11 February 2008 by Janda Gooding. George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine Landscapes, Exhibition, Exhibition Tour.
I was in Gosford over the weekend opening the George Lambert exhibition at the Regional Art Gallery. Adjacent to the Gallery are the Edogawa Commemorative Gardens, beautiful restful Japanese-style gardens with lotus ponds, pavilions and a dry stone garden. As I was sitting in the tea house looking across the pond, I was reminded how much the scene resembled a Hokusai Japanese woodcut print as the rain raked across and partly obscured the pavilion in front of me. These are beautiful gardens and well worth a visit in any weather.
The Gosford Regional Gallery is hosting the George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine Landscapes exhibition until 30 March 2008. They will be organising some special events to coincide with the exhibition so check out their website for further information.
www.gosfordregionalgallery.com
06 February 2008 by Peter Burness. Aircraft 1914 - 1918, The Role of Aircraft.
In war there has always been the need to see the enemy behind the hill; reconnaissance became a role of cavalry. Eventually observation balloons played a part as well. By the First World War, it was apparent that aircraft, being able to get above and well behind the enemy’s lines, could do it so much better. This work was further enhanced by the development of aerial photography. Observers in aircraft could also direct artillery fire onto targets. Soon armed single-seat fighters were hunting the reconnaissance planes and it became necessary to arm them and to protect them with escorts.
From 1915 nations were racing to produce the best aircraft and weapons to dominate the skies. In one early break-through, mechanical synchronisation of machine-guns’ fire with the revolutions of the engine enabled pilots to fire through the propeller arc. By 1917 fighters were operating in teams or large formations. Some heavier planes including the twin-engined Handley Page 0/400, were also developed to drop bombs; civilians in Paris, London, and several German cities and towns were amongst those to experience this emerging form of warfare.
06 February 2008 by Amanda Rebbeck. Aircraft 1914 - 1918, Collection, Private Records, The Red Baron.
I came across a number of first and second hand accounts of the death of Baron von Richthofen whilst I was examining various Private Record Collections in the Memorial’s Research Centre. They made for interesting reading since the events of 21 April 1918 have long been the subject of many enthusiastic debates in the history of the First World War. I have reproduced below for interest some extracts of the letters, diaries and memoirs I read. They have all been written by Australian Flying Corps personnel and describe their recollections of what happened the day the Red Baron flew his last mission. read on
06 February 2008 by Amanda Rebbeck. Aircraft 1914 - 1918, Personal Stories, Aerial Operations, Private Records, Training.
The aircraft of the 1914-18 period were visibly frail and delicate and quite unlike the capable machines we know today. First World War aircraft were prone to structural or mechanical failures and could easily catch fire. Armament was limited to rifle-calibre machine guns and protection for the crew through armour and parachutes were only beginning to be used in the closing stages of the war. Aircrew operated with few aids to navigation, and were usually exposed to the elements while in flight. read on
22 January 2008 by Mal Booth. Exhibitions, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Our exhibition.
I now have a better set of images of the exhibition taken by one of our professional photographers, Kerry Alchin. I had thought that I might just replace some of my terribly dark and grainy images, but after talking to our web team, we thought we might upload this new set as a slide show.
You can stop the slideshow (by double clicking an image) to view more information or you can look at the previous posts, or even post a question in a comment. Here we go, mind the step … read on
21 January 2008 by Robyn Van-Dyk. Exhibitions, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Chauvel, The Light Horse.
This post is a further comment regarding Emily Robertson’s post on the Shellal Mosaic. When researching for the exhibition I came across some references to the mosaic in the collection of papers of General Sir Henry George Chauvel. In a letter to his wife on 3 May 1917 he mentions some damage done to the mosaic by Turkish forces and that he had contacted the Director of Antiquities to remove it. The letter was transcribed into Lady Chauvel’s scrapbook which she compiled after the war. The page of the scrap book displayed here also includes three photographs of the mosaic before it was removed.
read on
15 January 2008 by Mal Booth. Exhibitions, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Our exhibition.
Beth McGeachy-Blay and her events team made sure that the launch of our exhibition on 6 December 2007 was over the top. She is shown above (third from the right) with members of her team and the two camel mascots she managed to “borrow” from the Australian Army’s 26 Transport Squadron in Puckapunyal, with their handlers Privates Arron Daniel (far left) and Michael Francis (far right).
read on
09 January 2008 by Mal Booth. Exhibitions, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, The Light Horse.
This blog post was written by Emily Robertson, a post-graduate student from the Australian National University who briefly worked at the Memorial as an intern in our Art section.
During the second battle of Gaza, on 17 April 1917, a group of Australian signallers led by Corporal (later Sergeant) Ernest Lovell-Shore discovered a mosaic that had been partially uncovered by Turkish troops, who had built a trench on a mound in the Wadi Ghuzze near the town of Shellal. As part of the process of establishing a helio station on the site, the Australian troops uncovered an extraordinary example of Byzantine art which is now known as the Shellal Mosaic. Created in AD 561 – 562 under the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian, the Mosaic is now held in the art collection of the Australian War Memorial (ART40979) and is on permanent display in the Hall of Valour.
read on
09 January 2008 by Mal Booth. Exhibitions, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, AUDIO TOUR OF THE EXHIBITION.
In this post we provide an audio tour that you can listen to online or download the podcast.
Warning: it is a bit rough! Not the technical quality, just my own voice as we recorded a live tour, so there was no script. It isn’t Geraldine Dougue or Peter Ustinov, just me.
My thanks to our Sound Engineer Lenny Preston who edited out all the really bad mistakes and some background noise, our Robyn who helped him and our Web Developer, Adam Bell, who makes it all work online.
One last thing, a request from me for some feedback on this kind of content on the blog, particularly if you think it will be useful to bring with you as an audio guide on your own MP3 player.
Subscribe to the podcast (copy and past the URL into your podcast software).
25 December 2007 by Mal Booth. Exhibitions, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Our exhibition.
In terms of the links between Lawrence and Australians, this is one of the most fascinating parts of the exhibition. The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) had many pilots who had begun their service as members of the Light Horse, such as Captain Sir Ross Smith, who is shown in a portrait above by W.B. McInnes. The AFC provided air support to both Lawrence and the Light Horse. In the low showcase we see Ross Smith’s decorations and logbook as well as a letter by another AFC officer, Stan Nunan, who describes Lawrence in heroic terms to his family in early 1918. Stuart Reid depicted the arrival of the huge Handley Page aircraft in September 1918, piloted by Ross Smith and was given the black silk robes (right) by Lawrence, which his widow later donated to the Memorial. They are displayed in this exhibition for the first time. read on
Edogawa Gardens, Gosford
Janda giving a floor talk at Gosford gallery
