TRUST Issue 3 (September 2017)

Spring 2017

trust the Nat ional Trusts OF Austr alia magazine

Issue No. 3 Spring $8.95

natural Beauty

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, NSW

T r u s t

ON THE ROAD

Currumbin to Cooktown

At home with

Manning Clark nati ona ltrust.org.au

Where is the oldest synagogue in the Southern Hemisphere?

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2 t r u s t / AUTUMN 2017

PHOTOGRAPHS KARA ROSENLUND, MARK ROPER, MARNIE HAWSON, ANTHONY BASHEER, abbie melle

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Encourage a FRIEND or FAMILY member to SIGN up or DONATE today and help us protect our special PLACES. Thank you!

The Cornish mining site at Burra in South Australia.

Welcome

main photograph courtesy of department of environment and energy EDITOR’s PORTRAIT MICHAEL WEE

A

ustralia has a proud and commendable tradition of cataloguing, protecting and celebrating our wonderful heritage. In May this year, I was delighted to add the South Australian mining towns of Burra and Moonta to the National Heritage List. The List recognises our most significant Indigenous, natural and historic heritage sites and their unique stories. Communities across Australia cherish their local heritage and our National Heritage List continues to support efforts to preserve those sites and stories that matter most.

Burra and Moonta give us the earliest examples of Cornish mining and domestic architecture in Australia. Their fabric is well preserved thanks to the care of the local community and the efforts of the National Trust.

The discovery of rich copper deposits in South Australia in 1842 saw the new colony producing five per cent of the world’s copper resources, earning it the nickname the Copper Kingdom.

Inspired by this opportunity and hopes of a better life in Australia, a generation of Cornish miners, engineers and tradespeople left their homeland and travelled to the other side of the world. These miners brought their skills and way of life to an environment completely different to the one they left behind, and created a prosperous “By learning more new community in South Australia. about the places and Burra’s Monster Mine was the largest in stories that have helped Australia for more than 10 years and supported a thriving mining community. By 1851, Burra shape our nation, was Australia’s largest inland settlement, we can better protect with a population of around 5000.

The opening of the Moonta Mines the places that are in 1861 produced a significant boost to important to our past, the South Australian economy, earning present and future.” £67,000 in its first year of operation. By 1870, the population of Moonta was second only to Adelaide. The Cornish traditions and heritage continue to be celebrated along the Copper Coast of South Australia through festivals attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year.

There are 110 places recognised on our National Heritage List and it continues to grow. In June this year, I asked the Australian Heritage Council to begin assessments of Finniss Springs mission and pastoral station in South Australia and the Point Lonsdale Lighthouse Reserve and environs in Victoria.

The Finniss Springs mission and pastoral station located west of Marree, South Australia, has Aboriginal traditions for Arabanna, Kuyani and Wangkangurru, and was a mission in the 1940s and 1950s. Point Lonsdale Lighthouse has navigational aids and defence structures associated with the first and second World Wars.

By learning more about the places and stories that have helped shape our nation, we can better protect the places that are important to our past, present and future.

Josh Frydenberg Minister for the Environment and Energy

Fanny Balbuk YooreeL is a name I don’t think any of you will forget after reading our story in this issue, but it’s one far too many of us will never have heard of. Born in 1840, this traditional Swan River woman lived through the colonisation of Perth and 2017 marks the 110th anniversary of her death. She made a difference: “She courageously stood up and not fought as we know how to fight, but stood up in ways that made people call her a troublemaker, when in fact she wasn’t a troublemaker. She was a female warrior for her people,” says Elder Marie Taylor. Turn to page 62 to discover more about this inspiring woman.

Without volunteers, the National Trust just wouldn’t be what it is today.

Loretta Thompson at Tasmania’s Runnymede is a wonderful example of how their dedication and passion can make a difference: “I was bought up with the strong belief that you always have to give back. I’d feel I’d cheated going through life if I didn’t. And I really don’t think of it as volunteering.

It’s my fun time.”

We asked photographer Victoria Alexander for her thoughts on our heritage responsibilities for our Last Word page and, as always, this author’s insightful comments stayed with me.

“Australians often see heritage as an old people’s domain. It’s far from it. It’s relevant to all of us: a common link to our culture and past as well as an important learning tool. Conservation ensures continuity and cultural meaning.

