Page 26 - 1978 NAB Calendar Early Australian Maritime Life Part Two
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A VIEW OF SYDNEY COVE, NEW SOUTH WALES The church tower on the horizon on the right was used as an observatory by
English officer’s studying astronomy; the foundations for the remainder of
DECEMBER the church had been laid out, but its building deferred. Beyond this are the
This view of Sydney Cove, after an original work done in the colony around barracks and officers’ quarters of the New South Wales Corps, which
1802, is one of the best- known early depictions of Sydney. The scene shows occupied a large part of the town.
the settlement which had sprung up around the Cove in a little over a decade.
The artist is looking from a position near the tip of Dawes Point towards the The cart in the background is travelling along the roadway leading to the
head of Sydney Cove; the pioneers’ track which became George Street North bridge over the Tank Stream at the head of the Cove. The long building on
can be seen on the right, running along the sandstone ledge at the foot of the the shoreline to the left is the furniture and instruments store, and the
Rocks ridge on the extreme right. Government Wharf, used mainly for landing passengers and government
stores, lies further to the left. On the hill above is the Governor’s house, an
In the foreground are the slipways of the Government Shipyard, which appear enlargement of Governor Phillip’s original three-roomed cottage.
in most early views of the Cove. The yard was established in 1796 by Governor
Hunter, and at least one vessel was always under construction on the slipways Today much of the original shoreline of the Cove has been altered by land
until the yard closed in 1833. The shipwrights who worked here were among the reclamation, and modern buildings and waterfront engineering have almost
first residents of the Rocks ridge. Today two docks occupy this position, one completely replaced the structures of earlier periods. The artist, Edward
housing the New South Wales Water Police. Dayes, was born in 1763, and committed suicide in May 1804 shortly after
Page 27for his watercolours, mezzotint
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engravings and miniatures.
