A miniature model revealing the hidden machinery inside one of Hobart’s most recognisable waterfront landmarks will be a centrepiece of an upcoming exhibition at the Maritime Museum Tasmania.
Dr Tony Sprent AM has donated his detailed 1:12.7 scale model of the Jessop and Appleby steam crane at Constitution Dock, revealing the boiler, engine, lifting gear and complex system of chains and gears that once powered it.
The model will become a centrepiece of Hobart: Port City, a long-term exhibition exploring the development of the city’s working waterfront.
The Maritime Museum Tasmania preserves and shares Tasmania’s maritime history, from the vessels that shaped the state’s trade and transport networks to the people who worked on the water.
Maritime Museum marketing and communications manager Emily Quintin said the model would connect the exhibition’s history with a landmark many people still recognise.
“The steam crane is a familiar sight to anyone who spends time around Constitution Dock, but most people have never had the opportunity to see how it worked,” she said.
“Tony’s model reveals the engineering hidden inside the crane and helps explain the important role it played in the operation of Hobart’s port.”
Sprent built the model after years of research, using original drawings, photographs and measurements taken from the full-sized crane to reproduce both its appearance and its complicated internal machinery.
“I have been interested in the crane for many years, both as a piece of engineering and as an object with great visual character,” he said.
“I am delighted it will be displayed at the museum and become part of the story of Hobart’s working waterfront.”
The Hobart Marine Board ordered the crane in 1897 from Jessop and Appleby in Leicester, England and it arrived in Hobart in 1899.
The crane became a key part of Hobart’s port operations, helping load and unload cargo for almost 70 years.
Weighing around 85 tonnes, the crane was capable of lifting up to 25 tonnes.
It remained in service into the late 1960s.
Further details about the exhibition and its opening will be announced soon.
