Laying Stones
Portrait of a Prince
 |
Portrait of a Prince
Click to Enlarge
Size: 30 KB |
On the 4 April 1868 Prince Alfred, The Duke of Edinburgh attended
his first public outing following the attempted assassination at
Clontarf two months earlier. His visit as guest of Mayor Charles
Moore to lay the foundation stone for the first stage of the town
hall building, had been intended as a quiet one - however a huge
crowd turned out to wish him well. To commemorate the event, Henry
Parkes commissioned well known artist Eugene Montagu Scott to paint
a life size portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh. Prince
Alfred sat for an hour at Government House while Scott made sketches
for his intended portrait. Details of his naval uniform, medals,
sword, and hat were photographed and sent to Scott's studio to copy.
The portrait, which hung in the NSW Legislative Assembly, was transferred
to The Australian Museum where the trustees decided it would be more
appropriately display in Sydney Town Hall. Scott, who had worked
as an illustrator, cartoonist and photographer in London, was subsequently
commissioned by decorators, Lyon and Cottier to paint an allegorical
studio painting entitled Asia in the main transept of the
Garden Palace building for the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition.
(Image: Portrait of HRH Prince Alfred,
The Duke of Edinburgh, by Montagu Scott, 1868, STHC 88-269)
A time capsule for the Town Hall
The first stage
of Sydney Town Hall took over ten years to complete. In this
view
by William Cooper, dated 1887, the front part of the building,
including the Vestibule and Clocktower have been completed,
but there is no sign of the Centennial Hall which was well
under construction by this date. Buried in the first stage
is a glass container containing a copy of the Sydney
Morning Herald of that day, a specimen of the then current
coinage and a parchment inscribed with the names of the participants
of the official proceedings, including Mayor Alfred Parker.
The illustration shows the imposing stone gate piers and
wrought iron railing fence which were removed in 1934 along
with the porte-cochere to create a new entrance.
The remodelled
entrance was opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester on 22 November
1934. Henry, Duke of Gloucester, son of King George V and
his wife, Princess Mary of Teck, later served as Governor
General of Australia from 1945 to 1947.
(Images: Town Hall, 1887, watercolour by William Cooper.
STHC 88-727)
|
Click to Enlarge
Size: 98 KB
|
Duly laid
Engraved with the
inscription "Presented to the Worshipful Mayor of Sydney
Walter Renny Esquire by the Exhibition Committee of the Agricultural
Society of N(ew)S(outh) Wales on the occasion of the laying
of the foundation stone of the Exhibition Building, Prince
Alfred Park, March 9 1870", this trowel and
gavel were made by French immigrant silversmith Hippolyte
Delarue.
The building, which was designed to hold agricultural shows
for the Agricultural Society's annual exhibitions,
was a popular venue for balls and musical concerts and housed
the Australian War Museum. It was demolished in 1954 to
make way for the Prince Alfred Olympic swimming pool.
Ceremonial trowels were presented to dignitaries to spread
the first layer of cement onto which a commemorative stone
was laid. After the stone was adjusted, using a plumb, level
and mallet, the stone would be declared "duly laid".
(Image: Ceremonial trowel and
mallet used by Mayor Walter Renny, Prince Alfred Exhibition
Building,
1870, STHC 88-181/174)
|
Click to Enlarge
Size: 41 KB
Click to Enlarge
Size: 28 KB
|
|
