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Elliotts & Australian Drug Limited Chemical Works & Laboratory - Rozelle
Elliotts & Australian Drug Limited Chemical Works & Laboratory - Rozelle

Elliotts & Australian Drug Limited Chemical Works & Laboratory - Rozelle

Artist (died 1931)
Artist (1857-1938)
Date1919
Object number00018049
NamePainting
MediumOil paint, canvas, frame
DimensionsOverall: 1970 × 2880 × 115 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Huntsman Chemical Company Limited
Collections
DescriptionPainting titled 'Elliotts & Australian Drug Limited Chemical Works & Laboratory - Rozelle' by commercial artists Charles Henry Hunt and James William Reed of the Rozelle foreshore. The artists were commisioned to paint this bird’s-eye view for the Elliot Brothers’ chemical works catalogue.HistoryThis painting celebrates the industrial development typical of the foreshores of much of Sydney Harbour in the early twentieth century. Commercial artists Charles Henry Hunt and James William Reed painted this bird’s-eye view of Rozelle in 1919, for the Elliot Brothers’ chemical works catalogue. The work encapsulates the energy of a busy waterfront servicing nearby factories. At the time, this was a scene of great industrial progress. The painting shows a conglomeration of pharmaceutical and chemical factories and laboratories, including the Balmain Chemical Works, on Terry Street, Balmain, the fertiliser company George Shirley Limited and the Elliot Brothers building. It also shows elemental sulphur being transported by barge to the wharves, and then by tramway skips to the sulphuric acid plant. In the open building below the plant, coopers are making barrels for the sulphur. Part of the first coal-fired Balmain Power Station can be seen at the far right . SignificanceThe painting is an excellent record of the Rozelle waterfront in 1919 and is a rare 'birds-eye' panoramic view of early twentieth century waterfront industry.