This glass sculpture of the Southern cross is by Jon Hawley. It is in the vestibule of the Mitchell Wing of the State Library of NSW.
It is based on the earliest depiction of the stars of the Southern Cross, a woodcut engraving of 1516 by Andrea Corsali.
David Scott Mitchell (1836 – 1907) was a book collector. He offered his collection of Australiana to the people of New South Wales on the condition that a new building be erected to house the collection as a separate library.
Work on the Mitchell Wing started in 1906 and was completed in 1910. It houses the Mitchell Library reading rooms, work areas and galleries. It is part of the State Library of NSW.