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From The Powerhouse Museum's "Photo Of The Day" blog: "If you look at the larger version of this image on Flickr you can see several signs have been placed on the building that reads ‘Many happy returns of the day’. You can clearly see a large group of people gathering out the front of the building and some of the ferries are full of passengers. What was so special about this day?"

Looks like it might be something about Mort & Co.? www.mortco.com.au/history.html "The name Mort & Co has been associated with Australia’s agricultural industries for decades. This link was first established in 1843 when Thomas Sutcliff Mort established Mort & Co as an auctioneering and brokering business specifically focusing on selling wool. This business developed and became a leading pastoral house before merging with R Goldsbrough & Co in 1888 to form Goldsbrough Mort & Co. Goldsbrough Mort & Co continued to grow, and in 1962 merged with Elder Smith & Co to form Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort & Co Ltd. Consolidation continued, and in 1981 Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort & Co Ltd merged with Henry Jones IXL to form Elders IXL which today trades as Elders. Charlie Mort, the proprietor of Mort & Co is a great-great-great nephew of Thomas and is proud of the mark that his ancestors have had on the Australian agricultural industry."

Info about the founder, Thomas Mort: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sutcliffe_Mort ... which says he apparently died in 1878, so it wasn't his birthday, if indeed this pic is from 1900 :)

I was wondering if it might have something to do with the ferries... and they just hung the note on the Mort & Co. building because it was right there ;) Not sure if a merger would be classified as a birthday, as such...

@ Powerhouse Museum Collection - the Justice and Police Museum is one corner south. Tweddle's Belmore Hotel "First & Last" as seen from the other direction: www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2362703683/

Really, the Opera House is unbeatable. The fort matches Gov House doesn't it? But would not have become an icon of Oz.

don't know about anyone else but those lovely wooden dories in the foreground have got my vote

Give it back to Bennelong and his family!

It is rare to see a photo of the actual Fort Macquarie. The boats are lovely too! but the cropping suggests that they were secondary to the photographer's intentions

Highranger There are several photos of Fort Macquarie in this collection - I have been tagging them when I remember. My favourite, by Henry King (like this) -

The first named ship should be "AUSTRALASIAN". This correct name is visible on the bow of the ship through the zoom feature available at the Persistent URL. We also know that this event occurred at Circular Quay on 3 March, 1885. For reference, see this plate from the Illustrated London News: www.old-print.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=MAR1042211# and this site: www.firstbattalion.au.com/Our Heritage.htm

Of course it is understood that the original caption is retained for historical value. So, you would not be inclined to add a note to your catalogue information at the persistent URL correctly identifying the ships then? Would not such a notation assist researchers seeking a photograph of the actual AUSTRALASIAN? [ Note added 2 May 2013: For some reason the comments by the Powerhouse Museum to which I am responding here has been deleted. The comment by the Powerhouse Museum immediately preceding this one was something to the effect that the caption of this photo "Departure of troopships 'Australian' and 'Iberia' for the Soudan" has been retained because it was on the original plate negative. I'm just adding this note for clarity, because it helps to make sense of how I begin this comments.]

See newly posted related image here: www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2633058828/

The Australasian, and the ship behind it, the Iberia are at the Orient Line Wharf. This photograph is in the collection of the Australian War Memorial at P00640.001, and it states at the AWM "original in Mitchell Library". However you can't get any more original than the glass plate negative in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum.

Wow I am really happy to find this picture. Sometimes I feel the New South Wales contingent in the Sudan is an overlooked part of our history.