Unexpected Opening
Seattle's skyline continues to evolve year after year...after year. This image was captured by means of sheer serendipity. I was on my way home from a photo assignment in the suburbs this same evening, and happened to drive through the Mount Baker neighborhood while en route. The violet clouds above and the silhouetted outline of the Olympic Mountains along the horizon created a pocket of open sky with a predominantly orange hue. The contrast was mesmerizing, so I had to stop Sydney (that's my car's name) and capture the moment before it was gone. Probably the most eye-catching item in the image is the brightly illuminated construction of the city's next skyscraper, The Mark, which will serve as both an office tower and luxury hotel. The Mark will be the 5th tallest building in Seattle upon completion later this year. TIA OFFICIAL WEBSITE / VUE ATYPIQUE / TIA TWITTER / TIA OFFICIAL BLOG / TIA INSTAGRAM
Hawkesbury sandstone
Hawkesbury sandstone at Freshwater Beach. The fern is the Japanese Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum), a weed which populates most of the seaside areas of Sydney. The beach is the first beach north of the more famous beach at Manly. The sandstone is a relic from the triassic. Sedimentary deposits which originated in the western districts of New South Wales, from around the Broken Hill area. The river delta was a huge area, similar to the Nile and Ganges deltas of today. At the time, this entire area was close to the south pole. So say the scientists with the theory of continental drift. The rock is mostly quartz with varying degrees of iron, giving the colours of yellow, orange and red. Wind weathering produces interesting patterns. The rock breaks down to create a most infertile soil. This sandstone is the most often seen rock type in the Sydney area.
Getting To Work
maxgor.com
When The Sun Drops Down || NEPEAN RIVER
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhyspopephotography Twitter: twitter.com/#!/rhyspope So many photos of this place, but at different times of day and at different times of the year, this place blooms new opportunity... Yarramundi is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Yarramundi is located 69 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. The suburb is named after Yarramundi, an Indigenous Australian of the Boorooberongal clan of the Darug people. He was a garadyi or 'doctor' and was called by Europeans 'the chief of the Richmond Tribe'. This area was previously known as Kearns Retreat.
Tumut. The now disused railway station. The branch line from Gundagai reached the town in 1903.
Tumut. The town nestles along the Tumut River, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee which it joins in Gundagai. It begins about 40 kms from Mt Kosciusko in Kosciusko National Park and it has three dam/reservoirs along it as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydroelectric power generation system. Tumut has over 800 mm of rain yearly. Hamilton Hume discovered the Tumut River in 1824 and the first white squatter Benjamin Warby arrived in 1828 at Darbalara although he and the ones who followed him only became licensed leaseholders from 1839. They included George and William Shelley of Been (Tumut Plains) station. Shelley senior was a missionary and they are credited with making sure there were no Aboriginal deaths or massacres near Tumut. More settles arrived in the 1840s when land leasing was legal. A courthouse was established in 1845. The town was laid out in 1848 and a police constable was appointed. But by 1856 few buildings were more than mere slab huts. The first Post Office in 1849 operated from the Courthouse. Like Gundagai the original town site moved up the hill after the 1852 Tumut River floods. In 1860 thousands passed through the small town on their way to the goldfields at Kiandra (1859) in the Snowy Mountains and later to Adelong on the plains. Tumut emerged as a solid town. With gold came bushrangers and Ned Kelly’s brother operated in this district in the 1870s. By 1866 there were eleven hotels in the town and the town population was around 400; in 1887 Tumut became a municipality; and in 1903 the branch railway line from Gundagai reached the town. Dairying and forestry became major district industries in the 20th century and the Tumut River became a major site for hydroelectric power. Blowering Dam was built just above the town with Tumut 1, 2 and 3 power stations on the Tumut River. In autumn the Lombardy Poplars along the Tumut River display great colour. They were planted in 1861. More autumn colour can be found in the Avenue of Elms which leads to the racecourse, thus it is not surprising that Tumut established the Festival of the Falling Leaf in the 1950s. Tumut was one of the many sites considered for the National Capital by a Royal Commission but Canberra was finally selected for that. Tumut was selected by the House of Representatives in 1904 but then replaced by Bombala and then the Senate replaced it with Dalgety. But the NSW parliament refused to cede land around Dalgety so four years later after much politicking a site near Yass was finally approved. All places considered had to have good flat land, a good water supply and be further than 100 miles from Sydney.
Tumut. Worte Cottage. Built around 1890 with red brick walls and yellow brick quoins, a bay window and very decorative barge boards on the gables. Very pretty.
Tumut. The town nestles along the Tumut River, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee which it joins in Gundagai. It begins about 40 kms from Mt Kosciusko in Kosciusko National Park and it has three dam/reservoirs along it as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydroelectric power generation system. Tumut has over 800 mm of rain yearly. Hamilton Hume discovered the Tumut River in 1824 and the first white squatter Benjamin Warby arrived in 1828 at Darbalara although he and the ones who followed him only became licensed leaseholders from 1839. They included George and William Shelley of Been (Tumut Plains) station. Shelley senior was a missionary and they are credited with making sure there were no Aboriginal deaths or massacres near Tumut. More settles arrived in the 1840s when land leasing was legal. A courthouse was established in 1845. The town was laid out in 1848 and a police constable was appointed. But by 1856 few buildings were more than mere slab huts. The first Post Office in 1849 operated from the Courthouse. Like Gundagai the original town site moved up the hill after the 1852 Tumut River floods. In 1860 thousands passed through the small town on their way to the goldfields at Kiandra (1859) in the Snowy Mountains and later to Adelong on the plains. Tumut emerged as a solid town. With gold came bushrangers and Ned Kelly’s brother operated in this district in the 1870s. By 1866 there were eleven hotels in the town and the town population was around 400; in 1887 Tumut became a municipality; and in 1903 the branch railway line from Gundagai reached the town. Dairying and forestry became major district industries in the 20th century and the Tumut River became a major site for hydroelectric power. Blowering Dam was built just above the town with Tumut 1, 2 and 3 power stations on the Tumut River. In autumn the Lombardy Poplars along the Tumut River display great colour. They were planted in 1861. More autumn colour can be found in the Avenue of Elms which leads to the racecourse, thus it is not surprising that Tumut established the Festival of the Falling Leaf in the 1950s. Tumut was one of the many sites considered for the National Capital by a Royal Commission but Canberra was finally selected for that. Tumut was selected by the House of Representatives in 1904 but then replaced by Bombala and then the Senate replaced it with Dalgety. But the NSW parliament refused to cede land around Dalgety so four years later after much politicking a site near Yass was finally approved. All places considered had to have good flat land, a good water supply and be further than 100 miles from Sydney. Worte’s cottage. Polychromatic red brick with yellow brick quoins. Decorative fretwork on barge boards. Pretty bay window. Street facing gable. Built around 1890.
Koala Park
West Pennant Hills - a suburb in the Hills District of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is sad to hear bad news about the park. When we visited in 2013 it was well kept. We did not see any neglect of animals. "The Koala Park Sanctuary was built in the 1920s and opened in October 1930 by the owner Noel Burnet. He established the sanctuary because he was concerned at the large number of koalas being killed for the fur trade, and hunting of the animal would ultimately lead to its extinction. He spent the remainder of his life dedicated to researching and preserving the animals habitat." The park has 10 acres and 24 animal species. In 2010 the park owners were accused of for neglect and abuse of animal's. A court hearing due on February 2, 2016 will determine the fate of the business and the animals it keeps. (Wikipedia)
Tumut. Modern apostles stained glass window in the Tumut Anglican Church. The church opened in 1878.
Tumut. The town nestles along the Tumut River, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee which it joins in Gundagai. It begins about 40 kms from Mt Kosciusko in Kosciusko National Park and it has three dam/reservoirs along it as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydroelectric power generation system. Tumut has over 800 mm of rain yearly. Hamilton Hume discovered the Tumut River in 1824 and the first white squatter Benjamin Warby arrived in 1828 at Darbalara although he and the ones who followed him only became licensed leaseholders from 1839. They included George and William Shelley of Been (Tumut Plains) station. Shelley senior was a missionary and they are credited with making sure there were no Aboriginal deaths or massacres near Tumut. More settles arrived in the 1840s when land leasing was legal. A courthouse was established in 1845. The town was laid out in 1848 and a police constable was appointed. But by 1856 few buildings were more than mere slab huts. The first Post Office in 1849 operated from the Courthouse. Like Gundagai the original town site moved up the hill after the 1852 Tumut River floods. In 1860 thousands passed through the small town on their way to the goldfields at Kiandra (1859) in the Snowy Mountains and later to Adelong on the plains. Tumut emerged as a solid town. With gold came bushrangers and Ned Kelly’s brother operated in this district in the 1870s. By 1866 there were eleven hotels in the town and the town population was around 400; in 1887 Tumut became a municipality; and in 1903 the branch railway line from Gundagai reached the town. Dairying and forestry became major district industries in the 20th century and the Tumut River became a major site for hydroelectric power. Blowering Dam was built just above the town with Tumut 1, 2 and 3 power stations on the Tumut River. In autumn the Lombardy Poplars along the Tumut River display great colour. They were planted in 1861. More autumn colour can be found in the Avenue of Elms which leads to the racecourse, thus it is not surprising that Tumut established the Festival of the Falling Leaf in the 1950s. Tumut was one of the many sites considered for the National Capital by a Royal Commission but Canberra was finally selected for that. Tumut was selected by the House of Representatives in 1904 but then replaced by Bombala and then the Senate replaced it with Dalgety. But the NSW parliament refused to cede land around Dalgety so four years later after much politicking a site near Yass was finally approved. All places considered had to have good flat land, a good water supply and be further than 100 miles from Sydney.
