Industrial Cathedral

Industrial Cathedral
"Industrial Cathedral" charcoal on paper 131 x 131 cm Jane Bennett. Finalist in 1998 Dobell Drawing Prize Art Gallery of NSW Finalist 1998 Blake Prize Winner 1998 Hunter's Hill Open Art Prize

About Me

My photo
Sydney, NSW, Australia
I'm an Industrial Heritage Artist who paints "en plein air".If it's damaged, derelict, doomed and about to disappear, I'll be there to paint it.

Friday 15 April 2011

Ghost ship - ex-HMAS Adelaide at Glebe - Part 2

HMAS Adelaide was decommissioned in 2008 and prepared for scuttling as a dive wreck during late 2009 and early 2010.
Her mast was removed, dangerous materials and toxins were removed, and access holes were cut in the ship's flanks.
She was originally intended to be sunk on 27 March 2010, 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) offshore from Avoca Beach, in 32 metres (105 ft) of water.
Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from Glebe Island Wharf  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
"The ex-HMAS Adelaide on Glebe Island wharf" 2010
oil on canvas 30 x 61 cm
Sold

By late 2009 the Baulderstone group had left the northern end of Glebe Island, leaving it clear for the ex- HMAS Adelaide.
At the southern end, the 'Thor Kis' arrived with cable which would later be laid under Port Botany.
McMahons Services started preparing the ex-HMAS Adelaide for scuttling, which was then earmarked for March 27th 2010.
Plein air oil Painting of salt truck and Thevenard from Glebe Island Wharf  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
'Salt Truck at Glebe, with the 'Thevenard'
2010 oil on canvas
15 x 30cm
Sold

I painted some other interesting visitors to the wharf.
In this painting you can see the ex- HMAS Adelaide lurking in the background behind a giant mound of salt being poured on the wharf from the salt ship 'CSL Thevenard'. This salt was then loaded into trucks and driven down to chemical plants at Port Botany.
Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from Glebe Island Wharf  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
Painting the 'Adelaide' on the wharf
Available
Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from Glebe Island Wharf  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
Painting the 'Adelaide' on the wharf
Available 
These 2 photos show me at work on the painting shown below. This large canvas, 61 x 183cm, really pushed the boundaries of what is physically possible in plein air painting.
When it became windy I would have to lie the canvas flat on the ground, or I would end up chasing it and my easel all over the wharf.
Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from Glebe Island Wharf  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
My easel and palette - gone with the wind !
Painting Ex-HMAS Adelaide at
Glebe Island wharf en plein air

Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from Glebe Island Wharf  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
Ex-HMAS Adelaide at Glebe Island wharf -
plein air oil painting
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 183cm
Available

Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from Glebe Island Wharf  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
"The ex-HMAS Adelaide on Glebe Island wharf"
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 183 cm

Available 
On the right hand side of this painting is the OES Barge. This finally left Glebe Island wharf for White Bay in June 2010, 1 day before leaving Sydney Harbour to lay cables under Botany Bay.
I had rushed to complete this, as some of the people on the wharf were quite interested in acquiring a work. I needn't have hurried, as a literally last minute decision pulled the plug on the scuttling.
Over a year of apparently interminable rolling legal action ensued before the end of the saga.
An appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal by a local and vocal
protest group 3 days before the sinking saw the project placed on hold until the case can be heard in full.
The case was originally to have been heard on 5 May, but was then postponed to July.
Finally the federal judge, Justice Garry Downes, president of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, approved the project but imposed stringent new conditions.
His decision ended a legal battle which had lasted almost six months. On 15 September, the Tribunal ruled that the scuttling of the ship could go ahead after the removal of any remaining wiring, canvas, insulation, and exfoliating red lead paint.
The delays caused by the tribunal hearing meant that instead of costing the original $5.8 million assigned to the scuttling project, the tribunal hearing, additional cleanup, and berthing fees brought the total cost to $8.5 million.
The ship was still there, looking a little forlorn until the dawn of April 11th when it embarked on its final triumphant journey to its final resting spot off North Avoca.

Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide and tugs from Glebe Island Wharf  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
"Ex HMAS Adelaide departing Glebe Island at dawn"
2011 oil on canvas 112 x 183cm
Available 
Her last journey, accompanied by the 'Woona'. The other tug was hidden by the bulk of the ship.
I met up with her again in Terrigal, a couple of days before the sinking and painted her last moments before her new life as an artificial reef.
There was a dramatic viewpoint of her from a rocky cove beneath the imposing "Skillion".

'Ex HMAS Adelaide from the 'Skillion' at sunset '2011
oil on canvas 15 x 30cm sold
PRIVATE COLLECTION : TERRIGAL

Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from North Avoca 2011 ''Strictly Business' from the 'Skillion' Terrigal  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
"Ex HMAS Adelaide from the 'Skillion' the next morning"
2011 oil on canvas 25 x 51cm

Available
I also painted her from a lookout next to the surf club at North Avoca Beach.
Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from North Avoca 2011 ''Strictly Business' from the 'Skillion' Terrigal  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
"Ex HMAS Adelaide from North Avoca" 2011
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm

Available 
Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from North Avoca 13th April 2011 ''Strictly Business' from the 'Skillion' Terrigal  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
Painting "Ex HMAS Adelaide from North Avoca" 2011
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
Available

Ex HMAS Adelaide was finally successfully sunk at midday on Wednesday April 13th. As if all the previous nail biting suspense hadn't been enough, there was over an hour long wait for an inquisitive pod of dolphins to move out of the area.
I watched and sketched its final moments above water barely 300 metres away from Andrew MacMahon's huge white boat "Strictly Business, which you can see in the distance in the painting below.
The next day I painted the same spot where the ship had been from the same vantage point next to the Skillion.

Plein air oil Painting of the Adelaide from North Avoca 13th April 2011 ''Strictly Business' from the 'Skillion' Terrigal  painted by industrial heritage Jane Bennett
Painting the Adelaide from North Avoca 13th April 2011
''Strictly Business' from the 'Skillion' Terrigal
(Adelaide underwater) '
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
Available 
For a long time it had seemed as though the ship would remain in limbo.
All the drama was worth it in the end.
It has succeeded as an artificial reef beyond the wildest dreams of its creators.
Recently I was painting a commission at Chowder Bay, Clifton Gardens, which is the headquarters of SIMS, the Sydney Harbour Institute of Marine Science. The marine scientists raved for hours about the wonderful diversity and abundance of marine species newly inhabiting the artificial reef.

Related Posts

Ghost ship - ex-HMAS Adelaide at Glebe - Part 1




See my Hungry Mile page in this blog

For more paintings and information about the ex-HMAS Adelaide:

See my White Bay Wharf / Glebe island Wharf page in this blog

1 comment:

Jim said...

This is great. I'm following your blog now. :)