Steelworks, Newcastle NSW [16 February 1947]
Artist
Brett Hilder
(1911-1981)
Date1947
Object number00027064
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour on paper
DimensionsOverall: 363 x 485 mm, 3 mm, 0.2 kg
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis watercolour depicts coal loading near the Newcastle Steelworks, New South Wales. It shows a coal train passing mounds of iron ore with the masts and funnels of ships in the background.
HistoryBrett Hilder born in 1911 was the youngest son of renowned watercolourist Jesse Jewhurst Hilder. In 1927 he became a crew member on 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.
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.
Brett Hilder was Chief Officer on the SS RIVER HUNTER which belonged to the Commonwaelth of Australia Department of Shipping, and Burns Philp were the agents for the vessel. It carried coal from Newcastle to Osborne South Australia. It also carried iron ore and limestone from Whyalla in South Australia to Newcastle and Port Kembla in NSW during 1946.
When Hilder joined the vessel it was being loaded with 8,000 tons of coal, a process that took over 30 hours using cranes which lifted each caol truck over the hold to empty its load. In 'Navigators of the South Seas', Hilder describes how the ship was unbalanced after the loading was completed and that he managed to return the vessel to upright before leaving port. He also notes how the empty ship rocked and rolled on the return journey using the words 'rollicking and rolling' to describe the motion.SignificanceThis painting 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.