Hi Joanne, I came across your project on the IAPMA website and found that boats and their stories quite enchanting. So much so that, at this late stage, I’ve been tempted to enter. I’m a papermaker and also enjoyed the IAPMA meeting in Tasmania this year. My boats are not on handmade paper because I felt the texture of my paper didn’t do justice to the fine script on the documents I was copying. The paper wallet is made from ‘handmade Butter’ paper from Thailand.
There was a time when everyone who came to Australia came by ship. My mother was one of them. As a child of five, with her mother, a sister and three brothers she left London in 1913 on a long and to a child, I imagine a most exciting journey.
There was a time when everyone who came to Australia came by ship. My mother was one of them. As a child of five, with her mother, a sister and three brothers she left London in 1913 on a long and to a child, I imagine a most exciting journey.
Two of my boats relate to that journey. The sailboat is made from a copy of the ticket for the family’s passage on the SS.Beltane. To this boat I’ve added photos of the members of my mother's family, taken in the NSW town of Orange some years after they settled in Australia. There are no photos from the period of their journey. The second, a two masted boat is made from that part of the ships’s passenger list which contains their names.
The third boat, more like a steam boat, relates to my mother's life in Australia. The Welcome Wall is an initiative of the National Maritime Museum and honours the contribution of migrants to our nation. It stands on the end of the Museum wharf at Darling Harbour, Sysdney, opposite ‘The Rocks’ area where my mother lived as a child. Migrant’s names can be inscribed on the Wall which has an associated online database which stores historical information about them: when and how they came, who they came with, and where and how they lived. This forms a fitting tribute to those whose hard work and honest endeavour, while possibly never attracting headlines, provided the foundation of Australia’s growth and prosperity. The third boat is made from paper on one side of which is printed my mother’s entry and on the other, the insignia of the welcome wall.I’ve included copies of the paper for your information. These could be dislpayed with the boats if you wish.
I look forward to following the progress of the project and wish you every success for the auction. Best wishes Colleen Drew.I took these boat to Dwarwick harbour to photograph.
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