Documenting modernity

Industrial innovation

Exporting coal to Japan commenced in 1955, and by 1967 Australia had converted from the English pound to the Australian dollar as the national currency.

High population growth, high employment and high government spending led to higher education and saw Australian society become richer during the 1950s and 1960s. Driving this change was the growth and performance of Australia’s primary industry, particularly in the minerals and mining sector.

Wolfgang Sievers saw this transformation and documented the scale and transformation of this industry.

Wolfgang Sievers, The gears gears for the mining industry, Vickers Ruwolt, Burnley, Melbourne, 1967, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136505226

Mining inspiration

Over several years, Sievers travelled around Australia, documenting the scale and growth of mining and associated industries, which were seen as vital for Australia’s prosperity. Places documented by Sievers included:

Blair Athol and Moura coal mines in Queensland
Comalco bauxite mine at Weipa, Queensland
Conzinc uranium mine at Rum Jungle, Northern Territory
Hamersley Iron mines at Dampier and Tom Price, Western Australia
Groote Eylandt manganese mining, Northern Territory
Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines, Queensland
Mount Lyell copper mine, Tasmania
North Broken Hill lead mine, New South Wales
Solar salt mining near Dampier

Wolfgang Sievers, Blair Athol Coal Mine, Queensland, 1982, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161040243

Wolfgang Sievers, Aerial view of the Comalco bauxite mine and processing plant, Gladstone, Queensland, 1971, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160791896

Wolfgang Sievers and Department of Trade and Industry, Conzinc's opencut uranium mine, Rum Jungle, Nth Qld [i.e. N.T.], 1957, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161436950

Wolfgang Sievers, Mining activity at Hamersley Iron mining site, Mount Tom Price, Western Australia, 1974, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160854736

Wolfgang Sievers, Stacker reclaimer at Groote Eylandt Mining Company, Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, 1977, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161292384

Additional inspirations

Other subjects photographed by Sievers include:

transportation and export of minerals
Bass Strait oil rigs
the Mobil oil refinery at Altona, Victoria
the bauxite refinery at Gladstone, Queensland
the Broken Hill Associated Smelters at Port Pirie, South Australia
the nickel processing plant at Yabulu, Queensland
the Electrolytic Zinc Corporation works at Risdon, Tasmania.

Wolfgang Sievers, Shell's oil rig, Nymphea, test firing in Bass Strait, 1983, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143362246

Wolfgang Sievers, Mobil Altona Oil Refinery, Melbourne, 1976, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160321345

One of Sievers’ most well-known photographs, Gears for the mining industry (1967), symbolises Australia's industrial strength. The image shows the relationship between man and machine—central to Sievers' photographic style. It was later featured on a postage stamp in 1991 to celebrate 150 years of photography.

Sievers once said:

I thought I might be able to create a symbolic photograph of Australia’s engineering skills, to show the world outside that Australia was not merely a continent of raw materials.

The cost of progress

Later in his career, Wolfgang Sievers struggled with the ethics of producing staged, sanitised and glamorised portrayals of industry and businesses, designed to promote those industries in advertisements and promotional material.

It was clear that some industries impacted on the Australian environment in a negative way, such as large-scale mining and cattle grazing. Sievers’ images invariably excluded the very real impacts of such industries on the environment:

I am quite aware of the moral problems confronting a responsible photographer in industry … Should he use his skills to hide the terrible pollution and despoliation of our country - as I have? In creating beautiful images I have glamorised industries which have often been heedless of their sacred trust to use resources wisely and take care in the interest of future generations. In my defence, so far, I have found no valid answer to these problems.

Wolfgang Sievers, R.B. Mining (Roche Brothers), Wolfram Mine at Mt. Carbine, North East Queensland, 1978, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161831888

Wolfgang Sievers and the Department of Trade and Industry, Cattle in the Australian bush, 1973, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160831281

Wolfgang Sievers, APPM near Burnie, Tas. (Aberdeen Angus), ~~1962,~~ nla.gov.au/nla.obj-144995667

Modern living

In addition to his industrial work, Sievers documented the work of Australia’s emerging modernist interior designers and architects. Between 1946 and 1973, he carried out photographic work for leading Melbourne architectural firms such as Robin Boyd and Yuncken Freeman.

Hotels

An example of the ‘modern dream’ is portrayed in Sievers’ ‘richly coloured and beautifully structured’ images of new Australian hotels in places such as Brisbane, Toowoomba and Melbourne.

exterior of Lennons Hotel, Toowoomba, Queensland, 1965

Wolfgang Sievers, Exterior view of Lennons Hotel, Toowoomba, Queensland, 1965, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161838485

people standing in a hotel reception area, 1965

Wolfgang Sievers, Reception area of Lennons Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, 1965, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160911549

Public spaces

When Sievers arrived in Melbourne in 1938, there were few modern buildings to photograph. This meant that he was able to document new buildings as they were constructed. Specific examples include many public-use buildings, including the National Gallery of Victoria, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and buildings being constructed at Monash University.

In Australia, the modernisation of architecture could be seen in floor-to-ceiling windows and raked-style flat roofs; styles that became quintessentially Australian.

Wolfgang Sievers, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne - Forecourt with Rodin's Balzac, 1968, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160765377

National Gallery of Victoria Arch entrance

Wolfgang Sievers, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, coat-of-arms: Norma Redpath, 1968, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143507753

A sepia photograph of the Sydney Myer Music Bowl. A large trianglular sail like building with a stage. A large crowd are gathered watching the stage.

Wolfgang Sievers, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, opening concert, 1959, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143588210

Wolfgang Sievers, Astor House, Sturt Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1959, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160373232

Wolfgang Sievers, Flats in Brisbane, Queensland, 1981, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161789405

However, Sievers did spend time documenting older buildings throughout Australia.

The Capitol

He took interest in buildings that were unique in their design or architecture. One such example can be seen in his collection of photographs documenting the interior of The Capitol theatre in Melbourne. The theatre was designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahoney Griffin and opened in 1924. It was one of the earliest examples of Art Deco interior design in a Melbourne public-use building.

The intricate design of The Capitol’s interior sits at odds with the clean lines of modernist design; however, Sievers’ images of the interior take a modernist approach and focus on the lines and angles within the space rather than the space itself.

Wolfgang Sievers, Walter Burley and Marion Mahoney Griffin's ceiling in the Capitol Theatre, Melbourne, 1975, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143211195

Wolfgang Sievers, The Capitol Theatre in Melbourne, [Victoria], 1975, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160339753

Wolfgang Sievers, Walter Burley and Marion Mahoney Griffin's ceiling in the Capitol Theatre, Melbourne, 1975, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143211091

Sievers’ work is a pictorial timeline showing Australia’s social, technological and industrial transformation. The Modern Australia depicted by Sievers was young, vibrant, highly domesticated and industrialised.

Learning activities

Activity 1: Australian architecture

What makes a building style ‘quintessentially Australian’? Explore styles such as the Queenslander and compare them to building styles in other parts of the world. For inspiration, use the learning webinar Finding the history of your house.

Activity 2: Industry change over time

Choose an Australian industry (e.g. mining, sheep farming, pearling). When did it start? How has it changed? Do we still rely on it?

Activity 3: Local connections

What industries shaped your local area or town? Research how they’ve influenced its development.

Activity 4: Research webinar

Use the Finding the history of your house webinar to explore local history and architecture.

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