Buildings and nature, like people, need nurturing and should be enlivened by being given relevant uses that match the needs of our time.”

I hope you enjoy these pages.

Victoria Carey Editor Email editor@nationaltrust.org.au

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“One of the best examples of a colonial Georgian house of its scale in Australia, Harper’s Mansion owes its pristine condition to a seven-year restoration project...” See page 44.

Contributors Pandemonium is a multisensory experience at the Penitentiary Chapel.

photography kara rosenlund, marnie hawson

p28

Patron His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Editor Victoria Carey Creative director Jill Henderson Sub editors Melody Lord, Jennifer Stackhouse Writers Hilary Burden, Victoria Carey, Abbie Melle, Erin Millar, Gina Pickering, Christine Reid, Alex Speed, Jennifer Stackhouse, Stephen Todd Photographers Victoria Alexander, Anthony Basheer, Max Dupain, Marnie Hawson, Abbie Melle, Gina Pickering, Matt Poon, Kara Rosenlund, Michael Wee Calendar and news editor Melody Lord

Melody Lord

Alex Speed

Sophie Bleach

Abbie Melle

One of the privileges of working in publishing is helping to produce books and magazines that tell important stories, Melody says.

“The National Trust is ultimately about telling the stories of the past and preserving them for future generations. I love to walk through the properties and imagine that I am treading in the footsteps of people long gone. If I can’t be there in person, seeing them in the pages of a magazine gives the same virtual thrill. The collective memory is important to all of us.” Melody edits Trust’s news and calendar section which starts on page 83.

Berrima in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales was one of the earliest colonial settlements outside Sydney and this local journalist says that she feels privileged to see, on a daily basis, some of Australia’s finest examples of early colonial architecture such as Harper’s Mansion (see page 44).

“The lives of families like the Harpers, so beautifully brought to life through the restoration and maintenance of buildings — thanks to the National Trust and its dedicated volunteers — make us realise that time passes in the blink of an eye, and as humans we all aspire and strive to build the best lives we can for the people we love.”

The National Trust Tasmania’s Marketing, PR and Events Manager wrote our story on page 28 about Pandemonium, the new multimedia experience at Hobart’s Penitentiary Chapel site. Sophie loves that her ‘day job’ allows her to work in some of the most beautiful properties and gardens in Australia and to contribute to their conservation.

For Sophie, the National Trust’s meaning and purpose is tied into its role to preserve heritage spaces and stories that are unique to their communities, in a way that allows new generations and changing societal attitudes to still draw meaning and connections from them.

This photographer, based in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, spent over six months in the United Kingdom last year, where she visited a number of National Trust properties, including the Stourhead House and Garden (see page 66). Inspired by the beauty of light and of nature, she loved its vast expanse of foliage and woods and stunning historical buildings.

“I love how the National Trust is preserving these historic homes and gardens with their incredible stories and beauty,” she says. “They are examples of our rich cultural history that we can continue to enjoy and experience.”

Publication is co-coordinated by the Australian Council of National Trusts of Australia and is supported by the Australian Government through the National Trust Partnership Program. The views expressed in TRUST are not necessarily those of the National Trusts or the Australian Government. The articles in this magazine are subject to copyright. No article may be used without the consent of the National Trust and the author. Australian Council of National Trusts, PO Box 413, Campbell ACT 2612; admin@nationaltrust.org.au; nationaltrust.org.au. For advertising rates, contact: admin@nationaltrust.org.au For editorial submissions, contact editor@nationaltrust.org.au. Printed by Blue Star Web, 83 Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2128 under ISO14001 Environmental Management Systems certification. Trust is published by the Australian Council of National Trusts (ABN 54 008 444 684) for National Trust members.. ISSN: 1835-2316

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The house remains as they lived in it for so many years: a window into two artistic lives of the mid-20th century.

Mulberry Hill is a marvellous example of preservation of the ephemera of day-to-day life of author Joan Lindsay and her artist husband Sir Daryl.

See the story on page 52.

Contents Issue No. 3

Spring

10

Spring 2017

TRUST THE NATIONAL TRUSTS OF AUSTRALIA magazine

Issue No. 3 Spring $8.95

NATURAL BEAUTY

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, NSW

t r u s t

ON THE ROAD Currumbin to Cooktown

At home with

Manning Clark N AT I O N A LT RUST.O RG. AU

Where is the oldest synagogue in the SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE?

cover Story

36 Cover stories 20

The spectacular scenery of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales is always worth a look.

