Sketches in Australia 1838

Westmacott: Life & Times | Lithographic prints | Sketchbooks | Crimean archaeology 1855-6 | Mauritius & South Africa 1825-8 | New Zealand 1840 | Series of Views in Australia 1838 | South America 1851 & 1858 |

Series of Views in Australia [1838]

Compiled by Barry Kinnaird and Michael Organ

A series of six lithographic prints of scenes in Australia by Robert Marsh Westmacott (1801-70) was printed in England during 1837 by C. Hullmandel, perhaps the finest English lithographer of the time and a pioneer in that country of the then relatively new method of printing from stone. The prints were first offered for sale in Sydney during May 1838 by James Tegg, bookseller and printer of George Street, Sydney, under the title Series of Views in Australia, Part 1. There was no part 2, though Westmacott did issue a series of similar prints during 1848.

At the Museum Book Store, London, in 1929, artworks from the Westmacott family collection, and often the artist's own copies, were offered for sale (Kashnor 1929). They comprised sketchbooks and prints, and included the following items from the 1838 print series:

* Lot 639 - Complete set of 6 lithographs, hand-coloured. The artist's own copies, privately printed and proofs. On large 4to. sheets, bound in boards. Reserve £10.

* Lot 638 - Plate 1 Road near Portland Head. New South Wales (hand-coloured). From the Westmacott collection. Reserve £3.5s.

* Lot 640 - Plate 2 Sydney Cove, Goat Island, Darling Harbour. New South Wales (hand-coloured). The artist's own impression. Reserve £3.3s.

* Lot 637 - Plate 3 River Nepean near Menangle Ford. New South Wales (hand-coloured). From the artist's own collection. Reserve £3.10s.

This series is dated from the review in the Sydney newspapers The Australian, 15 May 1838 and The Colonist, 30 May 1838. The review reads as follows:

COLONIAL LANDSCAPES. Mr. Tegg has for sale at his shop in George Street, some beautiful engravings on stone, executed by an English artist of the name of Gauci from landscape sketches taken by Captain Westmacott of the Fourth Regiment in this colony. To the admirers of the sublime and beautiful in Australian scenery, we recommend these specimens, to which are the first and most perfect, we believe, of any extent that have been published. They form a series of pictures, from which one may enjoy a panoramic view of the most striking and picturesque scenes in the colony without much travel or fatigue. Among the number we noticed, "The Bourke Falls," presenting a high tumultuous cataract falling in wild and terrific grandeur through a deep and precipitous mountain gorge; and the "River Nepean at Menangle Ford," with its high and perpendicular bank on the one side, beyond which a rich and fertile plain extends in the distant and variegated perspective to the low range of hills that close the back ground. The right bank of the river is richly wooded, and in this part of the picture the artist has displayed considerable taste and execution. These, and the other specimens which we have seen of this series of landscapes, we consider well worthy of the notice and patronage of the tasteful portion of our colonial public.

The series proved to be Westmacott's finest set of lithographs, due both to the skill of C. Hullmandel the printer and W. Gauci the artist in reproducing Westmacott's often simple pencil drawings via the lithographic stone. The original pencil drawings for three of the lithographs (#4, #5 and #6) are known, whilst all of the prints are described in detail below.

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The prints

A complete set of the six prints in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, is bound in unmarked paper covers, supposedly as issued. There was no cover print, as is seen with the 1848 series. Each lithograph was composed of the lithographic image, plus border with engraved title and associated details (name of artist, lithographer, and printer) as follows:

[Title]

From a Drawing by Captain Westmacott, 4th Reg (or Kings Own)

On Stone by W. Gauci                   Printed by C. Hullmandel

Dimensions of the untrimmed prints were 20 x 28.7cm (7 1/4" x 11") which is close to the imperial quarto (4to.) size. Those sections of the inscription "From a Drawing" and "On Stone by W. Gauci" were printed on separate pieces of paper and stuck onto the lithograph after printing. Six different lithographs are known, as follows:

#1 Road near Portland Head. New South Wales

Hand-coloured print.

View from the mountain road near Portland Head, looking down upon the Hawkesbury River near Sackville Reach and Lower Portland. A shepherd is seen by the road in the left foreground, herding three sheep. Portland Head in the conical-shaped hill in the middle distance, centre-right with the river flowing below it. As with many of these prints, they are often hand-coloured, and whether this is contemporary or recent is not usually known.

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#2 Sydney Cove, Goat Island, Darling Harbour. New South Wales

View from the North Shore looking towards Sydney Cove, Goat Island and Darling Harbour. The lithographer has printed the image in reverse, with Sydney Cove to the right instead of the left. Goat Island can be seen in the middle foreground.

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#3 River Nepean near Menangle Ford. New South Wales

Original print, trimmed of border.

View of Menangle Ford, located south west of Campbelltown, on the Nepean River. This is likely in the vicinity of the present-day Menangle Road bridge.

