Two midship sections
Artist
Brett Hilder
(1911-1981)
Date1934
Object number00027075
NameDrawing
MediumInk and watercolour on paper
DimensionsOverall: 208 x 315 mm, 0.015 kg
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis watercolour features two midship profile views of unknown vessels. It compares the markings of two shipping lines. On the right is the scheme used by Burns Philp & Co. The left hand scheme may be of a disguise used on the SS MAIWARA early in World War II.
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.
The right hand funnel is painted in Burns Philp colours. The left hand side with a cream funnel may be his recollection of the disguise he used for the SS MAIWARA early in World War II where he painted the funnel cream and changed other markings so that it looked like a neutral Dutch ship.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.