Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Phare du Port Jackson
Phare du Port Jackson

Phare du Port Jackson

Artist (French, 1801 - 1887)
Date1850
Object number00039580
NameEngraving
MediumPaper
Dimensions130 x 180 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis hand coloured print depicts a view of the Port Jackson Lighthouse. It shows the Macquarie Light on South Head. The title reads 'Phare du Port Jackson Varg'. The print is based on a well known lithograph 'Vue du phare du Port Jackson (Nouvelle Galles du Sud) after Louis Auguste de Sainson, Paris, 1830, plate 26 of Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe, Atlas historique, an issue of which is in the ANMM Collection 00000894.HistoryThe first Macquarie Lighthouse, as seen in this artwork, was built in 1818 near the site of a signal station (flagstaff) that had been in place on the Outer South Head since 1791. Governor Macquarie ordered the construction of a permanent structure that was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway. However, the sandstone used to build the lighthouse deteriorated quickly and a replacement, an almost identical lighthouse constructed in stronger materials, was built in 1883. It is still functioning today.SignificanceThis engraving represents a popular interpretation of a signficant light station in early colonial Australia that was the subject of many romantic artistic views of Sydney.