May 11, 2018

Recollections of Exploration and Voyage on public display

UOW Library officially launches Becarevic Collection. 

In 1888, a man by the name of Henry Arthur Pringle arrived in Wollongong to manage the interests of the then Southern Coal Company.

An ambitious engineer, Pringle had a clear desire to innovate and forged ahead with expansive plans for coal extraction and shipping, building a large jetty at Port Kembla.

His career achievements and his time in Wollongong, much of which was spent breeding horses and picnicking around Fairy Creek, were documented through photographs. Pringle sent many of the photographs back home to his mother, before returning to England in about 1904 and serving as a Captain in the Infantry in World War 1.

Some years ago the great, great granddaughter of Henry Arthur Pringle sold the Pringle Album to Mr Barry Becarevic, an avid collector and alumnus of the University of Wollongong (UOW) with a particular interest in preserving the chronicles of the past.

Over the past seven years, Mr Becarevic has donated a number of items from his personal collection to the UOW Library. The collection includes The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay (1789), Flinders’ Voyage to Terra Australia (1814), a Tourists’ Guide to the Beautiful Illawarra (1903) and the Henry Arthur Pringle Album (1887-1893).

The UOW Library officially launched the Becarevic Collection: Recollections of Exploration and Voyage yesterday (Thursday 10 May) as a public exhibition. The exhibition will run daily until 24 June, illustrating the evolution of the traveller and the documentation of their journeys and experiences through text, illustrations and photographs.

UOW Library Archives Manager Grant White said the exhibition shows how the documentation of journey and experience has changed over time.

“Travel, as we know it now, did not exist in the late 18th century and crossing the globe was expensive and dangerous,” he said.

“A successful voyage was a cause for celebration and wonder. They almost always brought something new back with them so it’s hardly surprising that written accounts by these explorers were keenly awaited by a fascinated public.”

UOW Director of Library Services Margie Jantti expressed her thanks for the generous donation to the Library’s Rare Books Collection.

“The gift provided by Barry Becarevic will be of great value to researchers and adds culturally significant items to UOW,” she said.

“Every gift enables the University a margin of excellence and a greater capacity to make an impact in society.”

For more information on the exhibition please visit the UOW Library website.