1910 Estey Parlour Organ

You will no doubt be aware of the organ in the Museum. It is a 1910 Estey
Reed Organ. We couldn’t find an exact match on the Estey website but
we’re reasonably sure this would have been referred to as a ‘Parlour ‘model. This was Home Entertainment 100 years ago. Our Estey is 100 years old - Happy Birthday!
We offer Bob Wilson, a visitor to the Museum, our sincere thanks for applying his expertise to restoring it to full ‘playability’.

Bob is a professional restorer but has graciously given his time to clean the organ and get it playing again. From him, we’ve now learnt how to effect basic maintenance in order to keep it in good playable condition. If any members can
play the organ, come in and blow the cobwebs away! Bob recently completed a restoration on a similar organ in an old church at Hill End. His next little job will be to join a small team of experts who will be undertaking a thorough cleaning of the grand organ at the Sydney Town Hall. Bob also commented on the organ in
the Cottage - he likes it. We don’t know much about it so more research is
required to establish the maker and year of manufacture. We’ll keep you
posted. Once again, our thanks to Bob for his time and effort.

........(and thanks to Jay Sider for this contribution)

The Saving of Fairview - Dubbo Gully, New South Wales, Australia

The Saving of Fairview

From: The Saving of Fairview petition

Fairview is an historic homestead on a property situated in an area of The Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, called Dubbo Gully, not far from Lower Mangrove. The property is of major significance to the history of the area, with one building there dating back 150 years.

It is owned by Gosford City Council, being purchased by them some years ago in readiness for the construction of a major water storage dam just downstream of the house. The location for the dam was subsequently moved upstream and the house still stands as it was then, deteriorating further every year. Those familiar with the heritage want the property saved and restored to its former glory, but as of May 2010, Gosford City Council is yet to give approval with several reasons being given for why it will not be possible to do so.

Please make use of this petition to let those in power know that it is imperative that this property be saved.

If you are not familiar with the property, please do everything you can to go there and check out the Facebook page The Saving of Fairview and check out the video produced for the cause. It is certainly worth your while going there and experiencing the area for yourself, but of course the video comes in at a close second. I am sure you will understand immediately why the property MUST be saved. Not only is it of historical importance, it is without doubt one of the most beautiful areas of The Central Coast.

Vale - Frank Chalk

Sadly we report the recent passing of a highly respected and well-loved member of the Brisbane Water Historical Society - Frank Chalk. He is greatly missed by those who knew him. The following is an extract from the Eulogy offered by Elaine Fry:

"Frank, wonderful sincere friend, workaholic, great mate, advisor, you name it and that was Frank...

Frank was born in Birmingham, England in September 1919. His family moved to Australia when he was an infant...Frank joined BWHS in 1981 and became very much involved. No matter what was damaged, Frank knew how to fix it, doing many repairs, soldering, making display cabinets and photo frames, and cleaning of exhibits to display standard, all under the advice of Museums Australia.

Frank, Alice [his wife], Stan (my late husband) and I worked as a team, having our working bees at the museum complex when we had time to spare, often 4-5 hours, 3-4 times a week, to set up a special exhibition. We also spent many. many hours in the gardens and grounds. Our first love was our family and home, closely followed by the cottage complex. Frank's knowledge and assistance was greatly appreciated by the committee and members of BWHS. Frank also joined the roster to open the cottage/museum on a regular basis once a month.

Frank was elected a Vice-President in 1982, a position he held for 3 years, then Treasurer in 1984, a position he held for 16 years. He certainly looked after our monies. He checked every item on every docket or invoice.

Frank was a great ambassador for BWHS and HK Cottage. He was a guest speaker at other organisations' meetings, and carried our brochures to distribute whereever they went on holidays. He was a guide on coach tours visiting from other areas, transported boxes of items to street stalls, displays etc. with no worries and not looking for any pat on the back. Frank also kept a lookout at night. Really he was an unpaid caretaker of the cottage and grounds. No request was ever too large or too small for our Frank.

