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.

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007 & Vickers Ruwolt. (1967). The gears [picture] : gears for the mining industry, Vickers Ruwolt, Burnley, Melbourne, 1967 / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136505226

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

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1982). Blair Athol Coal Mine, Queensland, 1982 [1] [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161040243

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1971). Aerial view of the Comalco bauxite mine and processing plant, Gladstone, Queensland [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160791896

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007 & Australia. Department of Trade and Industry. (1957). Conzinc's opencut uranium mine, Rum Jungle, Nth Qld [i.e. N.T.], 1957, 3 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161436950

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1974). Mining activity at Hamersley Iron mining site, Mount Tom Price, Western Australia, 1974 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160854736

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1977). Stacker reclaimer at Groote Eylandt Mining Company, Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, 1977 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161292384

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.

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1983). Shell's oil rig, Nymphea, test firing in Bass Strait, 1983 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143362246

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1976). Mobil Altona Oil Refinery, Melbourne, 1976 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160321345

Sievers’ most famous work, ‘Gears for the mining industry, Vickers Ruwolt, Burnley, Melbourne, 1967’, (the first image on this page) was reproduced by Australia Post on a 43 cent stamp as part of a 1991 series celebrating the 150th anniversary of photography.

The image has all the elements of Sievers’ style: a clean sharp image showing a relationship between man and machine.

As Sievers stated later: ‘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.

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1978). R.B. Mining (Roche Brothers), Wolfram Mine at Mt. Carbine, North East Queensland, 1978, 4 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161831888

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007 & Australia. Department of Trade and Industry. (1973). [Cattle in the Australian bush, 1973] [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160831281

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1962). APPM near Burnie, Tas. (Aberdeen Angus) [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. 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.

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

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1965). Exterior view of Lennons Hotel, Toowoomba, Queensland, 1965 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161838485

people standing in a hotel reception area, 1965

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1965). Reception area of Lennons Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, 1965 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160911549

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.

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1968). National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne - Forecourt with Rodin's Balzac, 1968, 2 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160765377

National Gallery of Victoria Arch entrance

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1955). National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, coat-of-arms: Norma Redpath, 1968, 2 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. 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.

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1959). Sidney Myer Music Bowl, opening concert, 1959 (picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143588210

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1959). Astor House, Sturt Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 1959 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160373232

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1981). Flats in Brisbane, Queensland, 1981 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161789405

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

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.

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1975). Walter Burley and Marion Mahoney Griffin's ceiling in the Capitol Theatre, Melbourne 1975, 4 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143211195

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1975). The Capitol Theatre in Melbourne, [Victoria], 1975 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-160339753

Sievers, Wolfgang, 1913-2007. (1975). Walter Burley and Marion Mahoney Griffin's ceiling in the Capitol Theatre, Melbourne 1975, 3 [picture] / Wolfgang Sievers. 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

Some buildings are considered ‘quintessentially Australian’, such as the ‘Queenslander’ style of house. What other building styles are unique to Australia? Why have they developed? What role do they play? Find other examples of ‘unique’ building styles from around the world. Use the Library’s collection to find examples of unique building styles. Use the learning webinar ‘Finding the history of your house’ for inspiration.
Investigate an Australian industry. How has that industry changed over time? When did it begin in Australia? How has it grown? Do we still operate that industry? Prepare a profile on this industry and present to the class. For inspiration, explore the Digital Classroom module The Sell: Australian Advertising 1790s to 1990s – Cup of Tea?
Have students investigate what industry their town is or has been known for. What role has that industry played in the development of the town?