Writer JENNIFER STACKHOUSE Photographer ABBIE MELLE

natural beauty The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

22 WHERE IS THE OLDEST SYNAGOGUE IN THE

SOUTHERH HEMPISHERE?

36 AT HOME WITH MANNING CLARK 74

opposite page photograph marnie hawson this page photographs ANTHONY BASHEER, marnie hawson

CURRUMBIN TO COOKTOWN Take a journey that embraces the cultural and historical treasures of Queensland.

People 10

62

HOUSE CALLS Meet Loretta Thompson, a volunteer at Runnymede in Hobart, who feels a strong connection to the families who lived there in the past.

REALISING A RESISTANCE FIGHTER The legacy of Noongar woman Fanny Balbuk Yooreel in Western Australia.

Architecture 16

MID-CENTURY MEMORIES Robb College, a rare example of high modernism, may be at risk at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales.

Heritage 20

a wild love Drink in the beauty and awe of the Blue Mountains, a favourite of visitors and locals, with Abbie Melle.

Place 22 LIVING RELIGION Two of Australia’s oldest synagogues

reveal Australia’s early multicultural heritage.

28 DEMONS OF THE PAST Pandemonium at the

Penitentiary Chapel in Hobart is a multisensory experience that reveals the contradiction and disorder of convict life.

36 WRITER IN RESIDENCE A collaboration between two

well-known Australian cultural critics produced a permanent home for Dymphna and Manning Clark.

44

RESTORING harper’s Built in the Georgian style in the prosperous 1830s, Harper’s Mansion in Berrima, New South Wales, encapsulates colonial life and times.

Arts 52 THE ART OF LIVING Joan Lindsay wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock

in her home Mulberry Hill, Victoria. On the book’s 50th anniversary we look inside the house, kept as it was when the Lindsays lived there.

Travel 66 PALLADIAN DREAMS A visit to Stourhead in Wiltshire, England,

opens up a bygone age for visitors to this grand and exceptional 18th-century estate.

74

CURRUMBIN TO COOKTOWN Take a journey that embraces the cultural and historical treasures of Queensland.

Books 76

EXTRACT: SWALLOWED BY THE SEA Read Graeme Henderson’s story of the fate of the First Fleet ship HMS Sirius.

80 ON THE SHELF History, food, gardens, people and fascinating

places feature in our pick of the latest book releases.

Regulars 83 NEWS & EVENTS Your guide to keeping in touch with what the National Trust is doing around the country.

92 MEMBERSHIP How to join the National Trust.

94 LAST WORD Photographer and author Victoria Alexander shares her thoughts on a lifelong association with the National Trust of Australia.

SPECIAL NOTE: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that pages 9 and 62–65 of this issue may contain images of, and written references to, people who have died. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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people THIS PAGE: Looking out through the front windows of the study. opposite PAGE: Loretta Thompson, a volunteer at Runnymede, photographed on the front verandah.

House

calls From ‘sexy’ Governor and Mrs Macquarie in Sydney to the staid and serious denizens of Hobart’s Runnymede, volunteer Loretta Thompson feels a TRUE connection to past generations. photographer Marnie Hawson writer Hilary Burden

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people

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oretta Thompson started as a National Trust volunteer in the early 90s at Old Government House in Parramatta, Sydney. After moving to Hobart in 2004, she immediately volunteered at Runnymede House, the beautifully preserved home of an 1840s whaling captain. Loretta, who lives nearby at Richmond on her vineyard Every Man and His Dog, runs the catering as a volunteer for Runnymede events — from high teas to cocktail parties and antique fair opening nights — and regards it as her second home.

“It took me a little while to get used to Runnymede. I’d come from Old Government House in Sydney, with sexy Lachlan Macquarie and Elizabeth, to here, where my first impressions were quite serious. But ‘the family’ embraced me.

“I always say to visitors, I can’t talk to you about dates, it’s really about four families. Ours — the volunteer family — is the fourth.

Three have lived here, but the last one just wants to, except in winter when it’s just too cold. I take my hat off to the Scottish.

They were so very resourceful.

