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Shellwork Harbour Bridge with washed cobalt blue velvet, handmade by Aunty Esme Timbery
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TitleShellwork Harbour Bridge with washed cobalt blue velvet, handmade by Aunty Esme Timbery Date2007About this objectThis shellwork Harbour Bridge was made by the late Aunty Esme Timbery, Bidjigal Elder and renowned artist, whose shellworks have been collected by museums and galleries across Australia.
Among the shellwork designs, Sydney Harbour Bridge has become one of the most popular since the bridge opened in 1932. In her book Botany Bay: Where Histories Meet, historian Dr Maria Nugent noted that earlier shellwork designs, such as basket originally sold to white suburban women, were remodelled to cater for the tourist market. ‘The process of the transformation of shell art from Victorian-era curio to a Sydney souvenir was complete when a shell Sydney Harbour Bridge hit the stalls.’ Fine examples of shellwork inspired by Harbour Bridge can be found in various museum and gallery collections, made by artists including Aunty Marilyn Russell, Mavis Longbottom and Lola Ryan, in their own distinct styles. As Nugent noted, ‘while the work was a social activity, carried out in the company of other women, each shellworker had an individual style’.
This object forms an interesting comparison with another item in the La Perouse Museum collection – a shellwork Harbour Bridge made by Aunty Esme’s daughter, Aunty Marilyn Russell (Object No. 2023.5).
The youngest of five children of Hubert Timbery and Elizabeth Butler, Aunty Esme was born in 1931 in Port Kembla at one of her family’s fishing camps, Hill 60. Descendent of the Timbery family from the La Perouse Aboriginal Community, Aunty Esme came from a long line of shell artists, including her great-grandmother, ‘Queen’ Emma Timbery, who had regularly displayed and sold her shellworks at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney.
The making of shellwork souvenirs by indigenous women in Sydney dates at least to the late nineteenth century, with records showing Aboriginal women selling shell baskets at Circular Quay and Botany Bay as early as the 1880s. The craft was originally introduced by missionaries. With the establishment of La Perouse Aboriginal Reserve in 1895, the production of artefacts became, in the eyes of the missionaries, a means to keep people busy and to exercise control. It is likely that the missionaries influenced the choice of objects that the women were making — the shellwork baby shoes, jewellery boxes and replicas of famous landmarks reflected a Victorian sensibility for craft objects, drawing on shell crafts that were popular in Britain and Australia in the late 19th century, or Victorian era.
While the making of artefacts was considered a means of occupying the Aboriginal people living on the reserve, thus restricting their contact with other Australians, the result was the opposite – the souvenir industry became an important factor in defeating the segregation policy. A weekend outing to ‘the Loop’, as the tram terminal was known, became a fashionable pastime for both local and overseas visitors, especially after 1905 when the area was declared a public recreational space. Families would catch the tram to La Perouse and wander the headland, buying shellwork and other souvenirs to take home.
The tourist industry declined in La Perouse in the 1960s when the tram service and tourist ferry ceased operations. At the same time, First Nations souvenir makers had trouble competing with mass-produced items. Object No.2023.7Physical descriptionThis shellwork Harbour Bridge is made of cardboard, dark blue velvet with a pattern of silver hearts, shells and glitter. The rear is plain. The two outward-facing sides are decorated by two vertical bands of shells of white and brown colours. The front face is decorated with strips of tightly-packed shells forming the bridge side, curves and struts. The top of the structure is decorated. The two rectangular 'pylons' are decorated with striped shells forming a border around cowrie shells and other small shells. The top of the bridge is decorated by two bands of shells, formed with star-shaped shells as a border and a variety of other shells inside the band.CreatorTimbery, EsmeDimensionsH: 28cm
W: 63cm
D: 16cmPlace madeLa Perouse (N.S.W.)MaterialCardboardVelvetShellsGlitterGluePlywoodSourceLa Perouse MuseumProvenance c. 2007 - Made by Aunty Esme Timbery;
c. 2007-2015 - Purchased by Randwick City Library;
2 November 2023 - Donated to La Perouse Museum by Randwick City Council Library.Credit lineGift of Randwick City Council Library, 2023Acquisition date2 November 2023SubjectsArt, Aboriginal AustralianShellworkAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoplesPeople (Detailed entries)Timbery, EsmeOrganisations (Detailed entries)La Perouse Museum (La Perouse, N.S.W.)CategoryMuseum | First NationsThemesFirst Nations
Among the shellwork designs, Sydney Harbour Bridge has become one of the most popular since the bridge opened in 1932. In her book Botany Bay: Where Histories Meet, historian Dr Maria Nugent noted that earlier shellwork designs, such as basket originally sold to white suburban women, were remodelled to cater for the tourist market. ‘The process of the transformation of shell art from Victorian-era curio to a Sydney souvenir was complete when a shell Sydney Harbour Bridge hit the stalls.’ Fine examples of shellwork inspired by Harbour Bridge can be found in various museum and gallery collections, made by artists including Aunty Marilyn Russell, Mavis Longbottom and Lola Ryan, in their own distinct styles. As Nugent noted, ‘while the work was a social activity, carried out in the company of other women, each shellworker had an individual style’.
