The Landing, Canning River, Western Australia

Abstract

River scene with a paddle steamer and a number of rowing boats carrying parties of men and women. The river at this point is edged by dense vegetation including eucalypts. Several women in the boats carry parasols and all the men wear boater hats while of the two men near the steamer, one wears a cap and the other a bowler. At the back of the paddle steamer a scalloped canopy has been set up. On the side of what is possibly a paddle wheel cover is painted a fan motif and the word: MELVILLE. The Landing was also called Mason's Landing after Benjamin Mason who in the 1860s had been the owner of a timber mill which had harvested jarrah from the Darling Ranges. The Landing was where barges were loaded with timber destined for Fremantle and export.