“I love the fact that the house is still working. I don’t have a favourite room but I do have favourite things. I love how clever >

THIS PAGE, clockwise from top LEFT: Details from the study at Runnymede; inkwell and quill pens give a taste of life under the former owners; cedar breakfront bookcase was probably made in Hobart around 1840. A significant proportion of the books belong to the former owners of the home. The beautiful desk has lyre legs and was built in The King’s Yard in Battery Point and bears the signature of cabinet makers George Wilkins and Robert Graham.

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Looking out through the bay windows into the garden from the drawing room.

“I can’t talk to you about dates, it’s really about four families. Ours — the volunteer family — is the fourth.”

people THIS PAGE, clockwise from toP LEFT: A delicate and original child’s tea set from the nursery room; details of an embroidered cushion in the morning room; colourful birds and flowers feature on the wallpaper in the morning room; the table in the dining room set up for dinner service, using part of a set that caters for 16 guests. opposite PAGE: The elegant dining room.

they were, how they thought about what they made, and what it would be used for. There’s a travelling metal spice set, for example, used for storing spices, which in those days were highly prized. Each has a sealed compartment. There’s a hand-pierced nutmeg grater that would have had a lock on it at one time. They thought about how to make things functional as well as beautiful. Everything was so cleverly made.

“I like to pass on my love of it; for people to see what I see.

I don’t like to sit and go, ‘In 1835 on a Tuesday afternoon…’.

I’d rather let them see how people utilised things and how resourceful they were and what life was like then.

“When you work in a house where people have lived, it’s presented more as a home, and you can share that life with people. One of the things I love to share is the fact that the house is still alive with people. There are people working in the garden where the sisters [the daughters of Charles Bayley, the whaler who originally owned the house] once worked. The silver still gets cleaned, the floors get polished, the books get wiped…

“What motivates me as a volunteer? Well, I was brought up with the strong belief that you always have to give back.

I’d feel I’d cheated going through life if I didn’t. And I really don’t think of it as volunteering. It’s my fun time.

“I think my love of history comes through my grandfather who was a World War I veteran. I remember him being in a wheelchair when he used to tell me all sorts of stories.

I think he just used to make them up. But that’s what really kickstarted my interest.

“I was busy for most of my life, as an interior designer, and didn’t have time until my mid-forties to pursue my interest and volunteer. Houses like this are important and getting more so. We need to be clinging on even tighter than ever.

The world is changing and people have different values now.

We need to look after what we’re on the brink of losing.

“Children especially don’t always have a perception of history. I like to take them through and show them the things that I think will light them up, preferably involving toilet humour. Kids just love toilet humour! People remember you for being silly, not for being clever.

“I’m always completely blown away at the people who volunteer here. You have a perception that we’re all here for a common cause: to look after the house. But as you go along you discover this person does this or has that capability. It’s just such a great bunch of people. Everybody works together and no-one has a job title.

“It’s my second favourite home after my own home.”

Runnymede, 61 Bay Road, New Town, Hobart, Tasmania, (03) 6278 1269; email runnymede@nationaltrusttas.org.au

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“Houses like this are important and getting more so. We need to be clinging on even tighter than ever.�

Mid-century memories

The University of New England’s Robb College is a rare example of high modernism in a low-density environment but it’s under threat. photographer Max Dupain writer Stephen Todd

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architecture

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ydney architect Michael Dysart AM designed the University of New England’s Robb College in 1958.

He was working under the auspices of the New South Wales Government Architect’s office fronted by Ted Farmer. His design with its unusual pinwheel configuration of four interlinked square volumes with inner courtyards grouped around a central quadrangle, was completed in increments from 1960 to 1964.

“As Government Architect, Ted Farmer had gathered around him a group of young blades who really raised the standard of the Government office,” says Dr Clive Lucas OBE, heritage architect and National Trust of Australia (NSW) board president. “So, you had great visionaries like Andrew Andersons, Ken Woolley and Michael Dysart working for the public sector. It went on for some two decades, at least from 1958 to 1973 — the duration of Farmer’s tenure. I don’t think we’ve seen such innovation in the public sector since and it’s doubtful we’ll see it again.”

