| Brief Description |
This water colour painting by itinerant artist Christopher Aubrey is a view of the Castlecliff Freezing Works in Whanganui in the afternoon.
The landscape painting focuses on the north bank of the Whanganui River and follows the river bank through to the Castlecliff Freezing Works. The North Mole with breakers and the sea beyond are visible. A two-masted ship and a smaller ketch are visible beyond the river mouth. Two horses with riders and two brown dogs drive a flock of sheep north west along the river bank towards the road to the Freezing Works, and many sea birds fly over the water. A railway steam engine and three goods carriages appear at right of painting, travelling towards the Freezing Works. A three masted ship and a two masted ship are moored at the Freezing Works quay, and a single masted vessel is moored in the river to the south of them, away from the quayside. The Freezing Works are a series of joined industrial buildings in brown and grey tones; three long chimneys emit smoke. Hills appear at upper right with a large building to the left of them, possible the Customhouse, and tussock and scrub at lower right. The painting is now faded, as can be seen from edges of paper where a different mat once covered part of the painting. It is secured with animal glue on to cream card. The painting is from the same spot as two other paintings in the Museum collection, but the time of day is different.
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