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Anchorage off English Harbour, Fanning Island

Artist Brett Hilder (1911-1981)

Date1957-1958

Object number00027087

NameChart

MediumWatercolour on paper

DimensionsOverall: 420 x 504 x 22 mm, 1.95 kg

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

Tabuaeran

DescriptionThis watercolour chart shows the recommended anchorage off English Harbour, Fanning Island Kiribati and was sketched by amateur artist and professional seaman Captain Brett Hilder on board MV TULAGI in 1957 to 1958.HistoryBrett Hilder born in 1911 was the youngest son of renowned watercolourist Jesse Jewhurst Hilder. In 1927 he became a crewmember for ships owned by Burns Philp & Co. He traveled extensively to the Dutch East Indies and South Pacific Islands, and eventually became a ship's master. During WWII he taught navigation to Australian air crew and attained the rank of Wing Commander. He flew on Catalina flying boats for the Royal Australian Air Force. After the war Hilder resumed his career as a merchant sea-captain. He was Captain of the TULAGI from 1955 to 1961. During the war Hilder started painting watercolours depicting landscapes, details and portraits of the people and places he visited. He also wrote extensively about navigation and his travels for magazines such as 'Walkabout'. Hilder is the author of numerous books on his own experiences and in 1966 published 'The Heritage of JJ Hilder' a book about his father's art career. This accompanied a national touring exhibition of his father's work organised by the Queensland Art Gallery. Brett Hilder passed away in April 1981. The navigational sketch shows the entrance to English Harbour with navigational bearings and beacons. It includes details on the depth the best time to anchor. Hilder made charts of several harbours and islands where he felt those provided by the Hydrographic Service were inadequate. He used his charts for his own reference on future voyages. Hilder also sent copies of his work to the Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic Service and has been credited in some of published charts. He was an exceptional navigator who founded the Australian Institute of Navigation and trained RAAF pilots in navigation during World War II. MV TULAGI (2) was built for the company in 1954 and operated until 1971.SignificanceThis chart is representative of the work by prolific amateur painter Brett Hilder, a seaman with Burns Philp and Company. His work offers a valuable and comprehensive record of the experiences of mariners working on commercial vessels between Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Melanesia from the 1930s through to the 1960s.