This object forms an interesting comparison with another item in the La Perouse Museum collection – a shellwork Harbour Bridge made by Aunty Esme’s daughter, Aunty Marilyn Russell (Object No. 2023.5).
The youngest of five children of Hubert Timbery and Elizabeth Butler, Aunty Esme was born in 1931 in Port Kembla at one of her family’s fishing camps, Hill 60. Descendent of the Timbery family from the La Perouse Aboriginal Community, Aunty Esme came from a long line of shell artists, including her great-grandmother, ‘Queen’ Emma Timbery, who had regularly displayed and sold her shellworks at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney.
The making of shellwork souvenirs by indigenous women in Sydney dates at least to the late nineteenth century, with records showing Aboriginal women selling shell baskets at Circular Quay and Botany Bay as early as the 1880s. The craft was originally introduced by missionaries. With the establishment of La Perouse Aboriginal Reserve in 1895, the production of artefacts became, in the eyes of the missionaries, a means to keep people busy and to exercise control. It is likely that the missionaries influenced the choice of objects that the women were making — the shellwork baby shoes, jewellery boxes and replicas of famous landmarks reflected a Victorian sensibility for craft objects, drawing on shell crafts that were popular in Britain and Australia in the late 19th century, or Victorian era.
While the making of artefacts was considered a means of occupying the Aboriginal people living on the reserve, thus restricting their contact with other Australians, the result was the opposite – the souvenir industry became an important factor in defeating the segregation policy. A weekend outing to ‘the Loop’, as the tram terminal was known, became a fashionable pastime for both local and overseas visitors, especially after 1905 when the area was declared a public recreational space. Families would catch the tram to La Perouse and wander the headland, buying shellwork and other souvenirs to take home.
The tourist industry declined in La Perouse in the 1960s when the tram service and tourist ferry ceased operations. At the same time, First Nations souvenir makers had trouble competing with mass-produced items. Object No.2023.7Physical descriptionThis shellwork Harbour Bridge is made of cardboard, dark blue velvet with a pattern of silver hearts, shells and glitter. The rear is plain. The two outward-facing sides are decorated by two vertical bands of shells of white and brown colours. The front face is decorated with strips of tightly-packed shells forming the bridge side, curves and struts. The top of the structure is decorated. The two rectangular 'pylons' are decorated with striped shells forming a border around cowrie shells and other small shells. The top of the bridge is decorated by two bands of shells, formed with star-shaped shells as a border and a variety of other shells inside the band.CreatorTimbery, EsmeDimensionsH: 28cm
W: 63cm
D: 16cmPlace madeLa Perouse (N.S.W.)MaterialCardboardVelvetShellsGlitterGluePlywoodSourceLa Perouse MuseumProvenance c. 2007 - Made by Aunty Esme Timbery;
c. 2007-2015 - Purchased by Randwick City Library;
2 November 2023 - Donated to La Perouse Museum by Randwick City Council Library.Credit lineGift of Randwick City Council Library, 2023Acquisition date2 November 2023SubjectsArt, Aboriginal AustralianShellworkAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoplesPeople (Detailed entries)Timbery, EsmeOrganisations (Detailed entries)La Perouse Museum (La Perouse, N.S.W.)CategoryMuseum | First NationsThemesFirst Nations
Timbery, Esme, Shellwork Harbour Bridge with washed cobalt blue velvet, handmade by Aunty Esme Timbery (2007). Randwick City Council, accessed 16/01/2026, https://ourstory.randwick.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/8615