Guide to the Sketchbooks of Edward Charles Frome (as filmed by the AJCP), 1835-1853

Summary

Collection number:

M987

Creator:

Frome, Edward Charles

Extent:

155 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Approximately 160 sketches and watercolours, mainly of scenes in South Australia, but including nine watercolours painted by Frome in Mauritius 1852-53, one painting by J. Henderson entitled View in Van Diemen's Land and two paintings by Samuel Thomas Gill, one with the title Horticultural Show 1840.

Subjects of the paintings include: homes of settlers, such as Major O'Halloran, Capt. Charles Sturt, and Frome himself; topographical drawings; camps set up during the survey trips undertaken by Frome; townships established during the early period of settlement in South Australia, such as Kingscote, Kangaroo Island 1840, Wellington, on the River Murray 1840, and Morunde 1842; Aboriginal sites; and views of many South Australian localities.

Biographical / Historical:

Edward Charles Frome (1801-1890) was born at Gibraltar and grew up in London. He entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in 1817 and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in 1825. He worked on the construction of the Rideau Canal in Canada in 1827-33 and later undertook training of junior Royal Engineers at Chatham. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1840.In 1839 Frome was appointed the third surveyor-general of South Australia and he and his family arrived in Adelaide in September. The appointment was for ten years and he remained in the colony until 1849.

Under his leadership, large areas of surveyed land were soon available for settlers and roads and secondary settlements planned. He explored and mapped new territory in the north and south-east of the colony. He also acted as colonial engineer and supervised the construction of bridges over the River Torrens and the Adelaide Gaol. He was a member of the Council of Government in 1839-43 and served on a number of public authorities.Frome subsequently served with the Royal Engineers in Mauritius, Heligoland, Ireland and Gibraltar.

He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1854 and became lieutenant-governor of Guernsey in 1867. He retired in 1877.Frome was a talented artist. Most of his South Australian paintings and drawings were done while working on surveys or exploring expeditions. In particular, a large number were drawn during his survey of the Lake Alexandrina-Coorong region in 1840 and during his second northern trip to Lake Torrens in 1843.

The albums, sketchbooks and some single paintings were donated and bequeathed to the Royal Empire Society by Dora Wynne, the daughter of Frome, in 1929-30. The South Australian works were sold to the Art Gallery of South Australia in 1970.

Reference: R.G. Appleyard. Captain E.C. Frome, R.E., and his sketches of South Australia, 1839-1849, Bulletin of the Art Gallery of South Australia, vol. 34 (1-2), July-Oct. 1972. The article includes a full listing of the paintings and drawings.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1870659] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

Art Gallery of South Australia. North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000.

For further information visit http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Collection/

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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