Aquatint/Etching
Maker & role
Joseph Lycett (b.circa 1775, d.1828), Artist; John Souter (active 1814-1847), Publisher
Production date
1825
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Object detail
Title
'The residence of John McArthur Esq near Parramatta, New South Wales.'
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 22.7 x W: 31.8cm (H: 227 x W: 318mm); Image, H: 17.4 x W: 27.1cm (H: 174 x W: 271mm)
Subject Place
Credit line
Purchase, 1991
Elizabeth Farm Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Elizabeth Farm Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Joseph Lycett, 'The residence of John McArthur Esq. near Parramatta, New South Wales'. Aquatint. Published London, John Souter, 1825. Elizabeth Farm collection, Museums of History New South Wales.
Description
An aquatint of Elizabeth Farm from Joseph Lycett's ‘Views in Australia, or, New South Wales & Van Diemen's Land delineated’. This is an important visual reference for the house, which is depicted as it did around the time of John Macarthur’s return to the colony in 1819, and before the extensive renovations of 1825-6. Behind it can be seen outbuildings including service wing, stables, and a smokehouse, though details of each are only approximate. A cottage at right is in the approximate location of Hambledon Cottage and, beyond a fence line, what may be Experiment Farm is at far right.
The scene is conventional Georgian arrangement – a strolling genteel couple in the foreground (approximately where James Ruse Drive is today) admire the distant view, the woman pointing upstream towards Parramatta. On the opposite bank is the mouth of Clay Cliff Creek. The riverbanks are dotted with casuarinas and what may be mangroves. It is the essentially the same angle used by Conrad Martens for his 1859 watercolour.
In the accompanying text the house is described grandiosely: ‘There are several houses in this remote part of the globe, which may challenge comparison with some of the country residences of the gentry of England; and among them, perhaps, few have greater claims to admiration than the one here represented. Its situation is truly delightful, being upon a gentle rise of ground, about a quarter of a mile from the river which flows from Sydney to PARAMATTA. It commands a pleasing view of the country on the opposite side of the water...’ Other parts of the description recall specifics in Macarthur correspondence, such as the wide variety of fruit trees being grown, and an abundance of wild ducks.
The scene is conventional Georgian arrangement – a strolling genteel couple in the foreground (approximately where James Ruse Drive is today) admire the distant view, the woman pointing upstream towards Parramatta. On the opposite bank is the mouth of Clay Cliff Creek. The riverbanks are dotted with casuarinas and what may be mangroves. It is the essentially the same angle used by Conrad Martens for his 1859 watercolour.
In the accompanying text the house is described grandiosely: ‘There are several houses in this remote part of the globe, which may challenge comparison with some of the country residences of the gentry of England; and among them, perhaps, few have greater claims to admiration than the one here represented. Its situation is truly delightful, being upon a gentle rise of ground, about a quarter of a mile from the river which flows from Sydney to PARAMATTA. It commands a pleasing view of the country on the opposite side of the water...’ Other parts of the description recall specifics in Macarthur correspondence, such as the wide variety of fruit trees being grown, and an abundance of wild ducks.
Accession number
EF91/1
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