75 WAS Gallery in Warragul

113 Millie’s Adventures – South Gippy Girl

WAS GALLERY

in WARRAGUL

Nestled in a large leafy block between residential and light industry is the new WAS Gallery (Warragul Art Studios Gallery). Set up by the Lorraine family, the gallery opened in 2020. Perhaps not such a good time to launch an ambitious creative venture but, nevertheless, over the past Covid years WAS has organised exhibitions and welcomed visitors whenever possible. The driving force and director of the gallery, Anne Lorraine, took the solid, character filled, art deco house and turned it into a splendid space in which to show a broad range of artworks. The addition of a ceramics studio for family members to work in makes this a vibrant and creative hub.

The artistic credentials of the family is impressive; Judy Lorraine is a well-known potter, significant in the chronology of mid-century modern Australian art, represented in the National Gallery of Victoria and designer of the Benalla Ceramic Mural and other public works. At 93 she is now retired and living in Warragul. Hans Lorraine (died 2012) was a painter, architect and Dunera Boy. As a Jewish boy he fled German persecution and on his own at the age of 13 travelled to England. There he went to school for three years and at 16, when he was declared an enemy alien by the British Government he and 2000 other refugees were transported on the HMT Dunera to Australia. The voyage was horrendous but he spent time in the Hay and Tatura internment camps, where he came into contact with many artistic and creative people and his future direction in the arts was established.

Sue Lorraine and Catherine Truman are co-founders and partners of the renowned Gray Street Workshop in Adelaide, one of the longest running Artist Run Initiatives in Australia. Both are jewellers and object designers, represented in National and State gallery collections around Australia. Anne Lorraine and Gary McPhedran both originally trained as graphic designers, however, Anne blossomed as a painter and photographer and after a long teaching career Gary established a ceramics practice. As Director of WAS Gallery, Anne juggles her time co-ordinating artists and curating exhibitions with time in the studio. In 2020, the gallery hosted a major retrospective exhibition of Hans Lorraine’s paintings and in 2021a comprehensive collection of Judy Lorraine’s ceramics. There have been numerous shows of other artists’ work, of photography, paintings, prints, ceramics and mosaics. The gallery has provided opportunities for local artists, while some are well known in the region, others were first timers who have now had the chance to exhibit their work in a professional space.

“People always comment on how lovely the old art deco building is and how well the artwork is displayed ” says Anne, “along with the established garden with fruit and mature trees WAS Gallery is a venue people enjoy coming to. Every now and then we open up the original garage and have a sale of artefacts and collectibles from the family’s collections.”

WAS Gallery is at 37 Latrobe Street, Warragul and open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, most weeks of the year. The website, at wasgallery.com.au, has the full gallery story, artists’ histories and examples of artwork. Contact Anne Lorraine for any enquiries on

Contact 0428 513 905 or anne.lorraine@bigpond.com Entry is free. Just look for the gallery flag on Latrobe Street.