Across a storied lifetime of art making, Margaret Olley’s (1923-2011) flower paintings – predominantly painted through the 1960s – remain some of her most beloved work. With a palette of greens and burnt oranges, Banksia (1970), exemplified her ability to capture a subject in a warm, painterly style without sacrificing detail. In 1964, artist and […]
In her Brisbane school days, Margaret Olley (1923-2011) was ‘always rushing around, quite rebellious, doing her own thing. She wasn’t particularly academic, so she wasn’t interested in any of that.’ It was at this time that encouragement from a particularly supportive art teacher, Caroline Baker, helped spark Olley’s interest in art making – a realisation […]
Four brass matchbox covers and an ashtray (c. 1916-1918) held in Elsie White’s bedroom at Saumarez Homestead in Armidale are a small reminder of a generation who lived and fought through World War One. They are part of a disparate collection of objects categorised as ‘Trench Art,’ an object made by people from any material […]
‘Make-do’ or ‘makeshift’ chairs, like the examples pictured here, were a product of the Depression-era and an inventive way to provide both seating and storage in the home. This type of chair was illustrated in Makeshifts, a booklet published in 1925 outlining how to build one. More often made from used kerosene packing cases as […]
It was a proud and decisive moment, probably in the early 1850s, when the young William Cochrane grasped this fancy hand painted tin canister, slid open its hinged lid and carefully inserted his folded university documents inside its compartment. That day, William’s whole life was ahead of him – he had two degrees and further […]
It was likely one evening in the 1890s that William Pymont Brook (1865-1938), a Cobb & Co clerk, first sat down with this two-row hexagonal concertina on his lap. With his fingers resting gently on its buttons, William pulled apart its bellows, then squeezed them together, and the instrument threw out some forceful notes. It […]
In 1908, when Mabella Kirwan (1857-1920) accepted this illuminated address, it was very much a man’s world. Mabella’s friends had invited her to a gathering at the Bathurst Golf House to show their respect and gratitude to their friend and piano teacher who was moving away to Wellington to live near her brother. But while […]
One lucky customer who shopped at Western Stores, Bathurst was the recipient of this teapot and these jugs, probably given to them by the manager as a show of goodwill for the customer’s support. These may not have been the prettiest pieces of earthenware displayed on that customer’s kitchen dresser, but they were a reminder […]
How did motoring racing drivers Dick Johnston and John French feel that day in early October 1981 when they stood on the podium and accepted this ‘perpetual’ trophy, shiny and new? On top of the world! They had won the annual ‘James Hardie 1000’ touring car championship at Mount Panorama, Bathurst. But on lap 122, […]
Three service medals awarded to Bathurst-born Irene Stoddart (1880–1957) recognise the contribution she made as a nurse during WWI. Nurse Stoddart may have been especially proud of the 1914-15 Star, which recognises her service prior to 31 December 1915. A small lapel pin with the motto ‘digna sequi’ gives a clue to her role during […]
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