Cart at Newington Armory, a timber-decked rail cart sits low on iron wheels, bolted to a narrow-gauge track that runs.

01 Newington ArmorySilverwater2019

ISO 1001/200f/8.0130mm

Series · 21 prints

Newington Armory

Photographed 2019
Frames 21
Camera NIKON D850
Location New South Wales, Australia
Status Arts precinct; heritage interpretation suspended since 2024
Closed 1999
Heritage NSW SHR 01850
Specs 100 hectares · 6.7 km narrow-gauge railway · 100 surviving buildings
01 ABOUT THIS SERIES

Series story

The Newington Armory operated as a Royal Australian Navy munitions depot from 1897 until decommissioning in 1999. Sandstone and brick magazines line the Parramatta River foreshore, their walls a metre thick in places, engineered to contain the force of an accidental detonation. The site now sits within Sydney Olympic Park, its original stores largely intact, paint peeling from heavy timber doors, river light filtering through narrow vents cut into stone.

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.

Building 137 at Newington Armory, red brick walls rise in two tiers.
Building 137
Cart at Newington Armory, a timber-decked rail cart sits low on iron wheels, bolted to a narrow-gauge track that runs.
Cart
Carts at Newington Armory, two heavy timber flatbed trolleys sit side by side on a dark concrete floor.
Carts
Crate Stack at Newington Armory, military ammunition crates stacked in two tight columns, olive-drab paint thick over heavy.
Crate Stack
Crates at Newington Armory, military munitions crates stacked three columns high against a whitewashed brick wall.
Crates
Entrance at Newington Armory, narrow-gauge rail lines run wet and black through a formal brick gatehouse at Newington Armory.
Entrance
Entrance Rails at Newington Armory, narrow-gauge rail tracks run wet through a sandstone and brick archway, heading.
Entrance Rails
Front Gate at Newington Armory, red brick and sandstone.
Front Gate
Issue Hatch at Newington Armory, a squat red-brick building sits square against a concrete apron.
Issue Hatch
Magazine Door 6 at Newington Armory, a heavy steel door sits recessed into red brick.
Magazine Door 6
Magazine Exterior Path at Newington Armory, a narrow concrete path runs between two massive brick walls.
Magazine Exterior Path
Magazine Hatch at Newington Armory, red brick facade, two arched openings side by side.
Magazine Hatch
Magazine Interior at Newington Armory, a barrel-vaulted ceiling of whitewashed brick curves over rows of military ordnance.
Magazine Interior
Magazine Looking Down at Newington Armory, a narrow passage runs between the red brick facade of a munitions magazine.
Magazine Looking Down
Magazine Roof at Newington Armory, three sawtooth rooflines rise from an earth embankment, red brick gables barely clearing.
Magazine Roof
Magazine Wall at Newington Armory, a narrow passage runs between thick brick walls.
Magazine Wall
Magazine Wall Fern at Newington Armory, dark sandstone brickwork rises at a steep angle, shot from ground level looking up.
Magazine Wall Fern
Magpie at Newington Armory, behind it, a row of steep brick gables rises above a concrete perimeter wall.
Magpie
Rails at Newington Armory, narrow-gauge rails curve across a concrete apron, running past the issue hatch of a red brick.
Rails
Recieving Issue at Newington Armory, two arched hatches sit side by side in a red brick wall.
Recieving Issue
Watch For Trains at Newington Armory, a triangular rail crossing sign stands on a galvanised steel post.
Watch For Trains
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

There's this sense of wonder you get when looking at abandoned buildings. You try to imagine what these spaces were like when they were filled with busy workers trying to meet production targets. And why did they close?

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

I'm often contacted by people who used to frequent the places I photographed. They share stories that enter the collections as additions or corrections. Sometimes they send their own photos from the same viewpoints, taken decades earlier.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

One day I stopped at a vast abandoned factory I passed on my way home from work. There was a long section of fence missing. I wandered in, camera in hand, and that moment was the unofficial beginning of Lost Collective.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

See press coverage →
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

Read the full story

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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