Early Newcastle

Frederic Terry came to Australia from England with his elder brother Alexander in 1852. Failing as gold prospectors in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Alexander returned to England while Frederic established himself as a painter of topographical watercolours in and around Sydney and Newcastle. Commissioned by the Sydney publisher John Sands, Terry produced a series of drawings which were engraved and issued in 1854-55 as 'The Australian keepsake' (it is not Terry's name that appears on these engravings, but mistakenly 'Fleury').

The Gallery's watercolour depicts Newcastle, including Nobby's Point, as a thriving port and city. On the left is Christ Church (now the cathedral). The pair of two-storey buildings on the right were erected as Army Barracks in 1849 and later used as a women's reformatory and mental hospital. A number of ships are depicted in port, emphasizing Newcastle's importance on Australia's eastern coast. In the foreground are various figures, including an artist erecting an umbrella alongside his easel, stool and palette - perhaps a self portrait? The painting on the easel (also of Newcastle with Nobby's Head in the distance) mirrors the Gallery's watercolour.

excerpt from Hendrik Kolenberg, Anne Ryan and Patricia James, '19th century Australian watercolours, drawings & pastels in the Gallery's collection', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2005