HAWKESBURY HISTORY
with Michelle Nichols & Jonathan Auld
The Government Printing Office
The Hawkesbury River at Sackville Reach , 1879 .
The Sisters of the Good Samaritan established the Convent in Windsor , captured in 1879 .
The New South Wales Government Printing Office was established in 1840 to exclusively print material for the government . Originally it included the printing of reports and proceedings with postage stamps added in 1853 . Over the years additional materials were printed such as rail tickets , Hansard , and supplementary services added such as bookbinding and photography .
Photography was an important function provided by the Government Printing Office from the late nineteenth century , showcasing the development of the state of New South Wales .
The Government Printing Office collection provides a picture of life in New South Wales and in particular , the Hawkesbury , capturing a particular moment in time .
Photographers employed by the printing office recorded various aspects of public life through their images , including landscapes , buildings and events , giving us an insight into the past . Much of the collection has survived including around 200,000 glass negatives , which are held by the State Library of NSW and State Archives Collection records ( Museum of History NSW ).
Many of the images have been digitised and are available online . Glass negatives were produced on glass plates , instead of film , and date from the 1850s until around the 1920s and were standard for professional photographers .
John Sharkey was appointed the manager of the Government Printing Office ’ s photolithographic section , as a copperplate printer in the Department of Works in 1863 .
He adapted a form of photolithography which sped up the process which resulted in his employer not having to pay the Patent Fees . He was remunerated in 1869 and appointed as the first Government Photographer employed by the Printing Office , holding the position until 1896 .
Photography was a reasonably new science , with the first photograph taken in Australia in Sydney in 1841 . The earliest photographs taken of the Hawkesbury appear to date from the 1850s .
The early photographs captured by the printing office staff , were created with glass negatives , providing clear , well defined and impactful images . Staff sometimes used a wide-angle lens resulting in some spectacular results . In 1875 there were just seven photographers in the department yet this grew to twenty-one by 1889 . Subjects caught by the cameras included “ public buildings , railways , tramways , street scenes , harbour views , groups of people , ships , public occasions , military camps , wharves , dams and waterways , statues and slums .”
The Sydney International Exhibition was held in 1879 to promote agriculture , culture and technology , with thousands of exhibits displayed from countries all over the world . Thomas Primrose , the Mayor of Windsor Council had corresponded with the Colonial Secretary in 1879 and requested “ that the Government Photographer might be sent to Windsor and district to take views for the
Royal Hotel , corner of Windsor and East Market Street Richmond , 1879 .
International Exhibition .”
The Government Photographer visited various parts of New South Wales , including the Hawkesbury district , with an interesting array of images captured in 1879 . Views included Windsor Hospital , Thompson Square , Rickaby ’ s Creek Bridge , Richmond Park , and George Street Windsor . Some exceptional examples , rarely seen , accompany this article .
John Sharkey worked his whole life as a printer and photographer remaining head of the Photographic Branch until 1896 . Two years later , John Sharkey died in Sydney , aged 65 .
Almost 150 years have passed since the staff from the Government Printing Office visited the Hawkesbury and captured a variety of scenes with their cameras . This collection has exceptional value to historians , researchers and the community .
These images taken in 1879 , and are from the Government Printing Office Collection , courtesy of The State Library of NSW .
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10 ISSUE 173 // OCTOBER 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT