Workshop Sunset at Halvorsens Boat Yard, low sun pushes through the enormous gridded windows at the far end of the workshop.

01 Halvorsens Boat YardPutney2018

ISO 1001/200f/8.014mm

Series · 17 prints

Halvorsens Boat Yard

Photographed 2018
Frames 17
Camera NIKON D850
Location New South Wales, Australia
Status Under redevelopment as Putney Wharf (from April 2025); boatshed adaptively reused
Opened 1939
Specs 1,299 craft built 1925-1976 (across Halvorsen yards) · Five slipways on the Parramatta River · Vessels up to 90 feet and 100 tons
01 ABOUT THIS SERIES

Series story

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

Halvorsens Boat Yard ran on the Parramatta River at Ryde from 1939 to 1980, on a five-acre site that had once been part of James Squire's colonial brewery wharf. The yard was Lars Halvorsen Sons' main works, with engineering, blacksmith, lumber, machine, plumbing, and sheet metal shops, plus five slipways for craft up to 90 feet and 100 tons. The Halvorsen family enterprise built 1,299 vessels between 1925 and 1976; over 200 of those went to the Australian, United States, and Dutch forces during the Second World War, including 178 38-foot air-sea rescue boats and 16 112-foot Fairmile motor launches. In 1962 the yard built Gretel, Australia's first America's Cup challenger. Production at Ryde wound down through 1979 and the site was sold to the Royal Australian Navy in 1980.

03 PRINTS

Prints in this series

Hand-signed limited editions, printed from the original RAW file. Editions run from 100 down to 25 and are not reissued once they sell through.

Workshop Sunset at Halvorsens Boat Yard, low sun pushes through the enormous gridded windows at the far end of the workshop.
Workshop Sunset
Workshop Floor at Halvorsens Boat Yard, worn timber planks stretch the full length of the workshop floor, their grain split.
Workshop Floor
Warehouse at Halvorsens Boat Yard, steel trusses span the full width of the warehouse, supported by heavy timber columns.
Warehouse
The Blue Room at Halvorsens Boat Yard, blue-green paint covers every wall and surface.
The Blue Room
Storeroom at Halvorsens Boat Yard, a wide timber floor stretches across the storeroom, every plank grey with dust and grit.
Storeroom
Sleeper Row at Halvorsens Boat Yard, heavy timber sleepers run in parallel lines down the centre of the shed, steel cables.
Sleeper Row
On the Catwalk at Halvorsens Boat Yard, steel columns rise from a worn timber floor, supporting a lattice of iron trusses.
On the Catwalk
On Rail at Halvorsens Boat Yard, a timber hull sits cradled on steel rails inside the shed at Halvorsens Boat Yard.
On Rail
Oanelled Warehouse at Halvorsens Boat Yard, the panelled warehouse at Halvorsens was used for boat storage and fitting-out.
Oanelled Warehouse
Mezzanine at Halvorsens Boat Yard, steel trusses span the full width of the shed, bolted to rust-streaked columns.
Mezzanine
Lady Huia at Halvorsens Boat Yard, a timber-hulled cruiser named *Lady Huia* sits propped on wooden cradles inside.
Lady Huia
Hull at Halvorsens Boat Yard, a timber hull sits propped on blocks inside the main construction shed.
Hull
Deck at Halvorsens Boat Yard, steel columns rise from a worn timber deck inside a vast industrial shed.
Deck
Checkerplate at Halvorsens Boat Yard, a timber hull sits propped on blocks inside a vast industrial shed.
Checkerplate
Boat Stands at Halvorsens Boat Yard, a timber hull sits raised on keel blocks inside the main construction shed.
Boat Stands
Beneath the Boat at Halvorsens Boat Yard, a timber-hulled vessel sits on steel cradle blocks inside the main shed.
Beneath the Boat
Bathroom at Halvorsens Boat Yard, cabinet doors hang open, drawers pulled from their runners and left on the floor.
Bathroom
04 ABOUT THE PRINTS

How they’re made

Made to order by Brett in Sydney, from the original RAW file. Each print is hand-signed and numbered before it ships.

Paper

Ilford Galerie cotton rag, 310 gsm. Acrylic on metallic gloss, 260 gsm.

Editions

Open in XS and S. Limited in M (100), L (50), XL (25). From $100.

Print tiers →

Lead time

Unframed: 5 to 10 business days. Framed and acrylic: 10 to 20.

06 PRESS

In the press

Leaving a secure job to work as an artist, trying to manage inconsistent income and tempering the self-doubt and self-criticism that came with it has been one of the most difficult things I've done.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

Holding a solo exhibition in one of the spaces I've photographed would also be a dream, particularly at a site with a strong community connection - so the images can be enjoyed by the people who made it matter.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

I'm not trying to make out like I'm some kind of mysterious urbex badass. Lost Collective isn't about me. It's about the places I shoot and even more about the connection that the people have to the sites.

Broadsheet

Brett Patman·2016

lostcollective.com

On the LC archive.

See press coverage →
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

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Articles when they're published. The history behind a place. The day of a shoot. The work between prints. No marketing, no schedule.

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