Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Picnic held at Lady [sic] Macquarie's Chair Sydney NSW in 1852
Picnic held at Lady [sic] Macquarie's Chair Sydney NSW in 1852

Picnic held at Lady [sic] Macquarie's Chair Sydney NSW in 1852

Artist
Datec 1852
Object number00032228
NameLithograph
MediumColoured inks on paper, wooden frame
DimensionsOverall: 720 x 915 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
Collections
DescriptionThis picturesque rocky headland east of Farm Cove on Sydney Harbour was a popular vantage point for crowds of all classes watching regattas and for picnics. It shows a sailing regatta in the early 1850s while spectators picnic on the foreshore and cluster around the Royal Oak Hotel's refreshment tent.HistoryRegattas were central to competitive boating in the 19th century and functioned as a social and sporting occasion as well as a marker of official anniversaries in a public aquatic spectacle. Civic leaders, politicians and merchants offered patronage and sponsorship. Community regattas often featured several races, including rowing, sculling and sailing events usually for professional watermen and amateurs. The regatta was not just a means for exercising competitive sport but also a focus for social and recreational entertainment in Sydney. Sites around the foreshore provided a place for spectators to gather and have picnics, while night time entertainment was provided with dances and recitals.SignificanceThis lithograph by J Henderson depicts the recreational use of Sydney Harbour and its foreshores in the 19th century for aquatic sports and picnics. The 1870s lithograph is based on an earlier work believed to have been painted in the 1850s by an unknown artist. It is now in the Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales Collection.