Benjamin Wharton

Within the inner-city suburb of Balmain across the harbour from Sydney’s CBD lies the remnants of Australia’s first dry dock built in 1855.  Scattered throughout the peninsula are surrounding elements of the maritime community that supported the ship building industry.  This thesis explores the cultural landscape of Balmain’s maritime community in its heyday from 1860 to 1910, and as a consequence of investigation presents Balmain as a case study for identifying and understanding a ‘maritime community landscape’ and answer the research question:
What does a cultural landscape of a maritime community look like, and how is it identified in the archaeological record of the physical and cognitive landscapes? This thesis demonstrated that beyond the study of individual sites such as a dock, there exists the potential to locate auxiliary components that not only contributed to the industrial capabilities of the area but also served the community.  By the investigation of archaeological signatures and cultural markers that demonstrated a maritime orientation, various structures, spatial patterns in development, and ways in which the natural environment was utilised and modified to suit maritime purposes were identified and interpreted holistically within the physical and cognitive landscapes.

In March 1903, the Deputy Grand Master of New South Wales, Right Worshipful Brother John Burt Trivett, read an address titled: 'A Short History of Lodge Fidelity,' regarding the history of one of the oldest Lodges in New South Wales - Lodge Fidelity - at their Diamond Jubilee Anniversary marking sixty years. It is a valuable historical document that provides a perspective of nineteenth century Freemasonry in Sydney, New South Wales, prior to the unification of Constitutions in 1888. Through his examination and interpretation of the early minutes, Trivett provides an insight into the various happenings, customs, and events of Lodge Fidelity as an Irish Lodge, and of the Irish Constitution in colonial-era Sydney. This publication is the complete transcription of the address with additional footnote information drawn from an accumulation of a greater body of research regarding the Lodge’s history. The research process has explored beyond Masonic history and delved into the realm of social and genealogical history to gain a greater understanding of our Masonic forefathers and colonial Freemasonry in New South Wales.

This site analysis explores the archaeological potential to locate the remains of a nineteenth century shipyard identified in Wharton's thesis 'Changing Tides: A Cultural Landscape study of the maritime community in Balmain, New South Wales 1860-1910.' The shipyard can be seen in a photograph dated c.1872 which shows a cutter-style hull set on a gravitationally launched longitudinal slipway with simple shoring. Thesis research carried out on shipbuilders of Balmain for the period of 1860 to 1910 was not able to identify the shipwright or shipyard as a commercial operation in this location in the historical record. The area in the photograph has since been reclaimed in
the late twentieth century and converted into public parkland. Therefore, there is potential that the remains of this yard, and related surrounding structures, remain within the reclamation.

This report details the recording of a Lt Rodger’s Small Palm anchor discovered on the Yurrulbin Point foreshore of the Parramatta River, Birchgrove, New South Wales, Australia.
The aims of this report are to record the anchor and identify its type and function. It also aims to provide a context of historical background with regard to the maritime history of Yurulbin Point, formerly known as Longnose Point. Within the historical context, the anchor will be assessed for significance in accordance with the NSW Heritage Act 1977, and methods of conservation to preserve it will be explored.

This paper examines the issues that are involved in the study of Jacobite drinking glasses to gain an understanding of the esoteric nature of the Jacobite movement, and points out the difficulties that are involved in the study of a subject that has little documentary evidence for illuminating contemporary understanding. The specially crafted drinking glasses used by the Jacobites during eighteenth-century Britain are useful for illuminating the movement’s esoteric nature in three ways. Firstly, the significance of the glasses’ survival to the present day will be considered in relation to their secretive nature. Secondly, the symbolic design of the glasses will be examined in terms of the esoteric nature of the movement and to gain an understanding of the ideals and modes of recognition that were being communicated. Thirdly, the glasses’ contribution to the range of Jacobite cultural remains will be explored to gain a greater understanding of the workings of their society. In contrast to the usefulness the glasses may provide, the secrecy involved in the designs hinders interpretation. Other contemporary sources will be examined to cross reference interpretations, which, together will further illuminate the esoteric nature of the Jacobite movement.

This paper examines the issues surrounding the practice of crimping sailors in Sydney during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.  The extent to which the practice was carried out in Sydney is explored with regard to its geographical span, temporal duration, and the demographic extent of those who were crimped. Reasons why crimping happened and what issues contributed to its decline is also explored.

This report is a preliminary analysis of the phases of development for the collective sites of property numbers 85, to 107 (inclusive) Louisa Road, Birchgrove, New South Wales, for the period 1889 to 2013. The focus of the project is on the change of maritime infrastructure and the shift in utilisation of the waterfront for residential purposes. The collective sites were selected due to a recent demolition of what remained of the area’s former maritime cultural landscape. The aims of the project are to analyse: the change of maritime infrastructure within industrial and residential contexts of boom and decline; the changing nature of site use; and the rate of development. The results from the analysis of the collective sites’ phases of development contributes to a greater understanding of how maritime cultural landscapes have been altered to meet the demands of broader cultural changes within their own locality and surrounding areas.