Sydney’s biggest tourist secrets revealed from the Garden Palace

What is Sydney’s biggest tourist secrets?

Many of Sydney’s biggest tourist secrets, lost in a gleaming palace.

Sarah Morley reveals some of these stories from the Garden Palace collection the Amaze Gallery.

Join us at the Library of New South Wales where we meet curator Sarah Morley sharing some of Sydney’s historical secrets revealed in her stories from the Garden Palace collection display from the Amaze Gallery.

While the display in the Amaze Gallery of the Garden Palace collection finished some time ago, we had been lucky enough to capture a glimpse of this tragic and dynamic story lead by the technology and innovation of the time.

Sarah shares a glimpse into the rich collections of the State Library of NSW by telling some the fascinating stories associated with this magnificent building which holds Sydney’s biggest tourist secrets.

The Garden Palace collection display in the Amaze Gallery was displayed to coincide with barrangal dyara (skin and bones) by the artist Jonathan Jones.

http://kaldorartprojects.org.au/project-32-jonathan-jones

Planting Dreams: audio guides
Jonathan Jones on Richardson’s ‘Garden Palace’

Sydney’s Garden Palace is now lost to living memory, however, in its day its grandeur dominated the skyline in Sydney.

Sarah Morays obsession around the Sydney garden palace started some time ago when the stories began to reveal themselves during some detailed research at the State Library of New South Wales.

From its construction, destruction, and opening in 1879 Sydney’s Garden Palace captivated society in Sydney and visitors from around the world in so many ways.

Sydney’s secrets from The Garden Palace

Furthermore, the Garden Palace was also home of one of the many new technologies of the time on display the elevator, was just one of these as the sizeable purpose-built exhibition building was constructed to house the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879.

Dominating the skyline, the Garden Palace was a magnificent building.

See stories of the garden palace on the New South Wales state library website for more details.

http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/garden-palace

The motto of the Sydney International Exhibition would prove tragically apt, Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites or ‘Newly risen, how brightly you shine’.

The story of the garden palace started over 135 years ago.

Constructed by John Young and designed by James Barnet the garden palace was built in only eight months. This was due to the electric lighting imported from England that allowed for construction around the clock.

The building was over 244 meters long and had a floor space of over 112,000 meters with 4.5 million feet of timber, 2.5 million bricks and 243 tons of galvanized corrugated iron.

The garden palace burnt down in 1882 taking with it many, many treasures, images and stories of the time and many of Sydney’s secrets.

Lost at the time were plans, papers and statistical records from census papers which were the work of 30 people over 13 months and the Australian Museum’s collection of Aboriginal artifacts were also lost.

All exhibits for the Juvenile exhibition were burnt up along with 300 pictures that were the property of the Art Society.

The loss to Linnaean Society whose library and collections were housed in the building was estimated at 3000 pounds. See collections from the ashes of the garden palace for more details.

Trial by Fire – the formation of the Powerhouse Museum’s collections from the ashes of the Garden Palace

The Garden Palace stretched from the state library to the Conservatorium of music.

Sarah shares with us “the more you dig in the newspapers of the day, the more you realize just how many things were lost.”

While it’s possible there could have been everything from snake oil liniment sellers with tonics promised to cure a wide variety of ailments from the records it also appears among many things were swiss watches including live sheep from France and England.

Displays included some of the latest machinery including newspaper printers, and many of the exhibits could also be sent to Melbourne for the Melbourne exhibition.

The Mitchell gallery is being refurbished

The new Michael Crouch Family Galleries will offer a unique experience for our visitors, stretching across the first floor of the historic Mitchell building. More details of the changes can be found at http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/ourfuture/new-galleries

A concert grand piano,1878 Bechstein that had won the musical instrument first prize at the Exhibition, had been luckily removed from the Garden Palace is now held by the Powerhouse.

Learn more about the powerhouse museum and get more on Sydney’s secrets at https://maas.museum/powerhouse-museum/

An 1878 Bechstein concert grand piano, that had won the musical instrument first prize at the Exhibition, but had luckily been removed from the Garden Palace before the fire, is also held by the Powerhouse.

More of Sydney’s secrets will be revealed in upcoming events at the State Library of New South Wales.