Thursday Island from East
Artist
Percy Frank Hockings
(1867 - 1950)
DateAugust 1919
Object number00054407
NamePainting
MediumWatercolours on paper
DimensionsOverall: 255 × 355 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Dr John and Dr Marcus Hockingsou Da
DescriptionA watercolour titled 'Thursday Island from East' by Percy Frank Hockings.
The painting depicts a landscape with vegetation to the right and a beach and coast to the left. Vessels can be seen moored in the shallows and other headlands in the distance. On the shoreline there are various boat building sites and a number of dwellings.
This watercolour is one of a series of works by Percy Hockings that provide a strong, personal observation of the scenes or people they depict. Painted with a draughtsman’s' accuracy, the works show the detail and the atmosphere of the northern region, particularly the pearling industry in which his family was very involved.
HistoryPearling was one of Australia's early industries that provided a strong trade with European countries. It has a long history of events, activities, methods and equipment that were undertaken or developed in Australia. It also forged close connections with Indigenous communities, south East Asian people and the Japanese pearling communities.
Percy Frank Hockings was a cousin of Reginald Augustus Charles Hockings (24.05.1868 - 04.06.1932) who was one of the main figures in the Thursday Island/Torres Strait pearling industry in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Percy also trained as an architect, along with his brother Edwin Morton, but rarely worked as one, and was able to spend much of his time travelling widely. The two brothers travelled the world together (Europe, the Pacific, and Thursday Island) and accumulated a wealth of drawings, oil paintings, and watercolours, of which these drawings are a small part.
Percy is John Hockings’ great uncle. John Hockings’ grandfather Edwin Morton Hockings went on to practice as an architect and was responsible for many buildings in Rockhampton where they lived. John Hockings is also an architect.SignificanceThe series of paintings by Percy Hockings represent a very personal and accurate observation of the scenes and objects depicted, created by a person skilled at accurate illustration and having a close connection to the region and its activities.
The watercolours help develop the story of the Torres Strait area in the 1920s, in particular aspects of the pearling industry and the natural environment, which are recorded as both an image along with accompanying notation on a number of the images.