British Columbia / B.C. Postal History - 16 / 17 May 1909 - Vancouver, B.C. to MOUNT TOLMIE, B.C. (split ring / broken circle cancel / postmark)
- from 1908 "Lovell's Gazetteer of the Dominion of Canada" - MOUNT TOLMIE, a post settlement in Nanaimo District, B.C., 3 miles from the city of Victoria, on the Esquimau & Nanaimo and Victoria & Sydney Railways. - from "1909 Waugh Directory of Vancouver Island" - MOUNT TOLMIE - a suburb of Victoria lying to the northwest of the city. The Post Office is on Cedar Hill Road, near the Cross Road. Dairy farming and fruit growing are the main industries. (from - Wrigley's 1918 British Columbia directory) - MOUNT TOLMIE - a post office in the northeast suburbs of Victoria, distant 1 mile from business centre. (from - Wrigley's 1922 British Columbia directory) - MOUNT TOLMIE - a sub post office one mile from Victoria. Norman D. Shaw - Postmaster From - Mount Tolmie District circa 1925. (as remembered by Jack Merrett - January, 2006) - Three small grocery shops serviced the area and occasionally a unique truck brought out groceries from town. I do not remember whose truck it was, either Kirkham's or Copas & Young's. The unique feature was that the truck wheels were chain driven rather than by a drive shaft. Two of the stores were on Cedar Hill Cross Road and the third was in the old stage stop on Cedar Hill Road between Cedar Hill Cross Road and Church Street. It was also the district Post Office as the only part having postal delivery was that adjacent to the street car line. In addition there was a car repair garage and gas pump at the corner of Lansdowne and Shelbourne and a gas pump farther north at Cedar Hill Cross Road at Hunter's store. Adjacent to the store [Hunters] was a butcher shop. Intermittently both barber and shoe repair shops operated in the vicinity of that corner. LINK to the complete article - mtca.ca/Graphics/historyreview.pdf Mount Tolmie Post Office was located on Cedar Hill Road just south of Cedar Hill Cross Road, in the house of Norman Shaw. The Shaws ran the post office until the Rural Route system was established. All the people from the Gordon Head district picked up their mail at Mount Tolmie Post Office. LINK to a photo - Post Master Norman D. Shaw outside Mount Tolmie Post Office - saanich.accesstomemory.org/uploads/r/null/3/f/1/3f10c43c5... The Mount Tolmie Post Office was established - 1 December 1892 - it became Victoria Sub Office Mount Tolmie - 1 June 1946. / MOUNT - TOLMIE / MY 17 / 09 / B.C / - split ring receiver - this split ring hammer was proofed - 16 December 1892 - (RF C). Message on postcard reads - 15 May - Dear Ernest, I received your post card. Thank you - Don't you think this is a pretty place? I was up here about 2 weeks ago. Give my love to the girls. M. Russell Addressed to: Mr. Ernest Fawcett, / Mount Tolmie / Victoria, B.C. Unable to confirm who Ernest Fawcett was - it could have been Albert Edward Fawcett (b. December 1865 - d. 13 March 1942) who lived at 515 Gorge Road in Victoria, B.C. (he was a druggist and than a carpenter) - his wife was Margaret Fawcett and they had several daughters. - sent from - / VANCOUVER / 2 / MAY 16 / 09 / B.C. / - cds cancel
Flat tree (Ficus rubiginosa)
Port Jackson Fig at Port Jackson (Ficus rubiginosa). Battersea Park, Abbotsford, New South Wales. A thin set of roots, hugging the local sandstone. Despite being a park tree, it is likely to be a naturally occurring plant. They often start growing in the cracks of the sandstone as a lithophyte. The Hawkesbury sandstone is commonly seen around Sydney. It formed in the Triassic, and produces soils of poor quality. These sedimentary deposits originated in the western districts of New South Wales, from around the Broken Hill area. Sydney is placed at where a river delta once existed. The river delta was a huge area, similar to the Nile and Ganges deltas of today. At the time, this entire area was close to the south pole. So say the scientists with the theory of continental drift. The rock is mostly quartz with varying degrees of iron, giving the colours of grey, brown, white, yellow, orange and red.
Walpeup. This red brick Catholic Church is now unused and in disrepair. it was completed in 1921 and is the oldest church in the Murrayville to Ouyen districts.
Walpeup. The towns along the railway line from Ouyen to Pinnaroo in South Australia were the first towns in Victoria to follow the railway rather than precede it. To the north of this Wimmera region was the Mallee and scrub lands towards the Murray River which eventually became the Murray-Sunset national park. To the south of this Wimmera region was the Big Desert which also became a national park. The suitable soils and underground water reserves from wells and pumps made about 750,000 acres of cereal lands open for farming. The government sank over 120 bores and wells in this area by 1914. The farmers moved into these lands in 1910 and the railway was extended from Ouyen to Walpeup and westward in 1912 to Murrayville and finally to Pinnaroo in 1915. Like the other towns along the railway line Walpeup and Underbool were settled in 1910 with the last town to be established in 1912 at Murrayville. The first of several general stores opened in Walpeup in 1909 and Matchetts built a red brick store with a curved parapet in 1911. The first school in Walpeup opened in 1911 in a house before moving to a local hall. The state school was built in 1914 with a second weatherboard room added in 1927. A Post Office started operating in 1912 and the Bank of Victoria opened for business in 1918 and the town also had a Commercial Banking of Sydney too. The still used red brick Walpeup Memorial Hall opened in 1923. It is the finest hall in the Ouyen Murrayville districts with a classical façade. It cost over £2,200. A tapestry on the history of the hall was produced in 1989 and the committee found a lost Welcome Home banner made to honour the soldiers who served in World War One. The red brick Catholic Church nearby was constructed in 1921 and it is the oldest solid construction church in the Ouyen to Murrayville area. It is noted for its castellated entry porch and diagonal leadlight windows. The wooden framed Presbyterian Church was put up in 1935 and the wooden framed Methodist Church was erected in 1937 but services had been held in the hall from 1923. The timber framed Methodist Church is now an Anglican – Uniting Church. This amalgamation of churches between the Uniting and Anglican Churches in the Wimmera began in 1994. There is also a quaint wooden framed Lutheran Church in Walpeup which was moved from near Swan Hill to Walpeup in 1973. That Lutheran church was built in 1925 at Sea Lake near Swan Hill. Near Walpeup is the Mallee Agricultural Research Station which was established on around 2,000 acres by the Victorian government in 1932 to address issues of silting, erosion, and crop experimentation for dryland farming. Over the years this centre bred some new varieties of wheat for Australia but the Station closed in 2009.
Banksy in Boston: F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED, Essex St, Chinatown, Boston
Interestingly, both of the Boston area Banksy pieces are on Essex St: • F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED (aka chimney sweep) in Chinatown, Boston • NO LOITRIN in Central Square, Cambridge. Does that mean anything? It looks like he favors Essex named streets & roads when he can. In 2008, he did another notable Essex work in London, for example, and posters on the Banksy Forums picked up & discussed on the Essex link as well. Is there an Essex Street in any of the other nearby towns? It looks like there are several: Brookline, Charlestown, Chelsea, Gloucester, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn, Medford, Melrose, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Swampscott, and Waltham. Most of these seem improbable to me, other than maybe Brookline, or maybe Somerville or Charlestown. But they start getting pretty suburban after that. But, again, why "Essex"? In a comment on this photo, Birbeck helps clarify: I can only surmise that he's having a 'dig' at Essex UK, especially with the misspelling of 'Loitering'. Here, the general view of the urban districts in Essex: working class but with right wing views; that they're not the most intellectual bunch; rather obsessed with fashion (well, their idea of it); their place of worship is the shopping mall; enjoy rowdy nights out; girls are thought of as being dumb, fake blonde hair/tans and promiscuous; and guys are good at the 'chit chat', and swagger around showing off their dosh (money). It was also the region that once had Europe's largest Ford motor factory. In its heyday, 1 in 3 British cars were made in Dagenham, Essex. Pay was good for such unskilled labour, generations worked mind-numbing routines on assembly lines for 80 years. In 2002 the recession ended the dream. • • • • • • Meredith Goldsten of the Boston Globe wrote to me on Facebook and asked for permission to run one of my Banksy photos in the newspaper, which I granted. Supposedly, this photo or one of the others I took appeared in the Globe on 15 May 2010, but I haven't been able to find it. The online version of that day's article, titled Tag — we’re it: Banksy, the controversial and elusive street artist, left his mark here. Or did he? uses a photo taken by "Essdras M. Suarez / Globe Staff". If I can find a copy of that day's paper and verify that one of my Banksy photos was in there, I'll scan the page & post a copy here 🙂 • This photo appeared on Grafitti - A arte das ruas on Yahoo Meme. Yes, Yahoo has a Tumblr/Posterous-esque "Meme" service now -- I was as surprised as you are. • This photo also appeared on Love Your Chaos on Tumblr, among other blogs. Thanks! • • • • • Banksy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Banksy • Birth name Unknown • Born 1974 or 1975 (1974 or 1975), Bristol, UK[1] • Nationality British • Field Graffiti Street Art Bristol underground scene Sculpture • Movement Anti-Totalitarianism Anti-capitalism Pacifism Anti-War Anarchism Atheism Anti-Fascism • Works Naked Man Image One Nation Under CCTV Anarchist Rat Ozone's Angel Pulp Fiction Banksy is a pseudonymous[2][3][4] British graffiti artist. He is believed to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire, near Bristol[2] and to have been born in 1974,[5] but his identity is unknown.[6] According to Tristan Manco[who?], Banksy "was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s."[7] His artworks are often satirical pieces of art on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His street art, which combines graffiti writing with a distinctive stencilling technique, is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and members of the anarcho-punk band Crass who maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His art has appeared in cities around the world.[8] Banksy's work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti.[9] Art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder.[10] Banksy's first film, Exit Through The Gift Shop, billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie", made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.[11] The film was released in the UK on March 5.[12] Contents • 1 Career •• 1.1 2000 •• 1.2 2002 •• 1.3 2003 •• 1.4 2004 •• 1.5 2005 •• 1.6 2006 •• 1.7 2007 •• 1.8 2008 •• 1.9 2009 •• 1.10 2010 • 2 Notable art pieces • 3 Technique • 4 Identity • 5 Controversy • 6 Bibliography • 7 References • 8 External links Career Banksy started as a freehand graffiti artist 1992–1994[14] as one of Bristol's DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ), with Kato and Tes.[15] He was inspired by local artists and his work was part of the larger Bristol underground scene. From the start he used stencils as elements of his freehand pieces, too.[14] By 2000 he had turned to the art of stencilling after realising how much less time it took to complete a piece. He claims he changed to stencilling whilst he was hiding from the police under a train carriage, when he noticed the stencilled serial number[16] and by employing this technique, he soon became more widely noticed for his art around Bristol and London.[16] Stencil on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol - (wider view). The image of Death is based on a 19th century etching illustrating the pestilence of The Great Stink.