On 20th February 2001, Frank was appointed a Life Member of BWHS for his dedication to the Society and his voluntary work for HK Cottage, over and above anything that is expected of a volunteer...

In June 2007 when we had those very heavy winds and storms, some trees came down in the cottage grounds, one large tree blocking the driveway. Stan and our son Kelvin, with his chainsaw, came over to see what could be done. Very soon 88 year old Frank came over in the rain to assist in removing most of the trees and branches. Work stopped because the rain became too heavy, but they were back again on Sunday morning and access was made for the garbage truck and for the coach that arrived on Monday morning...

Frank enjoyed life and talking to people, he was happy in life and at peace with himself. The Community is much richer for the time Frank has spent in the area."

From the Curator: Ethnographic Collections & Post-Colonialism

The ethnographic collection is openly influenced by the external socio-political principles that shape attitudes towards the presentation of different cultures. The foremost change came following the move towards political independence of colonised countries, as the desire to represent personal national identity through objects and the theory of post-colonialism flourished. Previously, imperial rule was legitimised through anthropological hypotheses and illustrated in ethnographic museums, so the ethnocentrism of the museums existed in direct opposition to this new shift in the balance of power. Post-colonial breakdown of cultural structures challenged the domination of Western perceptions and established a collection of ethics and values that promoted a more equitable system of societal representation.
Moreover, the traditional ethnography museum was challenged by the post-colonial desire for self-representation and the accompanying realisation that the
collective memory of these events [colonisation] of indigenous peoples and their descendants is vastly different to that of European peoples and their descendants.

Thus, the formerly colonised nations began to establish their own heritage and ethnic legacies for the ‘enrichment, education and collective identity of the citizenry’, with the creation of a national museum part of the ‘criteria of civilisation’.
With respect to these changes in the ideological climate, the ethnographic museum has to operate under the influence of rapidly changing socio-political theories. The museum now has to re-evaluate the particular world-view that it was previously programmed to promote and make attempts to redress the imbalance caused by the endorsement of ‘otherness’ and the portrayal of the colonised peoples privation and hardship as resulting from their own ‘inability, incompetence and sheer laziness’. Consequently, the existence of post-colonialism has created a paradox and raised a variety of key issues that impact upon the ethnographic museum. Their new role to nullify the inequity and undo the damage caused by previous interpretive techniques undermines their own existence.

Hannah Clayton Atkin

The Curator on Art Nouveau & Art Deco in England

The quintessence of Art Nouveau is the curved, supple lines derived directly from nature and first emerging in the 1890s. In England, as with its direct predecessor the Arts and Crafts movement, came the rejection of mass production and the adoption of the sinuous, natural forms that were to dominate Art Nouveau design. Thus, the increased prevalence and popularity of Arts and Crafts ideas abroad and the inspiration of the various nationalistic revivals of the period culminated in the Art Nouveau style.

As Art Nouveau was linked inexorably to regionally specific revivals, such as the early Nordic art revival in the Scandinavian countries, this post will focus on the English Nouveau designs with their naturalistic and Gothic revival influences. Most importantly, England, as part of an island nation, managed to remain at a distance from the ‘renewal fever’ that gripped the rest of Europe. In addition, the moralising influence of the Arts and Crafts movement was more explicit and unfiltered in its impact on subsequent design; it did not undergo the modifications experienced when ideas move away from their culture of origin.

Significant too was the English expectation of the approaching changes in domestic setting and popular requirements. Since the middle of the 19^th century, English designers had been producing furniture that had unsophisticated forms and purposeful structure. Opinion had moved away from the veneration of stylistic imitation to the adaptation of the traditions of the past, thus inspiring such re-appraisals as the Neo-Gothic movement.

