Circular Quay Sydney 1892

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In this image of Sydney’s Circular Quay from a glass plate negative produced in 1892 horse-drawn vehicles still rule the road. There are horse buses running along Alfred Street and a row of hansom cabs are waiting at the rank for fares. Evidence of the importance of the wool trade can seen from the row of gabled wool stores including those of Hill Clark & Co., Winchcombe Carson & Co. and the Talbot wool pressing stores.  
 
In the background at Sydney Cove Wharves 1 and 2, are three seagoing passenger vessels. A small tug passes with a smaller tug standing by with a lighter. The Port Jackson Steamship Co.’s wharf is bare of ferries but a pile of sacks suggests a ferry is on the way . At the Watsons Bay wharf, advertising a return fare for 9 pence, two ferries are waiting. The larger is the ‘Bee’ (1884-1901). She was to become the 1st ferry of the Hayles family’s Barrier Reef tour company in 1899 and was wrecked in a gale in 1901.

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 This photograph is one of 795 un-attributed photographs which are part of a larger collection of 7 ,900 negatives once owned by Sydney bookseller James Tyrrell. Also included in the Powerhouse Museum's Tyrrell collection are around 2900 photographs published by the famous Australian studio of Kerry & Co. (85/1284) and around 1300 glass plates by the Sydney based photographer Henry King (85/1285).  
 
While these images remain un-attributed at present it is likely that some of them were in fact part of the Charles Kerry and Henry King collections purchased by Tyrrell around 1929. There is a series of World War I portraits which have the names of the soldiers etched onto the negative but which are not credited to any particular studio but which may have been taken by Kerry & Co. studio.
 
Amongst this group are photographs of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, taken after both Kerry and King had died, and acquired at a later date either by Tyrrell or somehow included in the material from Australian Consolidated Press.
 
James Tyrrell used the images by Kerry & Co. and Henry King to produce his own booklets and views of New South Wales but although full of iconic Australian images, the collection does not appear to have been fully utilised by Tyrrell.
 
In 1980 the collection was purchased by Australian Consolidated Press who published a limited series of 2000 contact prints from the collection. Housed in boxes copies of these were given to the State Library of New South Wales and the Macleay Museum at the University of Sydney .  
 
In 1985 Australian Consolidated Press donated the collection to the Powerhouse Museum. The collection at this time consisted of 7 ,903 glass plate negatives and 7 ,916 contact positive prints. Of these 493 glass plates were damaged but usable and 13 plates totally broken.
 
Geo Barker, Curatorial, December, 2008
Used Australian Consolidated Press
Harvard Glass negative entitled "Circular Quay, 1892" depicting Sydney

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Below is a copy of the photo that this painting was painted from.