[17] Banksy's stencils feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, monkeys, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly. In late 2001, on a trip to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, he met up with the Gen-X pastellist, visual activist, and recluse James DeWeaver in Byron Bay[clarification needed], where he stencilled a parachuting rat with a clothes peg on its nose above a toilet at the Arts Factory Lodge. This stencil can no longer be located. He also makes stickers (the Neighbourhood Watch subvert) and sculpture (the murdered phone-box), and was responsible for the cover art of Blur's 2003 album Think Tank. 2000 The album cover for Monk & Canatella's Do Community Service was conceived and illustrated by Banksy, based on his contribution to the "Walls on fire" event in Bristol 1998.[18][citation needed] 2002 On 19 July 2002, Banksy's first Los Angeles exhibition debuted at 33 1/3 Gallery, a small Silverlake venue owned by Frank Sosa. The exhibition, entitled Existencilism, was curated by 33 1/3 Gallery, Malathion, Funk Lazy Promotions, and B+.[19] 2003 In 2003 in an exhibition called Turf War, held in a warehouse, Banksy painted on animals. Although the RSPCA declared the conditions suitable, an animal rights activist chained herself to the railings in protest.[20] He later moved on to producing subverted paintings; one example is Monet's Water Lily Pond, adapted to include urban detritus such as litter and a shopping trolley floating in its reflective waters; another is Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, redrawn to show that the characters are looking at a British football hooligan, dressed only in his Union Flag underpants, who has just thrown an object through the glass window of the cafe. These oil paintings were shown at a twelve-day exhibition in Westbourne Grove, London in 2005.[21] 2004 In August 2004, Banksy produced a quantity of spoof British £10 notes substituting the picture of the Queen's head with Princess Diana's head and changing the text "Bank of England" to "Banksy of England." Someone threw a large wad of these into a crowd at Notting Hill Carnival that year, which some recipients then tried to spend in local shops. These notes were also given with invitations to a Santa's Ghetto exhibition by Pictures on Walls. The individual notes have since been selling on eBay for about £200 each. A wad of the notes were also thrown over a fence and into the crowd near the NME signing tent at The Reading Festival. A limited run of 50 signed posters containing ten uncut notes were also produced and sold by Pictures on Walls for £100 each to commemorate the death of Princess Diana. One of these sold in October 2007 at Bonhams auction house in London for £24,000. 2005 In August 2005, Banksy, on a trip to the Palestinian territories, created nine images on Israel's highly controversial West Bank barrier. He reportedly said "The Israeli government is building a wall surrounding the occupied Palestinian territories. It stands three times the height of the Berlin Wall and will eventually run for over 700km—the distance from London to Zurich. "[22] 2006 • Banksy held an exhibition called Barely Legal, billed as a "three day vandalised warehouse extravaganza" in Los Angeles, on the weekend of 16 September. The exhibition featured a live "elephant in a room", painted in a pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern.[23] • After Christina Aguilera bought an original of Queen Victoria as a lesbian and two prints for £25,000,[24] on 19 October 2006 a set of Kate Moss paintings sold in Sotheby's London for £50,400, setting an auction record for Banksy's work. The six silk-screen prints, featuring the model painted in the style of Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe pictures, sold for five times their estimated value. His stencil of a green Mona Lisa with real paint dripping from her eyes sold for £57,600 at the same auction.[25] • In December, journalist Max Foster coined the phrase, "the Banksy Effect", to illustrate how interest in other street artists was growing on the back of Banksy's success.[26] 2007 • On 21 February 2007, Sotheby's auction house in London auctioned three works, reaching the highest ever price for a Banksy work at auction: over £102,000 for his Bombing Middle England. Two of his other graffiti works, Balloon Girl and Bomb Hugger, sold for £37,200 and £31,200 respectively, which were well above their estimated prices.[27] The following day's auction saw a further three Banksy works reach soaring prices: Ballerina With Action Man Parts reached £96,000; Glory sold for £72,000; Untitled (2004) sold for £33,600; all significantly above estimated values.[28] To coincide with the second day of auctions, Banksy updated his website with a new image of an auction house scene showing people bidding on a picture that said, "I Can't Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Shit."[6] • In February 2007, the owners of a house with a Banksy mural on the side in Bristol decided to sell the house through Red Propeller art gallery after offers fell through because the prospective buyers wanted to remove the mural. It is listed as a mural which comes with a house attached.[29] • In April 2007, Transport for London painted over Banksy's iconic image of a scene from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, with Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta clutching bananas instead of guns. Although the image was very popular, Transport for London claimed that the "graffiti" created "a general atmosphere of neglect and social decay which in turn encourages crime" and their staff are "professional cleaners not professional art critics".[30] Banksy tagged the same site again (pictured at right). This time the actors were portrayed as holding real guns instead of bananas, but they were adorned with banana costumes. Banksy made a tribute art piece over this second Pulp Fiction piece. The tribute was for 19-year-old British graffiti artist Ozone, who was hit by an underground train in Barking, East London, along with fellow artist Wants, on 12 January 2007.[31] The piece was of an angel wearing a bullet-proof vest, holding a skull. He also wrote a note on his website, saying: The last time I hit this spot I painted a crap picture of two men in banana costumes waving hand guns. A few weeks later a writer called Ozone completely dogged it and then wrote 'If it's better next time I'll leave it' in the bottom corner. When we lost Ozone we lost a fearless graffiti writer and as it turns out a pretty perceptive art critic. Ozone - rest in peace.[citation needed] Ozone's Angel • On 27 April 2007, a new record high for the sale of Banksy's work was set with the auction of the work Space Girl & Bird fetching £288,000 (US$576,000), around 20 times the estimate at Bonhams of London.[32] • On 21 May 2007 Banksy gained the award for Art's Greatest living Briton. Banksy, as expected, did not turn up to collect his award, and continued with his notoriously anonymous status. • On 4 June 2007, it was reported that Banksy's The Drinker had been stolen.[33][34] • In October 2007, most of his works offered for sale at Bonhams auction house in London sold for more than twice their reserve price.[35] • Banksy has published a "manifesto" on his website.[36] The text of the manifesto is credited as the diary entry of one Lieutenant Colonel Mervin Willett Gonin, DSO, which is exhibited in the Imperial War Museum. It describes how a shipment of lipstick to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp immediately after its liberation at the end of World War II helped the internees regain their humanity. However, as of 18 January 2008, Banksy's Manifesto has been substituted with Graffiti Heroes #03 that describes Peter Chappell's graffiti quest of the 1970s that worked to free George Davis of his imprisonment.[37] By 12 August 2009 he was relying on Emo Phillips' "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness." • A small number of Banksy's works can be seen in the movie Children of Men, including a stenciled image of two policemen kissing and another stencil of a child looking down a shop. • In the 2007 film Shoot 'Em Up starring Clive Owen, Banksy's tag can be seen on a dumpster in the film's credits. • Banksy, who deals mostly with Lazarides Gallery in London, claims that the exhibition at Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York (his first major exhibition in that city) is unauthorised. The exhibition featured 62 of his paintings and prints.[38] 2008 • In March, a stencilled graffiti work appeared on Thames Water tower in the middle of the Holland Park roundabout, and it was widely attributed to Banksy. It was of a child painting the tag "Take this Society" in bright orange. London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham spokesman, Councillor Greg Smith branded the art as vandalism, and ordered its immediate removal, which was carried out by H&F council workmen within three days.[39] • Over the weekend 3–5 May in London, Banksy hosted an exhibition called The Cans Festival. It was situated on Leake Street, a road tunnel formerly used by Eurostar underneath London Waterloo station. Graffiti artists with stencils were invited to join in and paint their own artwork, as long as it didn't cover anyone else's.[40] Artists included Blek le Rat, Broken Crow, C215, Cartrain, Dolk, Dotmasters, J.Glover, Eine, Eelus, Hero, Pure evil, Jef Aérosol, Mr Brainwash, Tom Civil and Roadsworth.[citation needed] • In late August 2008, marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the associated levee failure disaster, Banksy produced a series of works in New Orleans, Louisiana, mostly on buildings derelict since the disaster.[41] • A stencil painting attributed to Banksy appeared at a vacant petrol station in the Ensley neighbourhood of Birmingham, Alabama on 29 August as Hurricane Gustav approached the New Orleans area. The painting depicting a hooded member of the Ku Klux Klan hanging from a noose was quickly covered with black spray paint and later removed altogether.[42] • His first official exhibition in New York, the "Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill," opened 5 October 2008. The animatronic pets in the store window include a mother hen watching over her baby Chicken McNuggets as they peck at a barbecue sauce packet, and a rabbit putting makeup on in a mirror.[43] • The Westminster City Council stated in October 2008 that the work "One Nation Under CCTV", painted in April 2008 will be painted over as it is graffiti. The council says it will remove any graffiti, regardless of the reputation of its creator, and specifically stated that Banksy "has no more right to paint graffiti than a child". Robert Davis, the chairman of the council planning committee told The Times newspaper: "If we condone this then we might as well say that any kid with a spray can is producing art". [44] The work was painted over in April 2009. • In December 2008, The Little Diver, a Banksy image of a diver in a duffle coat in Melbourne Australia was vandalised. The image was protected by a sheet of clear perspex, however silver paint was poured behind the protective sheet and later tagged with the words "Banksy woz ere". The image was almost completely destroyed.[45]. 2009 • May 2009, parts company with agent Steve Lazarides. Announces Pest Control [46] the handling service who act on his behalf will be the only point of sale for new works. • On 13 June 2009, the Banksy UK Summer show opened at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, featuring more than 100 works of art, including animatronics and installations; it is his largest exhibition yet, featuring 78 new works.[47][48] Reaction to the show was positive, with over 8,500 visitors to the show on the first weekend.[49] Over the course of the twelve weeks, the exhibition has been visited over 300,000 times.[50] • In September 2009, a Banksy work parodying the Royal Family was partially destroyed by Hackney Council after they served an enforcement notice for graffiti removal to the former address of the property owner. The mural had been commissioned for the 2003 Blur single "Crazy Beat" and the property owner, who had allowed the piece to be painted, was reported to have been in tears when she saw it was being painted over.