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Image Not Available for Australia Day 1988 - The Bicentennial First Fleet Arriving in Botany Bay
Australia Day 1988 - The Bicentennial First Fleet Arriving in Botany Bay
Image Not Available for Australia Day 1988 - The Bicentennial First Fleet Arriving in Botany Bay

Australia Day 1988 - The Bicentennial First Fleet Arriving in Botany Bay

Artist (b 1949)
Date1988
Object number00048119
NameOil painting
MediumOil on canvas, painted wood and plaster frame
DimensionsImage: 593 x 900 mm
Overall (frame): 763 x 1065 x 65 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from NSW Maritime
DescriptionA painting titled 'Australia Day 1988 - The Bicentennial First Fleet Arriving in Botany Bay' by John Steven Dews. The painting depicts the fleet of tall ships at sea on Australia Day 1988, surrounded by various support vessels including tug boats, yachts, dinghys and motor boats, with a headland visible in background to right.HistoryThe subject of Dews paintings - the 'First Fleet reenactment' and the celebrations for Australia Day in 1988 were controversial yet widely attended and significant historical commemorations. The 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales on 26th January 1788 was preceded by significant government event and commemorative funding across the country. SignificanceEvents on the 26th January 1988 focused on Sydney Harbour and the arrival of a 're enactment' of the First Fleet by a group of tall ships. The reenactment was met with dramatic foreshore protests by Indigenous Australians and their supporters. The activities on Sydney Harbour were regarded in the press at the time as 'Australia's biggest party'.