Tug at work
Photographer
Ian Lever
Date1970-2000s
Object number00056199
NameCibachrome
MediumCibachrome, paper.
DimensionsOverall: 507 × 406 mm
Copyright© Ian Lever
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Ian Lever
DescriptionPhotograph by Ian Lever of an unidentified tug at work.
HistoryThroughout his photographic career Ian Lever extensively charted industrial change and development in the Darling Harbour, Pyrmont, and inner city regions. Lever notes that "I have a passion now photographing the development of various areas around Sydney, and all shot on black and white and hand printed. This started forty years ago, so I have a lot of film done on this project alone".
Lever's photographs of tug operation and industrial development in the Darling Harbour and Pyrmont region offer unique insights into past harbour side operations, and have significance in depicting the changing facades - and evolving purposes - of inner harbour suburbs over time. Of particular importance are Lever's photographs showing the development of the site of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Here he charts the decline of Pyrmont Power Station in 1979, the development of the Darling Harbour precinct, Star City Casino, and the building site of the Maritime Museum in 1991.
Further aerial shots of Darling Harbour during this period provide stark perspectives on the shift from industry to areas of tourism and visitor engagement. Lever's comparative shots of Pyrmont Point from 1979 to 2005, and the subsequent residential and parkland development, further act as important documents showing the changing nature of inner Sydney harbour suburbs.SignificanceIan Lever's photographs of tugboat operations and industrial development in Darling Harbour and Pyrmont show the changing nature, and evolving purposes, of inner Sydney Harbour from the late 1970s to the early 2000s.
