11_RESEARCH

Part B

Searching for Ships

Concept of Captain Hook’s ship flying in the night sky by Mary Blair,

ca.1953, gouache, 7.38 x 8.25 in (18.73 x 20.96 cm); Courtesy of Ron and Diane Miller.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/the-world-of-mary-blair_n_5003658#gallery/342214/4

…”All on board, the crew, the convicts, the four passengers, had endured an experience of utter isolation; they had survived, and were now trying to forget it. The weather, almost from the time of leaving the Cape, had been vile. They headed directly south, nearing the Antarctic Circle, then steering a course sharply east to round the promontory of Van Diemen’s Land. Few of them escaped sickness; they were all cold, suffering in this last sting of the Southern winter. Supplies of fresh food were consumed too rapidly, and they faced the deadly round of meals of salt pork. The livestock fared badly; some of it died.”

~ Sara Dane (1954) by Catherine Gaskin

The beautiful full-rigged sailing ships of picture books and models captured my imagination as a young child. However, as I was a keen reader, stories of Australia’s early settlers and of the transportation of convicts allowed me to soon realise that the reality of voyages on these vessels was far from the realm of fairytales.

My interest in tall ships was reinforced as I began to think about the fact that some of my relatives had probably travelled out to Australia on one of them. By the 1980s I had a focussed goal of tracking all the names of the ships that were linked to those of my ancestors who came to Australia from abroad. (This task encompassed both my maternal and paternal line). When I expanded the research to include my husband’s ancestors there were a lot of ships to locate!

In 2016, to my utter delight, the image below showed up in my Facebook feed. Not only was the paper artist’s work absolutely exquisite, but the photo made me laugh happily at myself. It mirrored something of the joyous impracticality of having a passion that results in having tall ships on your mind for decades!

The St George in: ‘Alexander Fraser and his descendants 1810 -1990’ by Bryan Frazer

From Wikimedia Commons

…”Passions are often confused with hobbies, but there is a critical difference. A hobby is “a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.” Passions, on the other hand, are not relaxing. Passions don’t leave you alone. Passions insert themselves into your life whether you have time for them or not.

Passions soothe you and drive you crazy at the same time.” ~ Jenika McDavitt http://bit.ly/2uwj3pV

Paper artist: Asya Kozina

Photo: Anastasia Andreeva

https://www.behance.net/gallery/31246849/Baroque-paper-wigs

https://www.facebook.com/kozina.asya/

RESEARCH Part A.