[51] • In December 2009, Banksy marked the end of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference by painting four murals on global warming. One included "I don't believe in global warming" which was submerged in water.[52] 2010 • The world premiere of the film Exit Through the Gift Shop occurred at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on 24 January. He created 10 street pieces around Park City and Salt Lake City to tie in with the screening.[53] • In February, The Whitehouse public house in Liverpool, England, is sold for £114,000 at auction.[54] The side of the building has an image of a giant rat by Banksy.[55] • In April 2010, Melbourne City Council in Australia reported that they had inadvertently ordered private contractors to paint over the last remaining Banksy art in the city. The image was of a rat descending in a parachute adorning the wall of an old council building behind the Forum Theatre. In 2008 Vandals had poured paint over a stencil of an old-fashioned diver wearing a trenchcoat. A council spokeswoman has said they would now rush through retrospective permits to protect other “famous or significant artworks” in the city.[56] • In April 2010 to coincide with the premier of Exit through the Gift Shop in San Francisco, 5 of his pieces appeared in various parts of the city.[57] Banksy reportedly paid a Chinatown building owner $50 for the use of their wall for one of his stencils.[58] • In May 2010 to coincide with the release of "Exit Through the Gift Shop" in Chicago, one piece appeared in the city. Notable art pieces In addition to his artwork, Banksy has claimed responsibility for a number of high profile art pieces, including the following: • At London Zoo, he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted "We're bored of fish" in seven foot high letters.[59] • At Bristol Zoo, he left the message 'I want out. This place is too cold. Keeper smells. Boring, boring, boring.' in the elephant enclosure.[60] • In March 2005, he placed subverted artworks in the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.[61] • He put up a subverted painting in London's Tate Britain gallery. • In May 2005 Banksy's version of a primitive cave painting depicting a human figure hunting wildlife whilst pushing a shopping trolley was hung in gallery 49 of the British Museum, London. Upon discovery, they added it to their permanent collection.[62] Near Bethlehem - 2005 • Banksy has sprayed "This is not a photo opportunity" on certain photograph spots. • In August 2005, Banksy painted nine images on the Israeli West Bank barrier, including an image of a ladder going up and over the wall and an image of children digging a hole through the wall.[22][63][64][65] See also: Other Banksy works on the Israeli West Bank barrier • In April 2006, Banksy created a sculpture based on a crumpled red phone box with a pickaxe in its side, apparently bleeding, and placed it in a street in Soho, London. It was later removed by Westminster Council. BT released a press release, which said: "This is a stunning visual comment on BT's transformation from an old-fashioned telecommunications company into a modern communications services provider."[66] • In June 2006, Banksy created an image of a naked man hanging out of a bedroom window on a wall visible from Park Street in central Bristol. The image sparked some controversy, with the Bristol City Council leaving it up to the public to decide whether it should stay or go.[67] After an internet discussion in which 97% (all but 6 people) supported the stencil, the city council decided it would be left on the building.[67] The mural was later defaced with paint.[67] • In August/September 2006, Banksy replaced up to 500 copies of Paris Hilton's debut CD, Paris, in 48 different UK record stores with his own cover art and remixes by Danger Mouse. Music tracks were given titles such as "Why am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?". Several copies of the CD were purchased by the public before stores were able to remove them, some going on to be sold for as much as £750 on online auction websites such as eBay. The cover art depicted Paris Hilton digitally altered to appear topless. Other pictures feature her with a dog's head replacing her own, and one of her stepping out of a luxury car, edited to include a group of homeless people, which included the caption "90% of success is just showing up".[68][69][70] • In September 2006, Banksy dressed an inflatable doll in the manner of a Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoner (orange jumpsuit, black hood, and handcuffs) and then placed the figure within the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California.[71][72] Technique Asked about his technique, Banksy said: “I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl's face on some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key.[73]” Stencils are traditionally hand drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate or card, before being cut out by hand. Because of the secretive nature of Banksy's work and identity, it is uncertain what techniques he uses to generate the images in his stencils, though it is assumed he uses computers for some images due to the photocopy nature of much of his work. He mentions in his book, Wall and Piece, that as he was starting to do graffiti, he was always too slow and was either caught or could never finish the art in the one sitting. So he devised a series of intricate stencils to minimise time and overlapping of the colour. Identity Banksy's real name has been widely reported to be Robert or Robin Banks.[74][75][76] His year of birth has been given as 1974.[62] Simon Hattenstone from Guardian Unlimited is one of the very few people to have interviewed him face-to-face. Hattenstone describes him as "a cross of Jimmy Nail and British rapper Mike Skinner" and "a 28 year old male who showed up wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a silver tooth, silver chain, and one silver earring".[77] In the same interview, Banksy revealed that his parents think their son is a painter and decorator.[77] In May 2007, an extensive article written by Lauren Collins of the New Yorker re-opened the Banksy-identity controversy citing a 2004 photograph of the artist that was taken in Jamaica during the Two-Culture Clash project and later published in the Evening Standard in 2004.[6] In October 2007, a story on the BBC website featured a photo allegedly taken by a passer-by in Bethnal Green, London, purporting to show Banksy at work with an assistant, scaffolding and a truck. The story confirms that Tower Hamlets Council in London has decided to treat all Banksy works as vandalism and remove them.[78] In July 2008, it was claimed by The Mail on Sunday that Banksy's real name is Robin Gunningham.[3][79] His agent has refused to confirm or deny these reports. In May 2009, the Mail on Sunday once again speculated about Gunningham being Banksy after a "self-portrait" of a rat holding a sign with the word "Gunningham" shot on it was photographed in East London.[80] This "new Banksy rat" story was also picked up by The Times[81] and the Evening Standard. Banksy, himself, states on his website: “I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being 'good at drawing' doesn't sound like Banksy to me.[82]” Controversy In 2004, Banksy walked into the Louvre in Paris and hung on a wall a picture he had painted resembling the Mona Lisa but with a yellow smiley face. Though the painting was hurriedly removed by the museum staff, it and its counterpart, temporarily on unknown display at the Tate Britain, were described by Banksy as "shortcuts". He is quoted as saying: “To actually [have to] go through the process of having a painting selected must be quite boring. It's a lot more fun to go and put your own one up.[83]” Peter Gibson, a spokesperson for Keep Britain Tidy, asserts that Banksy's work is simple vandalism,[84] and Diane Shakespeare, an official for the same organization, was quoted as saying: "We are concerned that Banksy's street art glorifies what is essentially vandalism".[6] In June 2007 Banksy created a circle of plastic portable toilets, said to resemble Stonehenge at the Glastonbury Festival. As this was in the same field as the "sacred circle" it was felt by many to be inappropriate and his installation was itself vandalized before the festival even opened. However, the intention had always been for people to climb on and interact with it.[citation needed] The installation was nicknamed "Portaloo Sunset" and "Bog Henge" by Festival goers. Michael Eavis admitted he wasn't fond of it, and the portaloos were removed before the 2008 festival. In 2010, an artistic feud developed between Banksy and his rival King Robbo after Banksy painted over a 24-year old Robbo piece on the banks of London's Regent Canal. In retaliation several Banksy pieces in London have been painted over by 'Team Robbo'.[85][86] Also in 2010, government workers accidentally painted over a Banksy art piece, a famed "parachuting-rat" stencil, in Australia's Melbourne CBD. [87] Bibliography Banksy has self-published several books that contain photographs of his work in various countries as well as some of his canvas work and exhibitions, accompanied by his own writings: • Banksy, Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall (2001) ISBN 978-0-95417040-0 • Banksy, Existencilism (2002) ISBN 978-0-95417041-7 • Banksy, Cut it Out (2004) ISBN 978-0-95449600-5 • Banksy, Wall and Piece (2005) ISBN 978-1-84413786-2 • Banksy, Pictures of Walls (2005) ISBN 978-0-95519460-3 Random House published Wall and Piece in 2005. It contains a combination of images from his three previous books, as well as some new material.[16] Two books authored by others on his work were published in 2006 & 2007: • Martin Bull, Banksy Locations and Tours: A Collection of Graffiti Locations and Photographs in London (2006 - with new editions in 2007 and 2008) ISBN 978-0-95547120-9. • Steve Wright, Banksy's Bristol: Home Sweet Home (2007) ISBN 978-1906477004 External links • Official website • Banksy street work photos
Banksy in Boston: Portrait from the F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED piece in context on Essex St, Chinatown, Boston
Interestingly, both of the Boston area Banksy pieces are on Essex St: • F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED (aka chimney sweep) in Chinatown, Boston • NO LOITRIN in Central Square, Cambridge. Does that mean anything? It looks like he favors Essex named streets & roads when he can. In 2008, he did another notable Essex work in London, for example, and posters on the Banksy Forums picked up & discussed on the Essex link as well. Is there an Essex Street in any of the other nearby towns? It looks like there are several: Brookline, Charlestown, Chelsea, Gloucester, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn, Medford, Melrose, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Swampscott, and Waltham. Most of these seem improbable to me, other than maybe Brookline, or maybe Somerville or Charlestown. But they start getting pretty suburban after that. But, again, why "Essex"? In a comment on this photo, Birbeck helps clarify: I can only surmise that he's having a 'dig' at Essex UK, especially with the misspelling of 'Loitering'. Here, the general view of the urban districts in Essex: working class but with right wing views; that they're not the most intellectual bunch; rather obsessed with fashion (well, their idea of it); their place of worship is the shopping mall; enjoy rowdy nights out; girls are thought of as being dumb, fake blonde hair/tans and promiscuous; and guys are good at the 'chit chat', and swagger around showing off their dosh (money). It was also the region that once had Europe's largest Ford motor factory. In its heyday, 1 in 3 British cars were made in Dagenham, Essex. Pay was good for such unskilled labour, generations worked mind-numbing routines on assembly lines for 80 years. In 2002 the recession ended the dream. • • • • • This photo appeared on Grafitti - A arte das ruas on Yahoo Meme. Yes, Yahoo has a Tumblr/Posterous-esque "Meme" service now -- I was as surprised as you are. • • • • • Banksy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Banksy • Birth name Unknown • Born 1974 or 1975 (1974 or 1975), Bristol, UK[1] • Nationality British • Field Graffiti Street Art Bristol underground scene Sculpture • Movement Anti-Totalitarianism Anti-capitalism Pacifism Anti-War Anarchism Atheism Anti-Fascism • Works Naked Man Image One Nation Under CCTV Anarchist Rat Ozone's Angel Pulp Fiction Banksy is a pseudonymous[2][3][4] British graffiti artist. He is believed to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire, near Bristol[2] and to have been born in 1974,[5] but his identity is unknown.