Seven weeks in the swan river colony

Public Lecture | Updated 1 decade ago

Entrance to the Western Australian Museum - Shipwreck Galleries
Western Australian Museum - Shipwreck Galleries

SEVEN WEEKS in the Swan River Colony - The Journal of Mary Ann Friend

Community lecture program

12:30pm, Tuesday 19 November 2013
A Life of Adventure: Mary Ann Friend, 1800-1838
Assoc Prof Deborah Gare, University of Notre Dame Australia

When Mary Ann Friend went to sea in 1829 she had been married less than three years to a dashing, decorated naval o+cer. Having once been Napoleon’s guard, he was now commissioned to take British migrants to the new Swan River colony. In this presentation Notre Dame’s Deborah Gare will share colourful stories of Mary Ann Friend’s adventures in what was then the far reaches of the world’s great empires.

12:30pm, Wednesday 20 November 2013
At Sea: Mary Ann Friend and the voyage of the Wanstead
Dr Michael McCarthy, Senior Maritime Archaeologist, Maritime Museum of Western Australia

When the Wanstead left Portsmouth in 1829 it was treading what was, by then, a well-worn passage from Britain to the Australian colonies. Yet on this occasion the vessel was bound for the new settlement at Swan River. When Friend arrived at Fremantle she found a port littered with naval disasters: the wreck of the Marquis of Anglesea was still perched on the rocks beneath Arthur’s Head, while 5 of the first 8 ships to arrive had also been made casualties. Join the Museum’s Maritime Archaeologist, Mack McCarthy, as he weaves powerful stories of the Wanstead and maritime adventures of the age.

12:30pm, Thursday 21 November 2013
The Fremantle Frontier: Mary Ann Friend and Early Fremantle
Dr Shane Burke, University of Notre Dame Australia

When Mary Ann Friend arrived in Fremantle in January 1830 the town was still a raw frontier of Britain’s empire. Far from being the lush, fertile land that Stirling had promised its colonists, Friend found a community living in sand hills and fearing starvation. In this session the popular Shane Burke will use archaeology’s tools to evoke Fremantle as it was in its first months of British settlement.

12:30pm, Tuesday 26 November 2013
The Picturesque Sketch: Mary Ann Friend’s paintings of Fremantle
Dr Julia Alessandrini, University of Western Australia

When Mary Ann Friend returned to London in 1831 she published a brutally frank picture of colonial Fremantle. Far from the lush gentlemen’s estates promised by Stirling, Friend pictured parched sands and blackened trees. It was enough to stop further immigration. The discovery of Friend’s journal discloses additional paintings of Fremantle, preserved for nearly two centuries in the book’s pages. Join inspiring art historian, Julia Alessandrini, at a feast for the eyes and an introduction to the art of early Fremantle.

12:30pm, Wednesday 27 November 2013
One Thousand Years More: Preserving the journal of Mary Ann Friend
Cristina Albillos, Senior Conservator, State Library of Western Australia

Not all was plain sailing in the conservation of Mary Ann Friend’s journal. When it was recently returned to Western Australia the journal was passed to the State Library’s skilled conservation team for preservation. Join the library’s Senior Conservator, Cristina Albillos, for an inspiring discussion of the art, science and adventure of working with Mary Ann Friend’s journal.

12:30pm, Thursday 28 November 2013 (Held at Fremantle City Library, Town Hall Centre)
Unlocking Fremantle’s History: Researching local history
Pam Hartree, Local History Librarian, Fremantle City Library

Inspired by the story of Mary Ann Friend and want to discover more? Hoping to know more about Fremantle’s past? Join Local History Librarian, Pam Hartree for a hands on demonstration of the valuable resources Fremantle City Library has to o<er skilled and novice researchers alike.