Artworks

John Rae takes a swipe

John Rae takes a swipe
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In 1956 Gertrude Rae produced a posthumous plaster bust of John Rae who, as a former commissioner for railways and chairman of the tender board for public works, had a distinguished career as a public servant in Sydney during the 19th century. In his spare time, he penned poetry, including a semi-comic poem about the refusal of residents of Lyon's terrace, one of Sydney's grandest residential addresses at the time, to attend the first mayoral fancy dress ball given by Mayor James Wilshire at the Victoria Theatre in 1844:

Loud laughed with scorn, at these vagaries
The magnates of a certain terrace;
A terrace which far surpasses
The humbler dwellings of the masses;
A terrace which from ground to attic, is thoroughly aristocratic;
And tenanted by men of rank
(Vide their balance at bank,)
All pure merinos, trained to keep
Their distance from your coarse wooled sheep.

(Image: Plaster bust of John Rae (1813-1900) by Gertrude Rae, 1956 STHC 89-090)

Not another boring meeting

John Rae served as Sydney's first full time town clerk between 1843 and 1853, and his position required him to be secretary, administrator and chief adviser to the council. He also acted as legal officer, pioneering the interpretation of the City of Sydney Municipal Incorporation Act and the framing of council by-laws and regulations. The Australian Dictionary of Biography records that Rae painted for his own pleasure and that his work revealed a quiet sense of humour. Perhaps during a tedious council meeting he found time to sketch.

(Image: Council Minute Book: Proceedings of Council, 24 June 1852 , ink sketches by John Rae, Town Clerk (1843-1853) by John Rae, Town Clerk (1843-1853))

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From Melbourne to Calcutta

John Rae was a talented amateur artist whose sketches of Sydney were among artworks exhibited in international exhibitions in Melbourne and Calcutta and are among some of the most important views of mid 19th century Sydney. He produced images using a sketching camera which he then coloured by hand. This view across Hyde Park to Lyons Terrace (on Liverpool Street, Sydney, now demolished) was among a set which Rae gave to his friend and successor at council, Charles Woolcott.

(Image: Hyde Park looking across to Lyons Terrace, hand coloured photographic print by John Rae, 1842 STHC 88-124)

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44 years of service

Charles Woolcott joined the Municipal Council as a clerk to the city treasurer in 1843. He held various positions, including draughtsman to the city surveyor and secretary to the Mayor before becoming assistant town clerk to John Rae. After serving as secretary to the City Commissioners from 1853, he became town clerk in 1857. After serving a record of 44 years, he resigned in March 1887.

(Image: Charles Woolcott Town Clerk 1857-1887 STHC 88-753)

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Capturing the castle

Like John Rae, Charles Woolcott was a talented amateur artist. His watercolour of Kenilworth Castle was among a gift of 28 artworks presented to Lord Mayor Samuel E Lees in 1904 to form the nucleus of an art collection to hang in Sydney Town Hall. The collection includes works by Australian artists, including J R Ashton, W Lister Lister, J H Carse, and J Swinton Diston; and English and European landscapes, castles and churches.

(Image: Kenilworth Castle, watercolour, by C H Woolcott STHC 88-710)

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Beside the sea

Charles Woolcott lived in Ivy Cliff an impressive two-storey marine villa in the picturesque Gothic style, built in the 1840s at Waverton. From there he rowed daily across the harbour to attend his duties at council. Woolcott counted among his friends members of the Sydney Art School of which Ashton was a founding member. The school, which became an influential teaching centre, attracted artists such as George Lambert, Sydney Long and John Passmore.

(Image: Fishing in the River by Julian Rossi Ashton, watercolour, 1883 STH 88-457)

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