonepainting,aclose-up of the grass tree spike and flower detail and thegrasstreeinitsenvironment?

• ViewtheotherworksbyRosaFiveashintheexhibition. Select your favourite and describe the form of the plant and/or flower and its colour.

• Whydoscientistscontinuetorelyontheworkof botanical illustrators, rather than simply taking photographsofflora?

• Noticethefinedetailinotherbotanicaldrawingsinthis exhibition. Later, draw a native South Australian plant or flower in detail as if you were a botanical illustrator.

Rosa Fiveash

Rosa Fiveash, 1854–1938, Xanthorroea semiplana (grass tree), c.1893, Adelaide, watercolouronpaper,41.0x30.7cm;BotanicGardensofAdelaide

R

GlossaryAesthetic referring to an appreciation of beautiful things in art and nature

Botanical illustrator a person who paints, sketches or otherwise illustrates botanical subjects such as trees and flowers

Cartography the art and science of map-making

Collaged an artistic composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface

Commissioned engaged for a fee to complete a particular work

displaced moved unwillingly from a place

empathy identification with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings, and motives

engravings theartortechniqueofcarvingmetalorwoodblockinrelief

fauna referring to animals

flora referring to plants

immigration to enter and settle in a country or region of which the person is not originally from

lithographs the art or process of producing an image on a flat, specially prepared stone, treating the items to be printed with a greasy substance to which ink adheres, and of taking impressions from this on paper to form a print

observational drawings drawing what you see in front of you

Philanthropist someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes

Slipway a ramp by which a boat is launched

Surveyor-General an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory

topography the shape of the land, including its various features, such as hills and mountains

traditional the beliefs and customs handed down from generation to generation

Wurley an Aboriginal shelter

cover detail: S. T. Gill, Australia, 1818–1880, Rundle Street, Adelaide,1845,Adelaide,watercolouronpaper,27.3x40.5cm;Gift of the South Australian Company 1890. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

page1detail:EdmundGouldsmith,Australia,1852–1932,Adelaide from Montefiore Hill 1885,1885,Adelaide,watercolouronpaper,28.0x61.0cm;Gift of the Council of the School of Mines 1891. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

Education Services is managed by a DECD teacher based at the Art Gallery of South Australia

A William WoolnothB William LightC Martha BerkeleyD Charles HillE J.M. SkipperF S.T. GillG S.T. GillH S.T. GillI S.T. GillJ G.F. AngasK Julius SchomburgkL Henry SteinerM Alexander Schrammn Charles HillO Charles HillP James Shawq James ShawR Rosa Fiveash

A

L

BC

K

FGH

D

E I

M

J

N

O

P

QR

South AuStrAliA illuStrAtedColonial painting in the Land of Promise

Art GAllery of South AuStrAliA

North terrace Adelaide artgallery.sa.gov.au

EDUCATION RESOURCE MAP