Collett's views of the Illawarra and other places early 1850s

August 20, 2022

1. Introduction

In August 2022 a leather folio of seventeen watercolours by English artist William R. Collett was offered fro sale by Gibson's Auctions, Armidale. The works were views of New South Wales, with a focus on the Illawarra region.

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2. Biography

According to his Wikipedia entry, William Rickford Collett (1810–1882) was a British mine owner and Conservative politician. Collett was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Lincoln at the 1841 general election and held the seat until 1847 when he stood for election but was defeated. He was born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, in 1810. In the 1837 United Kingdom general election, he unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for Boston in Lincolnshire. Between 1841 and 1847 he served as the Member of Parliament for Lincoln. In the early 1850s, Collett moved to New South Wales, becoming a director of the Australian Mutual Mining Association. In 1854, he was appointed the Commissioner for Roads for the colony, undertaking surveying work on the Northern Road between Morpeth and Murrurundi. In March 1864, Collett moved to New Zealand, becoming the Chief Superintendent of Roads and Bridges. In this role, he facilitated the construction of rail south of Pōkeno, connecting the Mangatāwhiri River south to Meremere, and preparing the initial designs of the Panmure Bridge in Auckland. Collett was declared insolvent due to financial difficulties in 1866, due to the foreclosure of a gold mining venture at Denison Town, New South Wales which he had financed. He returned to the British Isles, contesting a seat for the Conservative Party for the 1869 Tipperary by-election, however was unsuccessful, receiving only 12 votes. Collett died in 1882, and was buried at Deans Grange Cemetery in Dublin.

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3. Views of N.S.W.

As noted above, the folio contained seventeen watercolour landscape views, with figures. The following image on the auction sale website included all the works within the folio. Nine of the images were reproduced in large scale, the remainder are illustrated below expanded from the composite image.

17 watercolour views.

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4. Wollongong views

Collett's collection includes six images from the Illawarra region of New South Wales, located on the coast approximately fifty miles / eighty kilometres south of Sydney.

1. Illawarra Lake, N.S.W.

2. Wollongong.

The above image is taken looking east on Wollongong Point, at the area known as the Women's Baths. This secluded area on the north-eastern side of the point was chained off and used for bathing from the 1830s onwards. A small wooden cabin - ?changing shed - can be seen on the right. In the middle foreground is a figure which could be a woman with an umbrella to protect her from the sun. The work is inscribed by the artist 'Wollongong' in pen on the upper left corner.

3. Wollongong.

View looking north along the Illawarra coastline.

4. Wollongong.

View looking north towards Wollongong Point, with the beach in the left and foreground. A small fishing boat is seen in the middle distance to the right.

5. Mt. Kembla, Illawarra.

View from Mount Keira looking south towards Mount Kembla. Not the cabbage tree palm in the left foreground, next to a tall eucalyptus tree. This was possibly taken on the road leading into and out of the Illawarra and reveals the steepness of the mountainous escarpment.

6. Wollongong.

View of Wollongong harbour looking south. Pulpit Rock can be seen on the left extension of Wollongong Point. A flag staff is located on the highest part of the point, whilst to the right can be seen some buildings associated with the harbour and a sailing vessel at anchor.

7. Junction of the Bargo and Cataract Rivers, N.S.W.

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5. Turon River goldfield

Two works are identified as of the Turon River near Sofala in western New South Wales. This was the site of one of the earliest Australian gold rushes in 1851.