[6] According to Tristan Manco[who?], Banksy "was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s."[7] His artworks are often satirical pieces of art on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His street art, which combines graffiti writing with a distinctive stencilling technique, is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and members of the anarcho-punk band Crass who maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His art has appeared in cities around the world.[8] Banksy's work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti.[9] Art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder.[10] Banksy's first film, Exit Through The Gift Shop, billed as "the world's first street art disaster movie", made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.[11] The film was released in the UK on March 5.[12] Contents • 1 Career •• 1.1 2000 •• 1.2 2002 •• 1.3 2003 •• 1.4 2004 •• 1.5 2005 •• 1.6 2006 •• 1.7 2007 •• 1.8 2008 •• 1.9 2009 •• 1.10 2010 • 2 Notable art pieces • 3 Technique • 4 Identity • 5 Controversy • 6 Bibliography • 7 References • 8 External links Career Banksy started as a freehand graffiti artist 1992–1994[14] as one of Bristol's DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ), with Kato and Tes.[15] He was inspired by local artists and his work was part of the larger Bristol underground scene. From the start he used stencils as elements of his freehand pieces, too.[14] By 2000 he had turned to the art of stencilling after realising how much less time it took to complete a piece. He claims he changed to stencilling whilst he was hiding from the police under a train carriage, when he noticed the stencilled serial number[16] and by employing this technique, he soon became more widely noticed for his art around Bristol and London.[16] Stencil on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol - (wider view). The image of Death is based on a 19th century etching illustrating the pestilence of The Great Stink.[17] Banksy's stencils feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, monkeys, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly. In late 2001, on a trip to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, he met up with the Gen-X pastellist, visual activist, and recluse James DeWeaver in Byron Bay[clarification needed], where he stencilled a parachuting rat with a clothes peg on its nose above a toilet at the Arts Factory Lodge. This stencil can no longer be located. He also makes stickers (the Neighbourhood Watch subvert) and sculpture (the murdered phone-box), and was responsible for the cover art of Blur's 2003 album Think Tank. 2000 The album cover for Monk & Canatella's Do Community Service was conceived and illustrated by Banksy, based on his contribution to the "Walls on fire" event in Bristol 1998.[18][citation needed] 2002 On 19 July 2002, Banksy's first Los Angeles exhibition debuted at 33 1/3 Gallery, a small Silverlake venue owned by Frank Sosa. The exhibition, entitled Existencilism, was curated by 33 1/3 Gallery, Malathion, Funk Lazy Promotions, and B+.[19] 2003 In 2003 in an exhibition called Turf War, held in a warehouse, Banksy painted on animals. Although the RSPCA declared the conditions suitable, an animal rights activist chained herself to the railings in protest.[20] He later moved on to producing subverted paintings; one example is Monet's Water Lily Pond, adapted to include urban detritus such as litter and a shopping trolley floating in its reflective waters; another is Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, redrawn to show that the characters are looking at a British football hooligan, dressed only in his Union Flag underpants, who has just thrown an object through the glass window of the cafe. These oil paintings were shown at a twelve-day exhibition in Westbourne Grove, London in 2005.[21] 2004 In August 2004, Banksy produced a quantity of spoof British £10 notes substituting the picture of the Queen's head with Princess Diana's head and changing the text "Bank of England" to "Banksy of England." Someone threw a large wad of these into a crowd at Notting Hill Carnival that year, which some recipients then tried to spend in local shops. These notes were also given with invitations to a Santa's Ghetto exhibition by Pictures on Walls. The individual notes have since been selling on eBay for about £200 each. A wad of the notes were also thrown over a fence and into the crowd near the NME signing tent at The Reading Festival. A limited run of 50 signed posters containing ten uncut notes were also produced and sold by Pictures on Walls for £100 each to commemorate the death of Princess Diana. One of these sold in October 2007 at Bonhams auction house in London for £24,000. 2005 In August 2005, Banksy, on a trip to the Palestinian territories, created nine images on Israel's highly controversial West Bank barrier. He reportedly said "The Israeli government is building a wall surrounding the occupied Palestinian territories. It stands three times the height of the Berlin Wall and will eventually run for over 700km—the distance from London to Zurich. "[22] 2006 • Banksy held an exhibition called Barely Legal, billed as a "three day vandalised warehouse extravaganza" in Los Angeles, on the weekend of 16 September. The exhibition featured a live "elephant in a room", painted in a pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern.[23] • After Christina Aguilera bought an original of Queen Victoria as a lesbian and two prints for £25,000,[24] on 19 October 2006 a set of Kate Moss paintings sold in Sotheby's London for £50,400, setting an auction record for Banksy's work. The six silk-screen prints, featuring the model painted in the style of Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe pictures, sold for five times their estimated value. His stencil of a green Mona Lisa with real paint dripping from her eyes sold for £57,600 at the same auction.[25] • In December, journalist Max Foster coined the phrase, "the Banksy Effect", to illustrate how interest in other street artists was growing on the back of Banksy's success.[26] 2007 • On 21 February 2007, Sotheby's auction house in London auctioned three works, reaching the highest ever price for a Banksy work at auction: over £102,000 for his Bombing Middle England. Two of his other graffiti works, Balloon Girl and Bomb Hugger, sold for £37,200 and £31,200 respectively, which were well above their estimated prices.[27] The following day's auction saw a further three Banksy works reach soaring prices: Ballerina With Action Man Parts reached £96,000; Glory sold for £72,000; Untitled (2004) sold for £33,600; all significantly above estimated values.[28] To coincide with the second day of auctions, Banksy updated his website with a new image of an auction house scene showing people bidding on a picture that said, "I Can't Believe You Morons Actually Buy This Shit."[6] • In February 2007, the owners of a house with a Banksy mural on the side in Bristol decided to sell the house through Red Propeller art gallery after offers fell through because the prospective buyers wanted to remove the mural. It is listed as a mural which comes with a house attached.[29] • In April 2007, Transport for London painted over Banksy's iconic image of a scene from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, with Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta clutching bananas instead of guns. Although the image was very popular, Transport for London claimed that the "graffiti" created "a general atmosphere of neglect and social decay which in turn encourages crime" and their staff are "professional cleaners not professional art critics".[30] Banksy tagged the same site again (pictured at right). This time the actors were portrayed as holding real guns instead of bananas, but they were adorned with banana costumes. Banksy made a tribute art piece over this second Pulp Fiction piece. The tribute was for 19-year-old British graffiti artist Ozone, who was hit by an underground train in Barking, East London, along with fellow artist Wants, on 12 January 2007.[31] The piece was of an angel wearing a bullet-proof vest, holding a skull. He also wrote a note on his website, saying: The last time I hit this spot I painted a crap picture of two men in banana costumes waving hand guns. A few weeks later a writer called Ozone completely dogged it and then wrote 'If it's better next time I'll leave it' in the bottom corner. When we lost Ozone we lost a fearless graffiti writer and as it turns out a pretty perceptive art critic. Ozone - rest in peace.[citation needed] Ozone's Angel • On 27 April 2007, a new record high for the sale of Banksy's work was set with the auction of the work Space Girl & Bird fetching £288,000 (US$576,000), around 20 times the estimate at Bonhams of London.[32] • On 21 May 2007 Banksy gained the award for Art's Greatest living Briton. Banksy, as expected, did not turn up to collect his award, and continued with his notoriously anonymous status. • On 4 June 2007, it was reported that Banksy's The Drinker had been stolen.[33][34] • In October 2007, most of his works offered for sale at Bonhams auction house in London sold for more than twice their reserve price.[35] • Banksy has published a "manifesto" on his website.[36] The text of the manifesto is credited as the diary entry of one Lieutenant Colonel Mervin Willett Gonin, DSO, which is exhibited in the Imperial War Museum. It describes how a shipment of lipstick to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp immediately after its liberation at the end of World War II helped the internees regain their humanity. However, as of 18 January 2008, Banksy's Manifesto has been substituted with Graffiti Heroes #03 that describes Peter Chappell's graffiti quest of the 1970s that worked to free George Davis of his imprisonment.[37] By 12 August 2009 he was relying on Emo Phillips' "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness." • A small number of Banksy's works can be seen in the movie Children of Men, including a stenciled image of two policemen kissing and another stencil of a child looking down a shop. • In the 2007 film Shoot 'Em Up starring Clive Owen, Banksy's tag can be seen on a dumpster in the film's credits. • Banksy, who deals mostly with Lazarides Gallery in London, claims that the exhibition at Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York (his first major exhibition in that city) is unauthorised. The exhibition featured 62 of his paintings and prints.[38] 2008 • In March, a stencilled graffiti work appeared on Thames Water tower in the middle of the Holland Park roundabout, and it was widely attributed to Banksy. It was of a child painting the tag "Take this Society" in bright orange. London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham spokesman, Councillor Greg Smith branded the art as vandalism, and ordered its immediate removal, which was carried out by H&F council workmen within three days.[39] • Over the weekend 3–5 May in London, Banksy hosted an exhibition called The Cans Festival. It was situated on Leake Street, a road tunnel formerly used by Eurostar underneath London Waterloo station. Graffiti artists with stencils were invited to join in and paint their own artwork, as long as it didn't cover anyone else's.[40] Artists included Blek le Rat, Broken Crow, C215, Cartrain, Dolk, Dotmasters, J.Glover, Eine, Eelus, Hero, Pure evil, Jef Aérosol, Mr Brainwash, Tom Civil and Roadsworth.[citation needed] • In late August 2008, marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the associated levee failure disaster, Banksy produced a series of works in New Orleans, Louisiana, mostly on buildings derelict since the disaster.[41] • A stencil painting attributed to Banksy appeared at a vacant petrol station in the Ensley neighbourhood of Birmingham, Alabama on 29 August as Hurricane Gustav approached the New Orleans area. The painting depicting a hooded member of the Ku Klux Klan hanging from a noose was quickly covered with black spray paint and later removed altogether.