This image from a glass plate negative, produced between 1905 and 1907, shows a view on Sydney Harbour depicting Kurraba Point looking west from Neutral Bay. The ferry 'Waringa' can be seen in the centre of the image, steaming towards Kurraba Wharf possibly from the High Street Wharf. The 'Waringa' was rebuilt and renamed 'Karaga' in 1913 and was subsequently used by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Numerous buildings and structures can be seen in the photograph including houses, boatsheds and wharves. Three paddle steamers of the Port Jackson and Manly Ferry Company are shown in the background docked at the company's repair and maintenance yard. From the left they are the 'Fairlight', 'Brightside' (formerly the 'Emu') and 'Brighton'. The 'Brighton' was the largest paddle ferry on Port Jackson and the only Manly ferry with two funnels. The 'Emu' was built in 1865 and converted in 1902 for use on the Manly run as a cargo ferry, as in this photograph. The 'Brightside' was broken up in 1909.

Graeme Andrews OAM, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences volunteer under the supervision of Margaret Simpson, Curator, August 2015.

This photographic negative was published by the Sydney firm Charles Kerry & Co. and is part of the Powerhouse Museum's Tyrrell collection which contains over 2,900 glass plate negatives by Kerry & Co. Although a few appear to be from the 1880s most were produced between 1892 and 1917. Over this period, and well into the early 1900s, prints from these negatives appeared in many Australian publications and albums of views. In 1903 the company began producing postcards from these negatives, further establishing the images as some of the most significant and best known early views of New South Wales.

Some of the more significant themes covered by the collection include; views of New South Wales, Queensland, country towns, Sydney, Indigenous Australians, the South Pacific, rural life, native flora and fauna, and sentimental views. In addition a number of significant events from the 1900s are covered by the collection including; embarkation of troops for the Boer War, Hordens fire, the Inauguration of the Commonwealth in 1901, the arrival of the Great White Fleet and the Burns verses Johnson boxing match at Rushcutters Bay in 1908.

Geoff Barker, Curatorial, January, 2009

References
Newton, Gael, Shades of Light; Photography and Australia 1839 - 1988, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1988
David, Millar, Charles Kerry's Federation Australia, Sydney, David Ell Press, 1981
Tyrrell, James, Australian Aboriginal and South Sea Islands Implements, Weapons and Curios, James Tyrrell, Sydney, 1929