Brushstrokes of Iluka
Mary Brown's Watercolour Paintings
Mary Brown first laid eyes on Iluka in the early 1970s alongside her husband, Barry, and soon settled into the calm rhythm of the coastal village, on Yaegl Country in northern New South Wales. They moved into a weatherboard house at 9 Charles Street where they began a new chapter of their life together. Barry captained their fishing trawler, while Mary found inspiration painting the picturesque beauty of Iluka’s landscapes.
It wasn’t long before Mary’s love for painting transformed into something larger. From her home, she opened Iluka’s very first gallery, the Verandah Art & Craft Gallery. With the help of local artisans, who took turns tending the space, the gallery thrived.
Tourists stepping off the Yamba ferry and visitors from afar were drawn to the gallery’s charm and its coastal setting. Mary’s watercolours depicted Iluka’s story—the shimmering beaches, the greens of Iluka Nature Reserve, village-scapes and the ever-changing mood of the Clarence River / Breimba.
But in the mid-1990s, when Barry passed away, Mary’s connection to the town changed. She left Iluka shortly after, but with her she took strong memories of her gallery, which had fostered and nurtured the village’s small artistic community.
In 2018, Mary returned briefly, bringing with her a gift. She donated a series of her watercolours to the local museum, ensuring her visions of Iluka would live on. Today, those works are treasured, not only for their simple beauty but for the story they tell—a story of a woman who was touched by the soul and beauty of a small fishing town and turned it into art.
