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P. W. Marony

Patrick William Marony (bapt. 4 Apr 1859 – 14 Jan 1939), known professionally as P. W. Marony, was an Australian painter, political cartoonist, photographer and writer. Marony's practice as an artist and a writer spanned the period of cultural transition from the popularity of history painting to the emergence of cinematic versions of history.[1] He painted a series of bushranger-themed works which were exhibited in the mid-1890s. Marony wrote several film scripts for the Australian Life Biograph Company. Twenty-six of his oil paintings, mostly of bushrangers, are a part of the collection of the National Library of Australia.[2]

P. W. Marony
Marony in 1890
Born
Patrick William Marony

c. April 4, 1859
County Waterford, Ireland
Died14 January 1939 (aged 81)
Manly, New South Wales
Known forPainting, political cartooning, photography, writing

Biography

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Family details

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Patrick William Marony was born at or near Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland, in 1859 to John Charles Moroney, a publican, and Johanna (née Walsh).[3][4]

 
'Bushrangers holding up coach passengers', oil painting by P. W. Marony, completed in about 1894.

As a young man Marony was educated in a seminary in Dublin. By 1883 he had emigrated to Australia, accompanied by his brother, John Martin Marony.[3] In April 1883 Marony travelled from Brisbane to Sydney by coastal steamer.[5] Patrick Marony and Rebecca Mason were married in 1883 in Sydney. The couple had three children, Muriel Mary, born in 1884 at Glebe, New South Wales, Redmond, born in 1887 at Narrabri, and Sylvia, born in about 1893 at Orange.[4]

In about September 1888 Marony exhibited a portrait he had painted of Hugh Taylor, the member for Parramatta. A group of Taylor's friends purchased the picture and presented it to the politician as a gift.[6]

Bushranger paintings

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Marony spent seven or eight years devoted to his bushranging paintings (from about 1886 to 1894). He assiduously attempted to ensure the accuracy of his representations, with faces painted from photographs where possible and the depicted scenes of action from the actual locations.[7] During the planning and execution of his various paintings it was reported that Marony "made a personal inspection of the scenes of the different events, and collected from eye-witnesses and other available sources the fullest information he could".[8]

In June 1894 over thirty of his bushranger paintings, described as "graphic illustrations of what might be called the 'Australian reign of terror'" were exhibited in the Austral Gallery in the Strand Arcade, Sydney.[7] The subjects represented in the paintings by Maroney, described as "the leading artist of Orange", included the raid on Bathurst by Gilbert’s gang, the Eugowra gold escort robbery, the death of Starlight, the sticking-up of a mail coach, the death of Ben Hall, the capture of Ned Kelly and the siege of Glenrowan.[9][10]

Political cartoons

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'The Gentleman Who Objects to The Worker', cover illustration of The Worker (Brisbane) by P. W. Marony, 21 April 1900.

In 1900 three full-page cartoons by P. W. Marony were published in The Worker newspaper, printed in Brisbane, with one of them used as the front cover illustration.[11] At that time The Worker was the official journal of the Australian Labor Party in Queensland.[12] His cartoons have been described in the following terms: "Although crude and amateurish in style (like his paintings), they are quite lively and distinctive".[2]

Two later political cartoons by P. W. Marony are held by the State Library of Queensland, dated at about 1916. One cartoon depicts Prime Minister Hughes overseeing the herding of waterside workers into a conscription depot.[13]

New Hebrides

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In 1902 Marony was amongst a group of eighteen Australian settlers, recruited by Burns, Philp and Co., who went to the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) aboard the steamship Mambare and took up land on the island of Espiritu Santo.[14][15][16] The S.S. Mambare departed in May 1902 and travelled to the New Hebrides via Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Also aboard was A. B. Paterson, reporting on the settlement scheme as a correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald.[17] The settlers were granted blocks of land from 300 to 1,000 acres on nominal terms, intending to grow mainly maize and coconuts. Marony selected a block on the south coast of the island, close to the Presbyterian mission on nearby Tangoa Island.[18][19]

After about three years Marony sold his block to an Englishman named Dalrymple. Marony and his family moved to Port Vila for a short period, during which Marony went on a three months' cruise around the island group in the schooner, The Albatross, owned by Roberts, a planter on Mele Island.[18]

On his return to Australia, Marony wrote an article about Norfolk Island (published in December 1905), supporting the economic viability of the resettled Pitcairn Islanders (descendants of Tahitians and the HMS Bounty mutineers).[20] He also wrote about the New Hebrides; two articles, illustrated by his own photographs, were published in February 1906 in the Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. The articles feature information about the Australian and French colonists in the island group, agricultural prospects and observations about the customs of the native inhabitants.[21]

In October 1908 a short story by P. W. Marony was published entitled 'A Romance of Santo Island', set in the New Hebrides.[22]

Film screenplays

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P. W. Marony wrote the film scripts for three silent films made by the Australian Life Biograph Company and released in 1911,[23] including the film production company's first release:

