Name/TitleParramatta River
About this objectParramatta was founded in 1788, the same year as Sydney. The British colonists had only enough food to support themselves for a short time and the soil around Sydney Cove proved too poor to grow the amount of food that 1000 convicts, soldiers and administrators needed to survive. Governor Arthur Phillip chose Parramatta as the most likely place for a successful large farm as it was the furthest navigable point inland on the Parramatta River and also the point at which the river became freshwater and therefore useful for farming.
In 1789, Phillip granted a convict named James Ruse, the land of Experiment Farm at Parramatta on the condition that he develop a viable agriculture. There, Ruse became the first European person to successfully grow grain in Australia. The Parramatta area was also where the Australian wool industry began, pioneered by John Macarthur’s Elizabeth Farm in the 1790s.
John and James Clarke were brothers both of whom achieved a certain reputation as painters of Australian scenes. John is thought to have come out from England in Harvey, a 300-tonne ship captained by Daniel Peach, which arrived in Hobart Town on 2 May 1825 ‘in deplorable condition, her fine and valuable cargo ruined’ due to being detained a month by bad weather. On 1 June 1825, Harvey arrived in Sydney, where Clarke apparently remained.
MakerJohn Clarke - Artist
Maker RoleArtist
Date Madec1840
Period19th century
Medium and MaterialsPaper and watercolour
Place MadeSydney, Australia
Object TypeLandscape Paintings
Object numberSF001448
Copyright Licence
Attribution - Non-commercial - No Derivatives (cc)
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The mug is decorated with an underglaze and a blue transfer print. On the body, it is titled ‘Emigrants to Australia’. This type of body and glaze was discontinued by 1840. Comparison of the handle shape and the profile of the foot, point to the attribution of manufacture by the Davenport Factory.
Delta was a ship-rigged vessel with two decks and three masts. It was built in Dordrecht, Netherlands in 1839 at the shipyard of Jan Schouten and registered in the same port. Its hull was constructed of oak and sheathed in ‘yellow metal’. Delta was owned by H. van der Sande at the time of its loss and was engaged as a cargo trader.
The Delta carried 29 crew and passengers, while sailing from Melbourne to Batavia in ballast when wrecked at Kenn Reefs on 30 May 1854 whilst under the command of Captain J.G. Kunst. This vessel loss supports the pattern of shipwrecks located on a well-travelled shipping route that was poorly charted until the mid-nineteenth century. The crew of the Delta could see four other shipwrecks at Kenn Reefs at the time of their vessel’s loss.
Important image of a ship associated with Matthew Flinders, that would shortly become one of the most famous early shipwrecks in eastern Australian waters. This is a fine ship’s portrait, by one of the great exponents of the art