The Powerhouse acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the ancestral homelands upon which our museums are situated. We respect their Elders, past, present and future and recognise their continuous connection to Country.
Photograph of Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay, NSW, 1905-1907
MadeThis object is part of
Summary
Object No.
85/1284-304Object Statement
Glass plate negative, full plate, entitled 'Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay', depicting the steam, ferry 'Waringa', Kerry and Co, Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1905-1907Physical Description
Glass plate negative, full plate, entitled 'Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay', depicting the steam, ferry 'Waringa', Kerry and Co, Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1905-1907Silver gelatin dry plate glass negative in landscape format. The image depicts Kurraba Point looking west from Neutral Bay. The Waringa Ferry is depicted in the centre of the image, steaming towards Kurraba Wharf possibly from the High Street Wharf. Passengers can be seen travelling on the ferry. Kurraba Point is depicted in the background of the image. Numerous buildings and structures can be seen including houses, boatsheds and wharves. Kurraba Wharf can be seen in the centre of the background. Numerous vessels including steamers and paddle steamers can be seen docked at Kurraba Point in the background in the centre right of the image. The caption, studio mark and number are inscribed on the reverse of the negative.
1/220 Tyrrell Inventory Number, 548 Kerry Studio Number
Marks
Caption, studio number and studio mark on plate emulsion verso lower right corner, inscribed by hand in reverse print in ink "KURRABA POINT, / NEUTRAL BAY. / 548. Kerry. Sydney."Inscription on plate emulsion verso top centre, scratched by "548" and upper right corner, scratched by hand "47".
Short URL
https://ma.as/29684Dimensions
Width
215 mmProduction
Made
Made
Notes
Charles Kerry was born in 1858 and by 1885 was running a studio in partnership with C. D. Jones. This partnership lasted until 1892, when Charles became sole owner and changed the studio's name to Kerry and Co.By 1890 the company was employing a number of photographers who would become famous in their own right. George Bell who covered rural New South Wales was employed in 1890 and Harold Bradley was doing outdoor work and covering events around Sydney by 1899.
Kerry continued to work in the field and in 1895 he took photographs of Royal National Park for New South Wales Government, photographed Queensland artesian bores and was employed by the New South Wales Government to travel the state and photograph Indigenous Australians. In 1897 Kerry led the first party to reach the summit of Mt Kosciuszko in winter conditions and photographed the Jenolan caves.
By 1900 Kerry had turned his studio into one of the largest and most respected photographic establishments in the colony. His new four story premises at 310 George St were designed by the architect H. C. Kent and the third floor studios alone could accommodate 70 people wanting their portraits taken.
In 1913 Kerry retired leaving the running of the studio to his nephew, unfortunately the business did not do well and Kerry and Co. closed its doors in 1917. Kerry himself died in 1928.
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
History
Used
Used
Used
Used
Used
Notes
This photographic negative is one of 2900 Kerry & Co. photographs in the Powerhouse Museum's 'Tyrrell Collection' once owned by Sydney bookseller, James Tyrrell. Almost all of these negatives are 21.5 x 20.3 cm (10 x 8 inch) glass plates and many of those now held by the Powerhouse Museum collection would have been used to create postcards. In addition to the Kerry & Co. Studio images, the Tyrrell Collection at the Powerhouse Museum includes glass plate negatives published by Henry King and a number of other negatives by unattributed photographersJames Tyrrell used the images by Kerry & Co. and Henry King to produce his own booklets and views of New South Wales but although full of iconic Australian images, the collection does not appear to have been fully utilised by Tyrrell.
In 1980 the collection was purchased by Australian Consolidated Press who published a limited series of 2000 contact prints from the collection. Housed in boxes copies of these were given to the State Library of New South Wales and the Macleay Museum at the University of Sydney.
In 1985 Australian Consolidated Press donated the collection to the Powerhouse keeping a set of copy prints for themselves. The collection at this time consisted of 7,903 glass plate negatives and 7,916 contact positive prints.
A further 2,500 Kerry & Co. negatives are held in the Macleay Museum at the University of Sydney, although these do not appear to have been acquired from Charles Kerry and Co. by Tyrrell.
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
Cite this Object
Harvard
Photograph of Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay, NSW, 1905-1907 2021, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 19 August 2022, <https://ma.as/29684>Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/29684 |title=Photograph of Kurraba Point, Neutral Bay, NSW, 1905-1907 |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=19 August 2022 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}We want to hear from you
Copyright for the above image is held by MAAS and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please contact MAAS Rights and Permissions for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives licence
Submit an image license enquiry.