[42] • His first official exhibition in New York, the "Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill," opened 5 October 2008. The animatronic pets in the store window include a mother hen watching over her baby Chicken McNuggets as they peck at a barbecue sauce packet, and a rabbit putting makeup on in a mirror.[43] • The Westminster City Council stated in October 2008 that the work "One Nation Under CCTV", painted in April 2008 will be painted over as it is graffiti. The council says it will remove any graffiti, regardless of the reputation of its creator, and specifically stated that Banksy "has no more right to paint graffiti than a child". Robert Davis, the chairman of the council planning committee told The Times newspaper: "If we condone this then we might as well say that any kid with a spray can is producing art". [44] The work was painted over in April 2009. • In December 2008, The Little Diver, a Banksy image of a diver in a duffle coat in Melbourne Australia was vandalised. The image was protected by a sheet of clear perspex, however silver paint was poured behind the protective sheet and later tagged with the words "Banksy woz ere". The image was almost completely destroyed.[45]. 2009 • May 2009, parts company with agent Steve Lazarides. Announces Pest Control [46] the handling service who act on his behalf will be the only point of sale for new works. • On 13 June 2009, the Banksy UK Summer show opened at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, featuring more than 100 works of art, including animatronics and installations; it is his largest exhibition yet, featuring 78 new works.[47][48] Reaction to the show was positive, with over 8,500 visitors to the show on the first weekend.[49] Over the course of the twelve weeks, the exhibition has been visited over 300,000 times.[50] • In September 2009, a Banksy work parodying the Royal Family was partially destroyed by Hackney Council after they served an enforcement notice for graffiti removal to the former address of the property owner. The mural had been commissioned for the 2003 Blur single "Crazy Beat" and the property owner, who had allowed the piece to be painted, was reported to have been in tears when she saw it was being painted over.[51] • In December 2009, Banksy marked the end of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference by painting four murals on global warming. One included "I don't believe in global warming" which was submerged in water.[52] 2010 • The world premiere of the film Exit Through the Gift Shop occurred at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on 24 January. He created 10 street pieces around Park City and Salt Lake City to tie in with the screening.[53] • In February, The Whitehouse public house in Liverpool, England, is sold for £114,000 at auction.[54] The side of the building has an image of a giant rat by Banksy.[55] • In April 2010, Melbourne City Council in Australia reported that they had inadvertently ordered private contractors to paint over the last remaining Banksy art in the city. The image was of a rat descending in a parachute adorning the wall of an old council building behind the Forum Theatre. In 2008 Vandals had poured paint over a stencil of an old-fashioned diver wearing a trenchcoat. A council spokeswoman has said they would now rush through retrospective permits to protect other “famous or significant artworks” in the city.[56] • In April 2010 to coincide with the premier of Exit through the Gift Shop in San Francisco, 5 of his pieces appeared in various parts of the city.[57] Banksy reportedly paid a Chinatown building owner $50 for the use of their wall for one of his stencils.[58] • In May 2010 to coincide with the release of "Exit Through the Gift Shop" in Chicago, one piece appeared in the city. Notable art pieces In addition to his artwork, Banksy has claimed responsibility for a number of high profile art pieces, including the following: • At London Zoo, he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted "We're bored of fish" in seven foot high letters.[59] • At Bristol Zoo, he left the message 'I want out. This place is too cold. Keeper smells. Boring, boring, boring.' in the elephant enclosure.[60] • In March 2005, he placed subverted artworks in the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.[61] • He put up a subverted painting in London's Tate Britain gallery. • In May 2005 Banksy's version of a primitive cave painting depicting a human figure hunting wildlife whilst pushing a shopping trolley was hung in gallery 49 of the British Museum, London. Upon discovery, they added it to their permanent collection.[62] Near Bethlehem - 2005 • Banksy has sprayed "This is not a photo opportunity" on certain photograph spots. • In August 2005, Banksy painted nine images on the Israeli West Bank barrier, including an image of a ladder going up and over the wall and an image of children digging a hole through the wall.[22][63][64][65] See also: Other Banksy works on the Israeli West Bank barrier • In April 2006, Banksy created a sculpture based on a crumpled red phone box with a pickaxe in its side, apparently bleeding, and placed it in a street in Soho, London. It was later removed by Westminster Council. BT released a press release, which said: "This is a stunning visual comment on BT's transformation from an old-fashioned telecommunications company into a modern communications services provider."[66] • In June 2006, Banksy created an image of a naked man hanging out of a bedroom window on a wall visible from Park Street in central Bristol. The image sparked some controversy, with the Bristol City Council leaving it up to the public to decide whether it should stay or go.[67] After an internet discussion in which 97% (all but 6 people) supported the stencil, the city council decided it would be left on the building.[67] The mural was later defaced with paint.[67] • In August/September 2006, Banksy replaced up to 500 copies of Paris Hilton's debut CD, Paris, in 48 different UK record stores with his own cover art and remixes by Danger Mouse. Music tracks were given titles such as "Why am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?". Several copies of the CD were purchased by the public before stores were able to remove them, some going on to be sold for as much as £750 on online auction websites such as eBay. The cover art depicted Paris Hilton digitally altered to appear topless. Other pictures feature her with a dog's head replacing her own, and one of her stepping out of a luxury car, edited to include a group of homeless people, which included the caption "90% of success is just showing up".[68][69][70] • In September 2006, Banksy dressed an inflatable doll in the manner of a Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoner (orange jumpsuit, black hood, and handcuffs) and then placed the figure within the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California.[71][72] Technique Asked about his technique, Banksy said: “I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl's face on some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key.[73]” Stencils are traditionally hand drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate or card, before being cut out by hand. Because of the secretive nature of Banksy's work and identity, it is uncertain what techniques he uses to generate the images in his stencils, though it is assumed he uses computers for some images due to the photocopy nature of much of his work. He mentions in his book, Wall and Piece, that as he was starting to do graffiti, he was always too slow and was either caught or could never finish the art in the one sitting. So he devised a series of intricate stencils to minimise time and overlapping of the colour. Identity Banksy's real name has been widely reported to be Robert or Robin Banks.[74][75][76] His year of birth has been given as 1974.[62] Simon Hattenstone from Guardian Unlimited is one of the very few people to have interviewed him face-to-face. Hattenstone describes him as "a cross of Jimmy Nail and British rapper Mike Skinner" and "a 28 year old male who showed up wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a silver tooth, silver chain, and one silver earring".[77] In the same interview, Banksy revealed that his parents think their son is a painter and decorator.[77] In May 2007, an extensive article written by Lauren Collins of the New Yorker re-opened the Banksy-identity controversy citing a 2004 photograph of the artist that was taken in Jamaica during the Two-Culture Clash project and later published in the Evening Standard in 2004.[6] In October 2007, a story on the BBC website featured a photo allegedly taken by a passer-by in Bethnal Green, London, purporting to show Banksy at work with an assistant, scaffolding and a truck. The story confirms that Tower Hamlets Council in London has decided to treat all Banksy works as vandalism and remove them.[78] In July 2008, it was claimed by The Mail on Sunday that Banksy's real name is Robin Gunningham.[3][79] His agent has refused to confirm or deny these reports. In May 2009, the Mail on Sunday once again speculated about Gunningham being Banksy after a "self-portrait" of a rat holding a sign with the word "Gunningham" shot on it was photographed in East London.[80] This "new Banksy rat" story was also picked up by The Times[81] and the Evening Standard. Banksy, himself, states on his website: “I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being 'good at drawing' doesn't sound like Banksy to me.[82]” Controversy In 2004, Banksy walked into the Louvre in Paris and hung on a wall a picture he had painted resembling the Mona Lisa but with a yellow smiley face. Though the painting was hurriedly removed by the museum staff, it and its counterpart, temporarily on unknown display at the Tate Britain, were described by Banksy as "shortcuts". He is quoted as saying: “To actually [have to] go through the process of having a painting selected must be quite boring. It's a lot more fun to go and put your own one up.[83]” Peter Gibson, a spokesperson for Keep Britain Tidy, asserts that Banksy's work is simple vandalism,[84] and Diane Shakespeare, an official for the same organization, was quoted as saying: "We are concerned that Banksy's street art glorifies what is essentially vandalism".[6] In June 2007 Banksy created a circle of plastic portable toilets, said to resemble Stonehenge at the Glastonbury Festival. As this was in the same field as the "sacred circle" it was felt by many to be inappropriate and his installation was itself vandalized before the festival even opened. However, the intention had always been for people to climb on and interact with it.[citation needed] The installation was nicknamed "Portaloo Sunset" and "Bog Henge" by Festival goers. Michael Eavis admitted he wasn't fond of it, and the portaloos were removed before the 2008 festival. In 2010, an artistic feud developed between Banksy and his rival King Robbo after Banksy painted over a 24-year old Robbo piece on the banks of London's Regent Canal. In retaliation several Banksy pieces in London have been painted over by 'Team Robbo'.[85][86] Also in 2010, government workers accidentally painted over a Banksy art piece, a famed "parachuting-rat" stencil, in Australia's Melbourne CBD. [87] Bibliography Banksy has self-published several books that contain photographs of his work in various countries as well as some of his canvas work and exhibitions, accompanied by his own writings: • Banksy, Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall (2001) ISBN 978-0-95417040-0 • Banksy, Existencilism (2002) ISBN 978-0-95417041-7 • Banksy, Cut it Out (2004) ISBN 978-0-95449600-5 • Banksy, Wall and Piece (2005) ISBN 978-1-84413786-2 • Banksy, Pictures of Walls (2005) ISBN 978-0-95519460-3 Random House published Wall and Piece in 2005. It contains a combination of images from his three previous books, as well as some new material.[16] Two books authored by others on his work were published in 2006 & 2007: • Martin Bull, Banksy Locations and Tours: A Collection of Graffiti Locations and Photographs in London (2006 - with new editions in 2007 and 2008) ISBN 978-0-95547120-9. • Steve Wright, Banksy's Bristol: Home Sweet Home (2007) ISBN 978-1906477004 External links • Official website • Banksy street work photos
Albury. The Wesleyan Methodist Church. Opened in 1875. Change of use. Now part of the Albury Police Station.
