DAYLESFORD at Port Adelaide [9 February 1947]
Artist
Brett Hilder
(1911-1981)
Date1947
Object number00027071
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour on paper
DimensionsOverall: 190 x 197 mm, 0.005 kg
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis watercolour features the Australian Coastal Ships Commission vessel DAYLESFORD docked at a Port Adelaide Wharf, South Australia in 1947.
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.
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.
DAYLESFORD was built by BHP, Whyalla SA in 1946. Burns Philp were the agents for the vessel, which was owned by the Australian Coastal Ships Commission.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.