Sadly today, the future of Robb College, Dysart’s visionary work, is uncertain. Closed in 2014 for a refurbishment the University of New England wished to carry out, it is currently under consideration for heritage listing. “That the authorities are now thinking of tinkering with it is outrageous,” explains Lucas.

“I think if I was doing a survey of mid-century public buildings in regional areas, Robb College would stand out as exceptional.”

According to Michael Dysart, a refurbishment of Robb College would cost around a quarter of the price of a new college.

“My calculation of the cost to reinstate Robb is $6.7 million, compared with $22–24 million to build anew. It makes no sense.

Many alumni have asked me to get involved in saving Robb, and I have tried,” he says.

The problem is an unwillingness or inability to understand the heritage significance of buildings that may be only 50 or 60 years old. “It is more difficult to get something modern listed than it is to get more historical places,” Lucas admits. “Getting people to value and appreciate the recent past is not so easy. Often, buildings and styles with which people are familiar from their childhood, are >

THIS PAGE: The West Court colonnade is made of basalt. At right, the slender steel columns of the South Court can be seen.

architecture

not considered worthy of saving. But to have something as well done as Robb college out in regional Australia is very, very rare.”

Drawing inspiration from Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, a founding member of the De Stijl movement, with its rhythmic repetition of square and grid motifs, Robb’s exterior elevations allude to the timelessness of classical geometry. Internal masonry walls are expressed externally as abstract brick pilasters, the intermediate surfaces formed by stained timber. Where the three residential quadrangles intersect with the main quadrangle they are raised on narrow piloti which create an elegant modern colonnade or cloister. The feeling is one of privileged seclusion far from the demands of everyday life: perfect study conditions.

Each of the four Robb College volumes is ostensibly identical, yet the architect has added a layer of nuance by differentiating the transition zones. The South Court’s colonnade, for instance, consists of slender steel columns infilled with open vertical steel screens, while the West Court colonnade is constructed of basalt, and the North Court’s is a basalt wall open at each end. The landscaping of each residential courtyard is also slightly varied, enhancing a sense of individual expression within the parameters of a modernist grid. “It’s an intriguing configuration” says Lucas.

“Almost totally unique for a regional college.”

What’s certainly unique are the furniture and fittings, also designed by Michael Dysart for Robb College. The student dorms were rationally organised with timber work surfaces along two walls and a single bed doubling as a sofa. Shelving was used to bold decorative effect and floating cabinetry was robust, no fuss. >

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“If I was doing a survey of mid-century public buildings in regional areas, Robb College would stand out as exceptional.”

The pièce de résistance is without doubt the dining and common room block, a soaring, triple-height volume, walls inset with river rocks and a vaulted off-form concrete ceiling gently undulating over diners’ heads. It’s grand, but somehow grounded by the inner logic that underpins it. In these spaces, the furnishings are honest and robust; in fact, they are downright chunky. Communal table legs are stylised I-beams, or blocky, like a child’s game of rods. Dining chairs are upright and strict, although not quite austere. This is a room intended to be brought to life by its temporary inhabitants over many, many years.

Upstairs, the student common rooms are accessed via a cantilevered hairpin staircase. Separated by double-height voids, the rooms are linked by ground floor vaults doing double time as bridges. There’s a nifty functionality to the whole place; it’s a veritable machine for living away from the family home.

An inevitable attrition in furnishings has resulted in an ad hoc replacement policy over time. Yet the majority of the Robb College structure, interior design and furnishings remain intact. The dining and common room block is particularly true to Dysart’s original intent. “Last time I was there,” recalls Lucas, “which was about two years ago, it was totally intact.” How much longer that remains the case is yet to be seen.

Robb College, University of New England, Elm Avenue, Armidale, NSW. THIS PAGE: Imposing basalt walls give a sense of solidity to the spaces, alluding to the forms of classical geometry and the kind of adventurous architecture one would usually associate with larger metropolitan centres. OPPOSITE PAGE, top to bottom: The vaulted concrete ceiling of the dining room undulates gently over diners’ heads; an architect’s sketch of the building reflects mid-century campus life.