Albury. New South Wales was settled by whites in 1788 but it was 1824 before the first white explorer Hamilton Hume and William Hovell and their party of eight men ventured to this region of NSW. They reported favourably on what they saw in this region especially the fast flowing river which Hume named after his father. Later in 1830 Charles Sturt when he left the Murrumbidgee thought he had discovered a new river and he named it the Murray River after his friend in the British Colonial Office, Sir George Murray, Secretary of the Colonies. The first pastoralist to arrive in the district was Charles Ebden in 1835 who took out runs each side of the river which he named Bonegilla and Mungabareena. Wodonga station was then taken up in 1836. Major Mitchell visited the district on his Australia Felix expedition of 1836. But the first man to reside in the Albury district was Robert Brown who did that in 1836. Brown saw the “crossing place” as a business opportunity so he opened a store and around 1840 he got a license to operate an inn at the spot. In 1842 Brown and his wife occupied the Hume Inn which the hostelry was called. Browns Inn later was renamed the Turkish Inn after Brown moved to a pastoral property in 1845. Earlier in 1838 the government sent a surveyor to the spot and he surveyed a town and named it Albury after a village in Kent. Town lots were sold in October 1839 with all being sold. One was sold on to Robert Brown in 1841 which was when he built his Hume Inn hotel. Further town lots were sold in 1840 and 1843. A government report noted that there were 65 people in Albury by 1845. Once the first flourmill was built in 1846 local farmers began to grow wheat but Albury was still a settlement rather than a town as it had no schools, no churches, etc. A post service to Albury from Sydney began in 1847 with an unofficial post office in a store. As the town emerged this was moved to the first Post Office in 1861. This was later replaced by the grand structure that graces the city now. It was built in 1877 and the Telegraph Station (now the Murray Conservatorium of Music) in 1886. Court sessions began in 1847 with the stone courthouse being erected in 1860. The main street Dean Street began to appear like a major town streetscape. The first Catholic Church was built in 1858 but was replaced with the current much grander stone structure in 1872. The well-known architect Edmund Blacket designed the Albury Anglican Church which was erected in 1857. A few years later it was replaced by a new church in 1876 which incorporated one wall and the tower base of the 1857 church. The adjoining two storey rectory was completed in 1870. The first public hospital opened in Albury in 1861 and the town by then had several fine banks, grand hotels, general stores and a town school. The first National School opened in 1850 and was then relocated to Olive Street in 1861. Today that is the campus of Albury High School and the third Albury Public School opened in 1892 in David Street. Part of the reason or the growth of Albury in the mid-1850s was the arrival of the first paddle steamers from Goolwa and Milang in South Australia. They brought foodstuffs and grain for the gold mining centres of Beechworth and Yackandandah etc. But this was also the time when large pastoral estates gave way to surveyed land for farmers and agriculturists. The population of the hinterland began to increase and Albury became the regional town for goods and services. 1856 was the year the Albury published its first newspaper and throughout this period conflict emerged with Victoria (created as a separate colony in 1851) over customs and border tariffs. 1856 was also the year in which NSW politician Henry Parkes spoke of Albury as a future federal capital. The Albury Mechanics Institute was formed in 1858 and Albury was declared a municipality in 1859 with its first mayor. By the mid-1860s the town had several doctors, solicitors, teachers, brewers, manufacturers, millers, drapers, butchers, saddlers and all the occupations expected of a large sized country town on its way to becoming a regional city. The arrival of the railway from Sydney added further to the economic development of Albury. The Victorian rail line had reached Wodonga in 1873 but the NSW line from Sydney did not reach Albury until 1880. The grand Italianate style railway station opened in 1881. A wooden rail bridge was completed a cross the Murray in 1883(replaced by an iron one in 1884) and a through service, albeit with a change of trains and rail gauge at Albury, became possible. To accommodate two trains for a change over the platform at Albury is especially long. Passengers also had to go through a Customs inspection at Albury until federation in 1901. The first passenger train with no change of gauge travelled between Sydney and Melbourne in 1962 drawn by diesel engines instead of steam trains. Present day Albury is a city of many fine buildings. These include Bonegilla house in Kiewa Street which is heritage listed by NSW authorities. It took its name from a district along the Murray River outside of Wodonga. The house was built in 1857 in a typically Georgian style when it was on the edge of Albury. It was built for David Bowen-Jones. From 1880 to 1900 it was the residence of Arthur Phillips the manager of the Commercial Bank in Albury and it was around this time( about 1880) that the cast iron lacework and verandas were added to make it more Australian in appearance! In later years land attached to the house was sold off as town blocks in 1900 and again in 1938. After the Phillips sold the house in 1900 its ownership changed quite frequently until it was auctioned off in 1938. The Red Cross then operated Bonegilla during World War Two as a hostel for wives visiting husbands at the Bonegilla Military hospital outside Albury. After the Second World War it became the local Young Women’s Christian Association hostel. In more recent years it has been privately owned and restored. (After World War Two the named Bonegilla was used for the migrant hostel operated at the location of Bonegilla.) Opposite Bonegilla is another grand Albury house named Bellvue. It was built a bit later than Bonegilla but is too a great example of a 19th century mansion. A bit further along Kiewa Street is the imposing Albury High School. It was founded in 1920 and this magnificent building opened in 1928 at a cost of over £26,000. The current Albury Public School was built in David Street in 1892 with the then latest federation style architecture- red bricks, fancy moulded bricks, gables etc. but with classical style pilasters against the walls. Back in the Main Street you can see a number of outstanding Art Deco style commercial buildings including the AMP Society building erected in 1940 and the T & G Insurance building also erected in 1940. A twenty minute walk from here will take you to 607 Lindsay Avenue where you can see a superb Art Deco style two storey residence with the addition of some 1950s modern style curves and steel framed windows. That house was built in 1949 and is a gem. The other area for Art Deco structures is amazing War memorial tower on a Western Hill at the end of the Main Street. This is a memorial to those who served during World War One. When the city was considering a memorial they thought of the public square beside the Town Hall in Dean Street. But a visitor, Charles Reade from Adelaide who had designed Colonel Lights Gardens as a model garden city, suggested the top of Western Hill which is completely aligned with Dean Street. The memorial is 100 feet high which means it is 300 feet above Dean Street. It is Art Deco in style, designed by architect Louis Harrison, as is the public toilet block near the War Memorial. Both were opened in 1925 with the foundation stone being laid in 1924 as a centenary marker for the explorers Hume and Hovell who came here in 1824.
Observatory Hill pano || Sydney
Observatory Hill is a quiet park right in the middle of the Rocks/Miller Point in Sydney. There was a conjunction of Mars/Jupiter and Venus just after sunset. The conjunction was't visible as you can see the weather didn't cooperate. This pano looking north with the bridge to the right, then Luna Park on the water and the North Sydney business district (where I work) on the hill. The foreground is the counterpoint being the historic Rocks district. The Garrison Church (lower right), also known as Holy Trinity in Millers Point, Sydney was the first military church built in colonial Australia. It continues as an active Anglican church, now in a joint parish with St Philip's Church, part of the Diocese of Sydney. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrison_Church_(Sydney) To the left is the Sydney Harbour Control Tower. Not a lot of information online but with the creation of the Barangaroo district, it will be pulled down. Some suggestions were to make it a restaurant or bungee jumping site but to no avail. Some call it "The Pill" as it controls all the shipping berths in Sydney Harbour. The tower has been an 87-metre high landmark at Barangaroo since 1974, when it was installed to control berths in the harbour. It was closed in 2011 when vessel control services were moved to Port Botany. The tower will be replaced with a "interpretive historical display" focusing on maritime history and Millers Point www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-harbour-control-tower-at-barang... Some history of the park at www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/learn/sydneys-history/people-...
Gladesville Bridge (Sydney, Australia)
The Gladesville Bridge, completed in 1964, connects the suburbs of Gladesville, which is located on the northern bank of the Parramatta River, and Drummoyne, which is located on its southern and eastern sides. Europeans first settled in this part of Sydney soon after landfall at Sydney Cove, when Crown grants of thirty-acre lots were made in the vicinity of Gladesville in the 1790s to encourage agricultural pursuits to the area. Two of the first grantees were John Doody and Ann Benson. Gladesville is named for convict John Glade, who arrived to the colony in 1791. Glade prospered soon after his arrival, and by 1802 owned 60 acres in the district (encompassing earlier land grants to Doody and Benson). In 1836, Glade received an additional Crown grant of 50 acres between Glades Bay and Looking Glass Bay (including Gladesville Point). In the late 1830s, a limited number of settlers were attracted to the area by the employment opportunities associated with the establishment of the Tarban Creek Asylum in 1837. The future suburb of Gladesville remained isolated and rural until the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1856, William Whaley Billyard purchased and subdivided the early land grants to Doody, Benson and Glade into large urban building blocks; this subdivision was known as the Gladesville Estate. Billyard promoted land in the Gladesville Estate as suitable for 'gentlemen's residences' and sold blocks on which he had built villas to wealthier settlers of the colony of NSW. Billyard erected a wharf at Gladesville on the Parramatta River to provide better access to Sydney, and therefore to ensure the sale of land from his estate. This wharf was connected to the Great North Road (now Victoria Road) via Wharf Road, which was also built under instruction from Billyard. In 1881, a bridge was built across the Parramatta River between Drummoyne and Huntleys Point (Gladesville), thereby connecting Gladesville to the rest of Sydney. The first Gladesville Bridge was a 'two lane swing span iron bridge' to the south west of the present Gladesville Bridge. The introduction of tram services to the area in the 1880s meant that both Gladesville, and Drummoyne were increasingly populated from this time. Drummoyne lies on the eastern side of the Parramatta River from Gladesville, and was also an agricultural district in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By 1806, land grants to members of the NSW Corps were cancelled and 1,500 acres of land was granted to surgeon John Harris; this land grant was known as Five Dock Farm and encompassed the future suburbs of Five Dock, Drummoyne, Chiswick and Abbotsford. Harris sold Five Dock Farm in 1836, and the following year the estate was subdivided for sale into 30- and 60-acre lots. In 1853, merchant William Wright purchased land in area, and named the suburb Drummoyne after his family home in Scotland. From the 1860s onwards, local residents agitated for Drummoyne to be connected to Sydney by direct road. By 1882, the Iron Cove bridge between Drummoyne and Rozelle had been completed, which encouraged further subdivision and settlement to the area (as did the Gladesville Bridge to the north). By the 1890s, Drummoyne was being serviced by regular ferry services and a public tram system, encouraging further suburban development. Five Dock and Drummoyne were amalgamated to form the Municipality of Drummoyne in 1902 (the Municipal district of Five Dock, including Drummoyne, had been incorporated in 1871). By the 1950s, traffic along the original (1881) Gladesville Bridge was becoming congested, commuters complaining of long delays in crossing the bridge. Clearly a new bridge was needed to alleviate traffic build up. In 1959, the Department of Main Roads (DMR) let the contract to build a 'six-lane high level concrete arch bridge over the Parramatta River' to the partnership of Reed & Mallik Ltd (Engineers, Salisbury, England) and Stuart Bros (Builders, Sydney, Australia). The new Gladesville Bridge was built to a design by the engineering firm of Messrs. G Maunsell & Partners (London, England). The Gladesville Bridge, described as one of the 'most spectacular of replacement bridges built in the Sydney', was officially opened on 2 October 1964 by Her Royal Highness Princess Marina of Kent and the Hon P D Hills MLA, Deputy Premier, Minister for Local Government and Minister for Highways. The bridge was opened to traffic on 24 October 1964. At the time of its construction, the Gladesville Bridge was the longest reinforced concrete arch span in the world. The new Gladesville Bridge was constructed as part of a program of works undertaken by the DMR in the 1960s to provide a series of freeway systems out of Sydney. The new bridge was to form part of a proposed North Western Freeway leading from Newcastle to the centre of Sydney via the inner city suburbs of Glebe and Annandale. It was one of three projected freeways leading out of the city. The North Western freeway was intended to replace the Five Bridges route (which also included Pyrmont Bridge, Glebe Island Bridge, Iron Cove Bridge and Fig Tree Bridge). By the early 1970s, protests about the route of the proposed freeway through some of Sydney's inner city suburbs (such as Glebe and Annandale) meant that the DMR's plan was never realised. Gladesville Bridge was one of three bridges constructed along this proposed route; the other bridges were the Tarban Creek and Fig Tree Bridges, and as such are vestiges of the DMR's unrealised plans. The DMR regularly inspected the bridge from the time of its completion (1964), until at least the early 1970s. DMR records indicate that divers inspected parts of the bridge exposed to water (namely the submerged abutments and thrust blocks) every 6 months from December 1965, to check for spalling in the reinforced concrete and for marine growth. It is unclear whether these inspections continue to be carried out, however, oral history testimony from engineers involved with its construction suggest that the bridge has not been rigorously maintained in recent times, with complaints about condition of the concrete (discolouration and spalling). The roadway of Gladesville Bridge was widened in the 1970s, in order to allow for greater traffic flow over the bridge, and along the heavily trafficked route of Victoria Road. The roadway of the bridge was increased from six lanes to eight, taking in some of the width of pedestrian walkways on either side. At the time of inspection in August 2004, the Gladesville Bridge was in sound structural condition. Source: New South Wales Heritage Register.