Accordingly, at the turn of the century the most important furniture designers were the beneficiaries of the most groundbreaking 19^th century developments. The designer Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (1857-1941) was an architect trained using the guidelines espoused by William Morris. His work was inspired by his reading of the Tudor tradition but, in contrast to Morris, he did not reject the concept of mechanisation. Voysey believed the industrialisation of production should be welcomed as an altruistic force that could bring good-quality products to a wider public audience. Despite this philanthropic attitude, Voysey’s move towards ‘naturalness’ often lead to oversimplification and a primitivism that did little to appeal to the public.

Consequently, the Art Nouveau period in England is so significantly influenced by the Arts and Crafts traditions of William Morris that it is difficult to perceive a considerable difference in style, unlike the flourishing market on the continent. Nonetheless, the increased use of naturalistic form and free flowing lines does demarcate a change in inspiration; however slight.

In contrast, the style identified as Art Deco attained its peak in the interval between the two World Wars. It followed almost directly after the Art Nouveau period and worked as an unequivocal veer away from the natural, complex floral forms to modernised, clean angular lines. Following the seminal Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels (1925) in Paris, from which the style would acquire its name, it went on to become the first genuinely 20^th century design.

Indeed, the advent of Art Deco signified the arrival of the first all-encompassing fashion that could be adopted regardless of budget. In addition, the advances in new technological communication resulted in an almost uniform, quickly spreading style in direct contrast to the distinct regionality and exclusivity of the Art Nouveau designs.

Moreover, in further contrast to the Art Nouveau Movement, Art Deco was the essence of modernity. Although earlier styles were modified for contemporary use, the Art Deco approach was not dependant on revival or the need to explore historical aspects of design to qualify itself. Art Deco was a volte-face away from a ‘diseased society that had chosen to massacre its youth across the battlefields of the Somme’[1] to something that was pure, primal and preferably non-European.

However, the impact of the rapid mechanisation of the war years should not be underestimated as an influence on the production techniques, the adoption of new materials and machine based design-styles it invoked. Now, the patterns on tea services echoed the shape of an aeroplane wing and new bakelite radios imitated car radiator grills in an attempt to emphasise the desire to look towards the future via new technology.

For the purposes of this essay, the Art Deco furniture and design qualities studied for a direct comparison will be English. Although there was no substantial regional variations within Art Deco designs, retaining the focus on English furniture means that ‘like is being compared with like’.

In England, Art Deco signified the ‘furniture of reason’ and was embodied completely in the designer Gordon Russel (born 1892). Despite being accustomed to the repair of antique furniture and rural traditional techniques, he quickly developed an eye for form. Russel’s work was then exhibited in the influential 1925 exhibition in Paris, where it won a gold medal for its simplicity – in direct contrast to the unadulterated luxury of the other interiors on show.

In the early Thirties, Russel was joined by his architect son R. D. Russel and machinery was subsequently introduced to the manufacturing process with designs being modified for the mass market. Outlines were simplified and made increasingly geometric and therefore, quite logically, the pieces that were produced became far more modern in their characteristics.

Accordingly, although Art Deco defended the value of craftsmanship, it recognised, accepted and benefited greatly from the advancements in manufacturing. As a result, while Art Nouveau could be intense, multifaceted and congested, Art Deco was fresh and clean. The designs were also flexible enough to adapt in a period of unparalleled change.

 Hannah Clayton Atkin

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[1] Van De Lemme, A (1996) Art Deco An Illustrated Guide to the Decorative Style p32.

The Big Working Bee

Big Working Bee

Our museum complex will be closed to the public from 17th-23rd May 2010 for a big clean and reorganisation of the displays. Please show your support by joining in. It will be on every day during the week so most members should be able to spare some time - it doesn't matter how little, it all helps. The week will culminate with a Sausage Sizzle on Sunday 23rd May.

As part of the Big Working Bee, Hannah our Curator will be giving a training session on caring for historical artefacts. This will last for approx. 2 hours from 10am on Tuesday 18th May. If you have any particular items that you would be interested in learning how to care for, please contact the Curator via our website.

To take part in our Big Working Bee, you must become a member of the Brisbane Water Historical Society. Click HERE for details on becoming a member.