A wild love The Three Sisters is on the traditonal land of the Gundungurra people and is one of the most iconic Blue Mountains landmarks. photographer Abbie Melle writer JENNIFER STACKHOUSE

The Three Sisters and Jamison Valley in the Blue Mountains National Park.

h e r i tage

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his panoramic view of the vast Jamison Valley with the rock formation known as the Three Sisters in the foreground is the scene that many of those who visit the Blue Mountains in New South Wales come to see. Wind and rain over millennia has sculptured the sandstone to resemble three figures long known as the Three Sisters. A story is told that three sisters were doomed by forbidden love. According to the story Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo were members of an Indigenous tribe, who fell in love with three brothers from a rival tribe. Their marriages were forbidden so the brothers tried to steal the young women, who were turned to stone to protect them. Their names are given to the three rock peaks. The rock formation of the Three Sisters and the surrounding cliffs and valleys has deep significance to Aboriginal people who have lived in the region for some 40,000 years. The area is the traditional land of the Gundungurra people and is part of the Blue Mountains National Park. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000 and was one of 15 World Heritage places included in the National Heritage List on May 21st, 2007. For more information, visit www.environment.gov.au/ heritage/places/world/blue-mountains spring 2017 / t r u s t

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LIVING RELIGION Two of Australia’s oldest synagogues reveal a JEWISH CONVICT history in Tasmania and point to the nation’s multicultural heritage.

Writer HILARY BURDEN Photographer MARNIE HAWSON

PLACE

THIS PAGE: View from the upstairs women’s gallery of the Hobart Synagogue, of the ‘bimah’ (where services are taken) and ‘Aron Kodesh’ (or Holy Ark) that holds the Torah scroll. The chandelier was originally lit using whale oil. In the Orthodox tradition, women sit higher than men. OPPOSITE PAGE: The Hobart Hebrew Congregation Synagogue is the oldest remaining in Australia, built from sandstone and consecrated on July 4th, 1845. Services are still held here every week.

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he Hobart Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, tucked next to a working police building in the Central Business District, is the oldest synagogue in the country where Jewish worship continues to this day. Festivals are marked here and the Sabbath celebrated by both Orthodox and Progressive Jews. In Launceston, in the state’s north, you can also visit the second-oldest synagogue, where this year, following essential interior restoration, the first wedding was held after 60 years.

There has been a Jewish presence in Tasmania for far longer than the life of the synagogues, as there were Jews among the early convicts and settlers in Van Diemen’s Land. National Trust Tasmania Managing Director Matthew Smithies says it is easily forgotten that Australia was a very multicultural place even at such an early stage of settlement.

“We always think of convicts as being from England and Ireland, but convicts were a global phenomenon. The synagogues represent a level of multiculturalism and tolerance. Yes, they’re about Jews. Yes, architecture. But their heritage is important because it’s a reminder of what I hope is important to us; not just in buildings, but in terms of community wellness and tolerance.”

The Hobart Synagogue was designed by James Alexander Thomson, a Scot transported in 1825 at the age of 20 for attempted jewel robbery. The foundation stone was laid in August 1843 and the building consecrated on July 4th, 1845. Launceston’s Synagogue, designed by Richard Peter Lambeth, was built in 1844

by Tasmanian builders Barton and Bennell. Both buildings are internationally significant and rare examples of the early > THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Orthodox and Progressive Torah scrolls, displayed and protected in velvet covers, flank a silver case thought to be of Syrian origin in the Hobart Synagogue; windows narrowing towards the top is a feature of the Egyptian Revival style of architecture, made popular after Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt; the iron water tank, thought to be original, was used for handwashing in the days before running water. OPPOSITE PAGE: Above the ‘Aron Kodesh’ (Holy Ark) in the Hobart Synagogue, the Ten Commandments are inscribed in Hebrew and also the words, ‘Da Lifnei Mi Attah Omed’ (Know Before Whom You Stand).

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It is easily forgotten that Australia was a very multicultural place at even such an early stage of settlement.

“It was lit by candles. The walls were distempered with muddy gold which gave them the appearance of velvet. There was silverware... it’s not surprising it was called ‘The Jewel of the City’.” colonial Egyptian Revival style made popular following Napoleon Bonaparte’s conquest of Egypt in 1798–1801. How interesting to note that during the time of European settlement in Van Diemen’s Land (from 1803 onwards), the architectural trends of the day were being employed by builders on the other side of the world.

For Matthew Smithies, some of the standout features are doorways and windows narrowing at the top, “typical of the Egyptian revival”. And, rather than pews arranged to face the altar in the Anglo–Saxon style, they are arranged more in the round, in a Middle Eastern style.

