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About this photograph
Isaac Rock was known as Black Rock when the Georgette ran aground nearby 150 years ago. On the darkest winter night, the Milky Way points right to it.
Made on one of the darkest nights of the winter, when there is no moon and no town glow to speak of on this part of the coast, the frame lines the galactic core up over the rock that the 1876 records call Black Rock.
The alignment is a coincidence of geography and season, not a symbol the photographer arranged. But standing on that beach in the dark, with the surf audible and the wreck somewhere out in front of you, the coincidence is difficult to ignore — a piece of sky that has not changed since the night before the Georgette came ashore, pointing at the one landmark on this coast that carries Sam Isaacs' name.
The long exposure required for the stars also smooths the sea, so the water reads as fog rather than swell. The rock is the only hard edge in the picture.
About Isaac Rock
Isaac Rock stands off the Calgardup Bay shoreline within sight of where the SS Georgette came ashore. At the time of the wreck in 1876 it was known as Black Rock; today it carries the name Isaac.
That name is the reason this rock recurs through the exhibition. Sam Isaacs, the Aboriginal stockman who rode to the beach with Grace Bussell on the morning of the wreck, was awarded a bronze medal for his part in the rescue while Bussell received silver, a gold watch and a town named after her. The rock is one of the few things on this coast that carries his name at all. Photographing it repeatedly, in every condition the coast offers, is the exhibition's way of keeping him in the frame.
The full account of the wreck — the failed pumps, the lifeboat, Grace Bussell and Sam Isaacs, and the inquiry that followed — is set out in the story of the SS Georgette. The research behind it is described in the author's preface.
About the print
Printed to order on Hahnemühle Photo Rag, a 100% cotton archival paper, and supplied with an edition number. Free shipping within Australia.