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#4 The Bourke Falls, Illawarra. New South Wales

#4 The Bourke Falls, Illawarra. New South Wales

The precise locality of this view is unknown apart from the fact that it is located in the geographical area known at the time (1830s) as the Illawarra. This is a coastal area of Australia, situated approximately 50 miles south of Sydney, and stretching largely south towards the Shoalhaven and west into the Illawarra escarpment. It is possibly present-day Kings Falls, west of Stanwell Park, or another falls in the mountainous area west of the Illawarra Escarpment. To pin down its precise location has proven difficult, despite a search since the 1980s.

In the view two natives with spears and shield appear in the foreground at the base of the falls, as water pours down a cleft in the rocks. What is suspected to be the original preparatory pencil sketch used for production of the print is known in a private collection in Australia, having recently been purchased from a collection of British and Australia material (photographs and print(s) sold by an Italian dealer.

Bourke Falls, Illawarra, pencil sketch. Source: Private Collection.

The sketch is one of Westmacott's most finely drawn works, enabling W. Gauci to transfer to stone the precise geographical / topographical detail of the scene. As such there is almost a perfect correlation between the sketch and the print. It is possible that a camera lucida was utilised in this process by as the work was transferred to stone.

Reproduced in Mitchell & Sherington (1986, p10). Exhibited Wollongong City Gallery, The Illawarra & Environs: A Pictorial Survey (C. France, 1988).

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#5 View from Bourke's Pass on the Maneroo Range. Mount Westmacott in the distance. New South Wales

Hand-coloured print.

The Maneroo Range is possibly another name for the mountains south of Sydney, between Sutherland and Illawarra, though its modern-day reference is to the range further south near the Southern Tablelands. Mount Westmacott, named after Robert's father Sir Richard Westmacott, is located west of Waterfall, on the road between Sydney and Illawarra. This view is taken from that road, with a party of Europeans and natives in the foreground. See DLPX53 f9a for an original pencil and watercolour sketch of this view.

This original coloured pencil sketch is inscribed: View from the Maneroo Mountains, looking on the valley through which the "Kaia" River flows. See also DLPX53 f.10 for a draft sepia wash drawing of this view.

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#6 Illawarra Lake, New South Wales

View, looking east from the Illawarra escarpment across Lake Illawarra towards the Pacific Ocean. Bass Point is the headland in the distance to the right. See also DLPX53 f.13 for an original coloured pencil sketch of this view, with two ships on the horizon and the words Illawarra Lake in the work lower left, plus text below as follows: Tom Thumbs Lagoon, Illawarra.

Illustrated in Mitchell & Sherington (1986, p9). Exhibited at Wollongong City Gallery `The Illawarra & Environs: A Pictorial Survey' (France, 1988).

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Known examples

Surviving examples from the above set of lithographs exist in a number of public and private collections, both with contemporary hand-colouring, and un-coloured as issued.

(a) Public collections

* Mitchell Library

- 981W Copy 1: Complete set of 6 lithographs, with green paper wrappers, possibly as originally issued. Bound. Bearing "D.S. Mitchell" signature in ink.

- F981W Copy 2: Complete set of 6 lithographs. Bound. Lithographs laid on cloth. Foxed. Bearing "Alfred Lee" bookplate.

- F981W Copy 3: Complete set of 6 lithographs. Loose. Very foxed plates.

- PXA75: Plates 1, 3 & 4. Presented by Mrs Howard, 1968.

- Plate 3, Dixon Library, Pe264.

* National Library of Australia

- NK6286: Plate 2 (hand-coloured).

* Wollongong Art Gallery - Plate 6 (hand-coloured and trimmed).

* Christofides Collection - Plate 4 (hand-coloured).

(b) Auction & gallery sales include:

* Museum Book Store, 1929

- Lot 637 - Plate 3 (hand-coloured). From the artist's own collection. Reserve £3.10s.

- Lot 638 - Plate 1 (hand-coloured). From the Westmacott collection. Reserve £3.5s.

- Lot 639 - Complete set of 6 lithographs, hand-coloured. The artist's own copies, privately printed and proofs. On large 4to. sheets, bound in boards. Reserve £10.

- Lot 640 - Plate 2 (hand-coloured). The artist's own impression. Reserve £3.3s.

* Prouds Gallery, August 1969;

- Road near Portland Head. $40. [Plate 1]

- River Nepean near Menangle Ford, New South Wales. $40. [Plate 3]

* Prouds Gallery, August 1972

- Road near Portland Head. $40. [Plate 1];

- River Nepean near Menangle Ford, New South Wales. $38. [Plate 3]

- View from Bourke’s Pass on the Maneroo Range. $45. [Plate 5]

* Prouds Gallery, September 1974

- Road near Portland Head. $75. [Plate 1]

- River Nepean near Menangle Ford, New South Wales. $75. [Plate 3]

- View from Bourke’s Pass on the Maneroo Range. $75. [Plate 5]

* Prouds Gallery, August 1976

- Road near Portland Head, New South Wales. $85. [Plate 1];

