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A Yanke Lumberman Berry's Bay
A Yanke Lumberman Berry's Bay

A Yanke Lumberman Berry's Bay

Artist (Scottish, 1863 - 1951)
Datec 1920
Object number00042376
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour on paper
DimensionsOverall: 360 × 496 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
Collections
DescriptionThis watercolour by Charles Ephraim Smith Tindal depicts an American four-masted schooner unloading lumber onto a barge at Berry's Bay, Sydney. It is likely that the lumber would have been deposited at the Eaton timber yard.HistoryFrom the 1850's onward there was an active timber trade between the northwest coast of the United States and New South Wales. Hardwoods such as eucalypt and turpentine were exported to California and softwoods such as cedar and oregon were imported. By 1881 John Eaton had established a timber yard and sawmill in Berrys Bay. The operation would take timber off incoming vessel by off loading it onto flat-topped barges and landing it on the wharves along the waterfront. The Eaton yard was probably the last harbourside timber company to accept floating timber imports.SignificanceThis painting illustrates the trans-Pacific export of lumber from America to Australia from the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries.