SS ORONTES departing east Circular Quay, Sydney
Photographer
Harry Brisbane Williams
(1869 - 1959)
Date1915
Object number00017048
NamePhotograph
MediumSilver gelatin print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 164 x 120 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Piers Jones
DescriptionUntitled image by Harry Brisbane Williams depicting the view from aboard the SS ORONTES as it departs east Circular Quay, Sydney.
HistoryHarry (Henry) Brisbane Williams was born in 1869 in Brisbane, Queensland, and later lived in Balmain and Point Piper - both on Sydney Harbour. Williams was an enthusiastic amateur boater, and took his motor launch SABLE on numerous excursions around Sydney Harbour and the Lane Cove River. He was the photographer for the Water Board of New South Wales, and was a keen amateur artist - becoming friends with a number of prominent Sydney artists including Alfred Coffey.
Williams' photographs held in the museum's collection date from the 1890s into the 1950s. His images depict a range of vessels, from passenger ships, cargo ships, Royal Australian Navy vessels, United States Navy battle cruisers, yachts, motor launches, sailing ships, tugboats, ferries, row boats and even paddle steamers on the Darling and Murray Rivers. Williams captures a range of social activities, including Fleet Week celebrations, rowing sculls, surf life saving, picnics, pleasure cruising and swimming. He also photographed a range of ship building activities, dry docks, slip ways and waterfront construction.