* Blaxland Gallery 1987

- Road near Portland Head, New South Wales. $1100. [Plate 1]

* Hordern House, 1987-88

- River Nepean, near Menangle Ford, New South Wales $300 [Plate 3];

- Road near Portland Head, New South Wales $650 [Plate 1]

- Road near Portland Head, New South Wales $750 [Plate 1]

- View from Bourke’s Pass, on the Maneroo Range, New South Wales $450 [Plate 5];

- Illawarra Lake, New South Wales $350 [Plate 6]

A number of examples from the above series have been offered for sale trimmed and laid down on board. In trimming, the title, artist's and printer's name, and border is removed, leaving only the lithographic image. Some examples exhibit contemporary hand-colouring in the manner of a watercolour. It is possible they were coloured by Westmacott himself, and sold in this form.

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Bibliography

Bayley, W.A., Black Diamonds - History of Bulli District, New South Wales, Austrail Publications, Bulli, 1975.

-----, Blue Haven - History of Kiama Municipality, Kiama Municipal Council, 1976.

Bourke, Anne, `Journal of a Voyage to Australia, 19 August to 27 December 1831', (Microfilm copy of manuscript), Mitchell Library FM3/743.

Cousins, Arthur, The Garden of New South Wales, Robert Dey, Son & Co, Sydney, 1948. (A general history of Illawarra, 1788-1948).

Davidson, Rodney, A Book Collector's Notes, Cassell, Melbourne, 1971.

Dixson, William, Captain Robert Marsh Westmacott, in `Notes on Australian Artists', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, volume 5, 1919, pp296-7.

France, Christine, The Illawarra & Environs: A Pictorial Survey, Wollongong City Gallery, 1988. (Exhibition Catalogue).

Havard, Olive, Lady Franklin's Visit to New South Wales, 1839, Royal Australian Historical Society Journal, volume 29, 1943, pp280-334.

Henderson, K. & T., Early Illawarra: People, Houses, Life, History Project Incorporated, Australian National University, Canberra, 1983.

Hince, Kenneth, Australasia and the Pacific - Catalogue Seventy, Prahran, Victoria, July 1982, p79. (Offering at sale a copy of Sketches in Australia [1852], for $4500).

Hollingworth, D., They Came To Mauritius: Portraits of the 18th and 19th Centuries, Oxford University Press, London, 1965.

Kashnor, L., Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Africa and the East Indies, Catalogue No.114, The Museum Book Store, London, 1929. (Mitchell Library 017.4/22).

Keith, H., New Zealand Art: Painting 1827-1890, A.H. & A.W. Reed, Auckland, 1968.

King, Hazel, Richard Bourke, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1971.

King, N.S., History of Austinmer and Robert Marsh Westmacott in Australia, Illawarra Historical Society, Wollongong, 1964.

King, Philip Parker, `Notebook, 1837-43', Mitchell Library MSS963, p101. (Contains a pencil drawing of "Commandant's House, Melbourne" showing Westmacott and Bourke at Melbourne in 1837).

McCormick, A., Catalogue Number 12, Paddington, 1985. (Offering a set of Sketches in Australia [1848] for sale at $8500).

McCulloch, Alan, `R.M.Westmacott', Encyclopaedia of Australian Art, Hutchinson of Australia, Melbourne, 1968.

Mitchell, W. & Sherington, G., Growing Up In Illawarra: A Social History 1834-1984, Wollongong University, Wollongong, 1984.

Moore, W., The Story of Australian Art, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1923, volume I, p17.

Organ, Michael, `Bibliographic Notes on Captain R.M.Westmacott's Sketches in Australia, Biblionews, volume 11, no.3, September 1986, pp79-81.

-----, The Illawarra Diary of Lady Jane Franklin, 10-17 May 1839, Illawarra Historical Publications, Woonona, 1988.

Pemberton, P.A., Pure Merinos and Others: The "Shipping Lists" of the Australian Agricultural Company, Archives of Business and Labour Australian National University, Canberra, 1986.

Riviere, L., Historical Dictionary of Mauritius, Scarecrow Press, London, 1982.

Stewart, Alexander, Reminiscences of Illawarra [1828-94], Illawarra Historical Publications, Woonona, 1987.

Speirs, Henry, Landscape Art and The Blue Mountains, APCOL, Chippendale 1981, p.49. (Contains a reproduction of Westmacott's lithograph `Road from Emu Plains over the Blue Mountains' [1848]).

Tapp, E.J., Early New Zealand - A Dependency of New South Wales 1788-1841, Melbourne University Press, 1958, 192p.

Wantrup, Jonathan, Australian Rare Books, Hordern House, Sydney, 1987.

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RM Westmacott: Life & Times | Art - Lithographs | Art - Sketchbooks | Crimean archaeology 1855-6 | Mauritius & South Africa 1825-8 | New Zealand 1840 | Series of Views in Australia 1838 | South America 1851 & 1858 |

Last updated: 21 March 2025

Michael Organ, Australia