Smithies tries to imagine the interior of the Launceston Synagogue, with its timber floors and layered Persian rugs.

“It was lit by candles. The walls were distempered with muddy gold which gave them the appearance of velvet. There was silverware... it’s not surprising it was called ‘The Jewel of the City’.

It must have been so warm and exotic: not Anglo–Saxon at all!”

The National Trust, through an ongoing conservation interpretation process, is aiming to restore the atmospheric reputation of the Launceston Synagogue’s interior. This year, Maxine Manifold, Coordinator of the Synagogue, married Lev Fridgant there in a ceremony full of ritual and symbol.

“Six months before the wedding, the place was in a much poorer state of repair,” she says. “But fundraising activities, through the annual Festival of Voices, have enabled the interior to be repaired.” (Australian musicians Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier performed inside, donating proceeds to the restoration.)

A former President of the Hobart Hebrew Congregation, Daniel Albert, says the Hobart Synagogue is very different internally because it has always been a working synagogue, and that it’s changed as the community has changed. The chandelier, for example, known to be original, traces the history of lighting: powered by whale oil in the 1840s, then gas (the ornate ceiling roses also date from this era), then electricity. These days, he notes, the lamps are powered by LED lighting.

Pews were made from timber shipped as ballast from New South Wales. It’s thought that grain merchant Judah Solomon (a leading member of the Jewish community who donated the land on which the Synagogue was built) may have received the timber from the grain ships with which he conducted business.

Daniel Albert says most of what’s on view is original, aside from the textiles. Among the interesting details are numbered benches, originally at the back of the Synagogue, set aside for the use of convicts; no longer being locked up by the time the Synagogue was first opened, they were permitted not to work on the Sabbath.

Earlier this year, at Maxine Manifold’s wedding in the Launceston Synagogue, guests watched as the couple exchanged vows under a white lace ‘huppah’, or wedding canopy, designed to represent the humble beginnings of the marital home. The >

PLACE

previous wedding held here 60 years ago was of Beth and John Sandor, now the Synagogue’s co-trustees with the National Trust.

“It was wonderful to see the interior as a living place again,” says Maxine. She especially loves the Jewish embrace of life’s cycles.

A rare velvet ark cover predates World War II; it was a gift from the Hungarian Jewish community to Launceston. Many ark covers in Europe were destroyed or burnt during the war.

“The Trust is keen on the site not just being seen as a religious centre,” explains Smithies. “It’s also a cultural space where people can learn about a minority culture that has always been in existence in multicultural Australia.”

Hobart Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, 59 Argyle Street, Hobart.

Services are held every week: Orthodox on Saturday; Progressive service two Saturdays a month and one Friday evening a month.

Tours of the Hobart Synagogue can be booked by appointment: hobartsynagogue.org. Launceston Synagogue, 126 St John Street, Launceston. Contact National Trust of Australia (Tasmania); (03) 6344 6233; www.nationaltrust.org.au/donate-tas The National Trust of Tasmania (Australia) coordinates a fully tax deductible donation program to raise funds for the conservation of the Launceston Synagogue.

Contact Olga Stack on (03) 6344 6233.

this page, CLOCKWISE FROM top LEFT: The entry door of the Launceston Synagogue echoes the Egyptian Revival style of the rest of the building and comes in under the women’s gallery; Maxine Manifold, co-ordinator of the Friends of the Launceston Synagogue and Northern Coordinator of the Progressive outreach of the Hobart Hebrew Community; the Elijah chair. It is said that the prophet Elijah is present at the circumcision of every eight-day-old Jewish boy. opposite page: The wall closest to the street (top) is home to the ‘Aron Kodesh’ (Holy Ark) as tradition dictates that the Ark should be on the wall closest to Jerusalem, so the entry door is at the back of the building; the refurbished interior of the Launceston Synagogue. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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Demons of the past It’s cold enough to see your breath as the tour group nervously shuffles down the steep stone steps and into the dimly lit tunnel — taking the same journey made by many of the 50,000 convicts that passed through The Tench in Hobart. photographer MARNIE HAWSON writer sophie bleach

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W this PAGE, clockwise from main photograph: The Pandemomium experience where historical images are projected in wraparound technology onto the walls of the Penitentiary Chapel; the stairs at the junction in the underground tunnels leading up into the Chapel from the courtrooms; ornamental details on the original vestry table and pulpit in the Penitentiary Chapel.

