Miller’s Point and Goat Island, Port Jackson

Date1840 - 1860

Object number00030003

NamePainting

MediumWatercolour on paper

DimensionsOverall: 178 x 270 mm, 0.02 kg

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA watercolour depicting Sydney Harbour from the North Shore (Balls Head), looking toward Millers Point, Goat Island and Balmain. This work was removed from an album titled ‘Millers Point and Goat Island, Port Jackson’HistoryTo the Dharug people of the Eora nation, Goat Island in Sydney Harbour is also known as Memel or Me-Mel, meaning 'the eye'. European settlers noted that Bennelong and his wife Barangaroo frequented the island to feast and ‘enjoy themselves’. The sandstone island lies between Balmain and McMahons Point and has direct views down Sydney Harbour. In 1833 colonists decided to store the settlement's stocks of gunpowder on Goat Island. Its isolation yet close proximity to the main town was an advantage and convicts were sent to the island to clear and quarry the island. The storage building became known as the Queen's Magazine and a number of other stone structures were built, including officers’ quarters. By 1861 there were was an estimated 7,000 barrels of gunpowder stored there. SignificanceThe paintings are significant in documenting the development of the shores of Sydney Harbour as seen from the water and in recording water transport in the 1840s and 1850s