The Davidson Collection of maritime photographs has been in the care of the (now) Sydney Heritage Fleet for perhaps 30 years. No-one now in the organization can remember the details of the original acquisition as the collection procedures of this all-volunteer group were not then as effective as they now are. 
  When this extensive and uncatalogued collection of prints and negatives arrived in the museum the group comprised a group of mostly young volunteers struggling to retain and preserve several vintage steam vessels and other maritime matters. The major concern was the retrieval of a ‘mangled wreck’ from a mud berth in the south of Tasmania. Few of those who admire the James Craig would believe how awful a sight it was then. 
  The museum volunteers worked in an ad hoc manner often having to move themselves and their collection with little citizen or government enthusiasm and considerable official interference from time to time. Thie acquisition policy was simple: 
  “Thank you, we’ll look after it – somehow.” 
  New South Wales had no official maritime heritage collection and little citizen interest as such, so the (now) SHF was always in the position of biting off more than it could chew and then, masticating vigorously. 

  It is believed Alister Thomas Davidson began employment with trading company Burns Philp at Cairns in 1903. He may have later been employed at the company’s administration centre at Sourabaya in 1931. 
  At Port Moresby in 1942 he was brought back to Australia because of the war. His war activities are not known but he may have been sent to Port Moresby in 1947. When he retired is also not known but his photographic activities around Port Jackson and beyond began either in 1948 or 1949. 
  After retirement Davidson seems to have lived in the Manly area as his collection includes several family groups which may include him. There are no images of children and it seems he may not have married, perhaps living with sisters or other relatives. 

  If anyone around the Manly area, or elsewhere, can offer even a small snippet of information concerning Davidson, I would be most enthusiastic to hear from them. 
  Following retirement Davidson certainly maintained his connection with Burns Philp which suggests he’d filled a fairly senior position. He made several voyages aboard the company’s flagship, always with his trusty camera at the ready. 
  He offers an interesting complexity of photographic methods and attitudes. On most of his forays around Port Jackson he used a 2¼ in. (c.56mm) square roll film camera of a type which could produce eight or sometimes 12 shots. The exposed film was usually processed via the local chemist shop, the prints being of the same size as the negative and being contact prints. The size of these prints made them popular for photograph albums but they were very difficult to include in publications. 
  On the rear of each print the photographer very carefully drew a ‘mud map’ which told the ships details, date and proximate position of the subject to other vessels and wharves, all of which were identified. The pencil lines were so fine and clear that a magnifying glass is needed to understand the display. 
  Handling these prints is a fascinating experience. The photographer had no identifiable filing system and it seems obvious his photographs were intended entirely for his own pleasure. 
  Early in the 1960s Alister Davidson replaced his 2¼ in. with a 35mm camera which could carry up to 36 exposures. The lens was better, the images only about half the area and proof shoots (similar to wedding proofs) were available. The photographer continued to separate the negatives and the proof images into individual items. Researcher’s chaos! 
  Davidson seems to have owned or regularly used a lovely little raised deck fishing boat to get him to places that the ferry services did not reach. 
  Marella was probably named after one of BP’s ships and may well still exist on Sydney’s waters. (I would also appreciate contact with anyone with knowledge of the boat.) 
  The photographer took most of his pictures from the boat decks of Manly ferries and on the back of his images, he provides the name of the ferry and the name of the Master. When he used the inner harbour ferries, he did not bother with such details. 
  Davidson offers images of life jacket drills and lifeboat practice. He photographed tugs at work and ships on fire. He took photos of firemen at work and wharfies loading while passengers made their farewells and he covered the marine scene in Sydney and to a lesser extent, in Brisbane, Port Moresby and Melbourne, between about 1949 and c. 1960. 
  He took about 9,000-10,000 images of which perhaps 4,000-odd prints offer value to researchers. Perhaps 500-1,000 prints of this mass are actually useful for publication and are good enough to illustrate his work. During 2004 I used a professional quality scanner to place about 2,000 images onto CD ROMs for the Sydney Heritage Fleet. This work provides a magnificent ‘snapshot’ of ‘our ’arbour’ when it was truly a working harbour and not the real estate developers’ paradise that our recent shortsighted politicians have produced.

*Graeme Andrews’ book The Watermen of Sydney can be had from Boat Books, ABC books and all good book stores. Mail order enquiries may be made to Stannard Marine at 02 9418 3711.