Shipping, wharves & ports

Boys in nautical uniforms sit a long benches on the top deck of a ship and a man at a blackboard stands in the centre near the mast
On This Day

20 May 1867 - Vernon nautical school admissions

On 20 May 1867 applications for admission to the nautical school-ship, the Vernon, commenced. The Vernon was purchased by the Colonial Secretary in January 1867 & moored in Sydney Harbour

1870 view of Darling Harbour

Darling Harbour: Through the Lens

A brief history of the transformation of Darling Harbour

painting of the factories or hongs south-west of the city walls of Canton (Guangzhou) which were a means by which the Chinese imperial government sought to regulate contact with the western nations eager to trade to China

Eastern influences on colonial dining

Two intricately painted and monogrammed china plates that were once part of a large dessert service made for the table of John and Elizabeth Macarthur, are testimony to an adventurous spirit in early colonial Sydney

'Lady Hopetoun' docked at Commissioners Steps in front of the Sydney Harbour Trust building

Maritime Services Board

A sample of the 4000+ digitised glass plate negatives from the Maritime Services Board

Black and white photo showing wharf, horses and drays, Cowper Wharf Road

Maritime Services Board images

Dive into the Maritime Services Board images and see how you can find them

This is a pencil drawing of a ship moored near a headland

The splendid clipper 'Sobraon'

The forlorn hulk of the HMAS Tingira features in several 1930s drawings of Berrys Bay by celebrated artist Lloyd Rees