Hills District Sunrise.
15666569810_9cf0a3716b_b
Hills District
so i am really liking this camera / lens combo.
Sunset from Observatory Hill || Sydney {Explore 67, 2015/09/09}
A quiet park right in the middle of the Rocks/Miller Point in Sydney. There was a conjunction of Mars/Jupiter and Venus just after sunset. The strange tower on the right was to be a foreground counterpart to the conjunction but as you can see the weather didn't cooperate with the clouds covering it all. To the right is the Sydney Harbour Control Tower. Not a lot of information online but with the creation of the Barangaroo district, it will be pulled down. Some suggestions were to make it a restaurant or bungee jumping site but to no avail. Some call it "The Pill" as it controls all the shipping berths in Sydney Harbour. The tower has been an 87-metre high landmark at Barangaroo since 1974, when it was installed to control berths in the harbour. It was closed in 2011 when vessel control services were moved to Port Botany. The tower will be replaced with a "interpretive historical display" focusing on maritime history and Millers Point www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-harbour-control-tower-at-barang... Some history of the park at www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/learn/sydneys-history/people-...
A Changed Landscape || HAT HILL || BLACKHEATH
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhyspopephotography Twitter: twitter.com/#!/rhyspope This shot taken a few days after the fires had moved through the area in Blackheath in October. Blackheath is an Australian suburb located near the highest point of the Blue Mountains, between Katoomba and Mount Victoria in New South Wales. The town has an approximate altitude of 1,065 metres (3,494 ft) AHD and is located approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) west north-west of the Sydney central business district, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) north-west of Katoomba and approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-east of Lithgow. At the 2011 Census, Blackheath had a population of 4,353 people. The area around Blackheath contains some of the most spectacular views in the Blue Mountains, including those over the Grose Valley from Evans Lookout and Govetts Leap in the east, and the lesser-known vista of the Megalong Valley from Hargraves Lookout in the west, past the tiny hamlet of Shipley.
Tumut. All Saints Anglican church and spire. Architect Edmund Blacket. Started 1875 completed 1878. Tower added 1881. Note dark bricks used for patterns on the walls.
Tumut. The town nestles along the Tumut River, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee which it joins in Gundagai. It begins about 40 kms from Mt Kosciusko in Kosciusko National Park and it has three dam/reservoirs along it as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydroelectric power generation system. Tumut has over 800 mm of rain yearly. Hamilton Hume discovered the Tumut River in 1824 and the first white squatter Benjamin Warby arrived in 1828 at Darbalara although he and the ones who followed him only became licensed leaseholders from 1839. They included George and William Shelley of Been (Tumut Plains) station. Shelley senior was a missionary and they are credited with making sure there were no Aboriginal deaths or massacres near Tumut. More settles arrived in the 1840s when land leasing was legal. A courthouse was established in 1845. The town was laid out in 1848 and a police constable was appointed. But by 1856 few buildings were more than mere slab huts. The first Post Office in 1849 operated from the Courthouse. Like Gundagai the original town site moved up the hill after the 1852 Tumut River floods. In 1860 thousands passed through the small town on their way to the goldfields at Kiandra (1859) in the Snowy Mountains and later to Adelong on the plains. Tumut emerged as a solid town. With gold came bushrangers and Ned Kelly’s brother operated in this district in the 1870s. By 1866 there were eleven hotels in the town and the town population was around 400; in 1887 Tumut became a municipality; and in 1903 the branch railway line from Gundagai reached the town. Dairying and forestry became major district industries in the 20th century and the Tumut River became a major site for hydroelectric power. Blowering Dam was built just above the town with Tumut 1, 2 and 3 power stations on the Tumut River. In autumn the Lombardy Poplars along the Tumut River display great colour. They were planted in 1861. More autumn colour can be found in the Avenue of Elms which leads to the racecourse, thus it is not surprising that Tumut established the Festival of the Falling Leaf in the 1950s. Tumut was one of the many sites considered for the National Capital by a Royal Commission but Canberra was finally selected for that. Tumut was selected by the House of Representatives in 1904 but then replaced by Bombala and then the Senate replaced it with Dalgety. But the NSW parliament refused to cede land around Dalgety so four years later after much politicking a site near Yass was finally approved. All places considered had to have good flat land, a good water supply and be further than 100 miles from Sydney. the Anglican Church. A church barn was built in 1857 and this grand church was designed by architect Edmund Blacket who designed the Carcoar Church, the University of Sydney quadrangle etc. It was started in 1875 and completed in 1878. Note the dark brick work patterns beneath the quadruple façade windows. Tower completed in 1881. Have a look inside too.
Hunts Creek Falls
Nikon D800 | Nikon 16-35mm f/4 | B+W CPL | ND4 After a torrential rain overnight, I thought of driving to this falls which is 10 minutes from where I live at the Hills districts in North West Sydney.
Tumut. The fast flowing Tumut River in the middle of the dry Australian summer.
Tumut. Bridging the Tumut River, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee which it joins in Gundagai, this pretty foothills town nestles as the base of Kosciusko National Park. The Tumut River rises about 40 kms from Mt Kosciusko and it has three dam/reservoirs along it as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme hydroelectric power generation system. Whilst Tumut has over 800 mm of rain yearly. Hamilton Hume discovered the Tumut River in 1824 and the first white squatter Benjamin Warby arrived in 1828 at Darbalara although he and the ones who followed him only became licensed leaseholders from 1839. They included George and William Shelley of Been (Tumut Plains) station. Shelley senior was a missionary and they are credited with making sure there were no Aboriginal deaths or massacres near Tumut. More settles arrived in the 1840s when land leasing was legal. A courthouse was established in 1845. The town was laid out in 1848 and a police constable was appointed. But by 1856 few buildings were more than mere slab huts. The first Post Office in 1849 operated from the Courthouse. Like Gundagai the original town site moved up the hill after the 1852 Tumut River floods. In 1860 thousands passed through the small town on their way to the goldfields at Kiandra (1859) in the Snowy Mountains and later to Adelong on the plains. Tumut emerged as a solid town. With gold came bushrangers and Ned Kelly’s brother operated in this district in the 1870s. By 1866 there were eleven hotels in the town and the town population was around 400; in 1887 Tumut became a municipality; and in 1903 the branch railway line from Gundagai reached the town. Dairying and forestry became major district industries in the 20th century and the Tumut River became a major site for hydroelectric power stations during the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Blowering Dam was built just above the town. Tumut 1, 2 and 3 power stations were also built on the Tumut River. In autumn the Lombardy Poplars along the Tumut River display great colour. They were planted in 1861. More autumn colour can be found in the Avenue of Elms which leads to the racecourse, thus it is not surprising that Tumut established the Festival of the Falling Leaf in the 1950s. Tumut was one of the many sites considered for the National Capital but Canberra was finally selected for that. A Royal Commission looked at Tumut’s suitability as the national capital. Tumut was selected by the House of Representatives in 1904 but then replaced by Bombala and then the Senate replaced it with Dalgety. But the NSW parliament refused to cede land around Dalgety so four years later after much politicking a site near Yass was finally approved. Like all places considered it had to have good flat land, a good water supply and be further than 100 miles from Sydney but still in NSW.
Dreaming Of A Sunset || YARRAMUNDI
This is another image taken at sunset over the Hawkesbury River at Yarramundi =========================================================== Yarramundi is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Yarramundi is located 69 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. The suburb is named after Yarramundi, an Indigenous Australian of the Boorooberongal clan of the Darug people. He was a garadyi or 'doctor' and was called by Europeans 'the chief of the Richmond Tribe'. This area was previously known as Kearns Retreat.
Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia
View from Observatory Hill. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a heritage-listed steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is widely regarded as an iconic image of Sydney, and of Australia itself. The bridge is nicknamed The Coathanger because of its arch-based design. Under the direction of Dr John Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesbrough and opened in 1932. The bridge's design was influenced by the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. It is the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m from top to water level. 7811
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