Skip to main content
Advanced Search
The launch AUSTRALIA with spectators sailing on the harbour
The launch AUSTRALIA with spectators sailing on the harbour

The launch AUSTRALIA with spectators sailing on the harbour

Photographer (Australian, 1877 - 1951)
Subject or historical figure
Datec 1920
Object number00002003
NameGlass plate negative
MediumEmulsion on glass
DimensionsOverall: 125 x 162 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Bruce Stannard
DescriptionThis image by William Hall depicts the launch AUSTRALIA built by HC Press and used to watch the 18-foot skiffs sailing on the harbour. Carl Press can be seen at the helm with a large crowd of well dressed passengers on board.HistoryIn addition to being an ideal working harbour, Sydney Harbour soon proved to European settlers to be an ideal reactional waterway. From the from the 1830s races and regattas were held on the harbour, pulling large crowds of spectators onshore and later on paying passenger vessels. The large billowing sails with distinct designs made for easy identification and speed while the constant threat of capsizing added an element of excitement to the sport. Traditionally viewed as a working class sport, born in harbour suburbs such as Balmain and Pyrmont, open boats used large crews acting as ‘live ballast’ and were relatively inexpensive to build. Racing also gained attention of middle and upper classes who partook of the strong betting culture and social activities that grew up around Sydney racing. William Hall was a photographer based in Sydney and was a regular at the weekend races taking photographs of the day’s events. Each Monday morning in his shop window, Hall would display the photographs he had taken of the weekend races. The shopfront became a part of Sydney yachting life as people filed past, vying to view the images and dissect the weekend’s activities. SignificanceThe Hall collection provides an important pictorial record of recreational boating in Sydney Harbour, from the 1890s to the 1930s – from large racing and cruising yachts, to the many and varied skiffs jostling on the harbour, to the new phenomenon of motor boating in the early twentieth century . The collection also includes images of the many spectators and crowds who followed the sailing races.