  • One Hundred Years Ago (directed by Gaston Mervale), released in May 1911; an Anglo-Australian romantic drama, involving an innocent man imprisoned on Norfolk Island and a “woman’s undying love”.[26]
  • A Ticket in Tatts (directed by Gaston Mervale), released in June 1911; a melodrama with a horse-racing and gambling theme, involving the hero believing that he committed murder before the truth is ultimately revealed.[27]

Artistic pursuits

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Patrick W. Marony was a member of the Royal Art Society of New South Wales and exhibited with them in 1907, 1908, 1909 and 1912.[3]

In December 1912 an exhibition of Marony's paintings was held in George-street, Sydney; the paintings featured "Australian and S[outh] S[ea] Island Scenes".[28]

In January 1913 Marony exhibited about eighty of his works in premises in William-street, Bathurst, next door to the Royal Hotel. The collection was made up of watercolour and oil paintings, as well as works in pastel. The theme of the exhibition was Australian landscapes which included "exquisite impressions of bush, sea, plain, and mountain". One large painting depicted the Katoomba Falls. The paintings were available for sale by auction.[29]

In May 1924 Marony held an exhibition in the Victoria Theatre, Kempsey, of his watercolour paintings of "beauty spots of the North Coast".[30]

Later years

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By 1930 Marony was living in Manly, New South Wales.[31] Patrick William Marony died on 14 January 1939 at his home in Manly, aged 81 years.[32] Marony was cremated; his ashes were scattered in the Four Winds Garden in the Northern Suburbs Crematorium in Sydney.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Tag Archives: Patrick Marony". Black Mark. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b Joan Kerr (22 September 2011). "Patrick William Maroney". Design & Art Australia Online. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Patrick William Marony". Ned Kelly: Australian Iron Outlaw. Network Creative Services Pty Ltd. Retrieved 30 December 2021 – via original source: John Wladis (Patrick Marony’s great-grandson).
  4. ^ a b Family records, Ancestry.com.
  5. ^ Shipping, Evening News (Sydney), 21 April 1883, page 4.
  6. ^ General News, Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 22 September 1888, page 5.
  7. ^ a b Bushranging on Canvas, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 June 1894, page 6.
  8. ^ A Colonial Artist, Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, 8 September 1893, page 29.
  9. ^ Mr. P. W. Marony, National Advocate (Bathurst), 26 March 1894, page 2.
  10. ^ Australian Paintings, Freeman’s Journal (Sydney), 30 June 1894, page 17.
  11. ^ Mixed Matters, The Worker (Brisbane), 14 April 1900, page 4; The Gentleman Who Objects to The Worker, The Worker (Brisbane), 21 April 1900, page 1; Eight Hour Day, The Worker (Brisbane), 5 May 1900, page 4.
  12. ^ The Worker. Periodical; Periodical/Newspaper – 1890-1974, catalogue entry: The Worker (Brisbane), National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "Patrick William Marony Cartoons, ca 1916". ArchiveGrid. OCLC Ltd. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  14. ^ The New Hebrides, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 July 1902, page 6.
  15. ^ The Mambare, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 June 1902, page 8.
  16. ^ Australian Settlement in the New Hebrides, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 May 1902, page 3.
  17. ^ The New Hebrides: Voyage of the Pilgrims: No. 1, by A. B. Paterson, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July 1902, page 5.
  18. ^ a b The Santo Tragedy, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 28 October 1908, page 1118.
  19. ^ "The Birth of a New Colony": Colonisation of the New Hebrides, Catholic Advocate (Brisbane), 6 July 1916, page 8.
  20. ^ Norfolk Island: Its Beauty and Its Troubles, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 6 December 1905, pages 1436-7, page 1452.
  21. ^ See: The Truth About the New Hebrides and The New Hebrides, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 7 February 1906, pages 363-4; The Truth About the New Hebrides. – No. II, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 14 February 1906, page 424.
  22. ^ A Romance of Santo Island, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 28 October 1908, page 1129.
  23. ^ Making Moving Pictures, The Sun: Sunday Edition (Sydney), 25 December 1910, page 8.
  24. ^ New Bush Picture-Story, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 March 1911, page 9.
  25. ^ Cooks Pictures, Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser, 13 October 1911, page 7.
  26. ^ Princess Theatre, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 1911, page 2.
  27. ^ Vitoscope Pictures, Daily Herald (Adelaide), 8 August 1911, page 2.
  28. ^ Exhibition of Paintings, Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 18 December 1912, page 2.
  29. ^ Paintings by P. W. Marony, Bathurst Times, 21 January 1913, page 2.
  30. ^ Beauty Spots of the North Coast, Macleay Argus (Kempsey), 13 May 1924, page 2.
  31. ^ Electoral roll records (via Ancestry.com).
  32. ^ Deaths, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 January 1939, page 16.
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