Originally an Anglican church, the Chapel later became a place of worship for all denominations; the remains of an old tin bath found during the partial demolition of the solitary cells located underneath the floor of the Chapel: the stone footings of the cell can still be seen around the bath.

hen renowned Colonial Architect John Lee-Archer was commissioned in 1831 to design a new chapel for the convicts at the Hobart Penitentiary (now known as The Tench) in Van Diemen’s Land, he did so with clinical and cold-hearted deference to the ideals of the convict colony at the time: to contain and to punish.

This perfect marriage of ingenuity and cruelty resulted in one of the singular Georgian structures of the convict era, the Penitentiary Chapel.

Completed in 1833, the Chapel was designed in the shape of a crucifix with all the typical symmetry of the Georgian aesthetic, and tiered seating for up to 1500 prisoners, who were encouraged to seek reform through punishment, order and forced worship.

In direct contrast to the conformity of the architecture, however, theirs was a story of depravation and chaos.

Thirty-six solitary cells were located directly beneath the sloping chapel floor; one was too low to stand up in and later deemed ‘inhuman’ by a prison inspector. The moans and cries of the prisoners spending 23 hours a day in darkness and isolation could be clearly heard by those worshipping above.

It was utter bedlam. > spring 2017 / t r u s t

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Pandemonium is the new multisensory tourism experience from the National Trust of Australia (Tasmania) set within the Penitentiary Chapel where the convicts actually sat. It seeks to tell the story of the contradiction and disorder of convict life under British rule.

Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stuart, historian and leading expert on convict life in Australia, played in integral role in the creation of Pandemonium. He says that the Penitentiary site was the obvious location for telling the story of Tasmania’s dark past.

“This was where the vast majority of male convicts transported to Van Diemen’s Land were sent when they first disembarked,” he says.

“From here they were farmed out to private business, here they ground wheat into flour on the treadmill, and had strips torn from their backs by the cat-o’-nine-tails. This is the place to tell the story of convict transportation — or at least the male part of that story.”

The idea for Pandemonium, first conceived in 2014, was to have a world-class tourism experience that would tell the full story of convict life in Van Diemen’s Land and connect the Tasmanian convict sites from the central hub of that era.

“We had a listing in 2010 of world heritage sites related to worldwide convict transportation, but no overall story connecting the dots of the significant Tasmanian sites. The obvious way to do this was to place something in the centre of that experience. This site is that centre,” says Hamish.

Pandemonium was an ambitious project, and needed to be bold, dark, and disorienting. Hamish explains that the word > this page, top to bottom: Scenes from Pandemonium are projected onto the walls of the Chapel where the convicts actually sat for service; the poorly lit tunnel leading from the courtroom to the chapel and cells of the Penitentiary Chapel. opposite page: The original stand-alone chapel.

The other wings of the Chapel were later demolished to make space for the courtrooms. The pews are the original style of seating used for convicts in church, while the more ornate pews at the front were brought over from the free-settler’s nave.

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The air is filled with the hushed titters of the tourists as their feet scrape over deep indents in the old sandstone floor, made by over a century of convicts making the same journey to the chapel.

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Pandemonium — as well as conveying the noise and confusion of life in a convict colony — is also an apt merging of the late 18th century philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham’s term for all-seeing prison, panopticon, with vandemonian, a slang term for an ex-convict from Van Diemen’s Land.

“Tasmania has a reputation these days for fine food and art, but of course it also has an extremely dark past. The Pandemonium experience really represents a journey into the underbelly of the British Empire,” Hamish says.

The National Trust of Australia (Tasmania) contacted the award-winning Tasmanian film and digital media company Roar Film, and together they created the 40-minute immersive audiovisual experience, fully backed with accurate historical detail and convict records. Pandemonium utilises geometrically mapped blended projections and a multipoint audio system, one of the largest in the state, to project four-metre-tall images onto the walls of the Penitentiary Chapel.

Through a grant from the Tasmanian Community Fund, the Managing Director of the National Trust Australia (Tasmania), Matthew Smithies, worked painstakingly with heritage experts and Heritage Tasmania to ensure that the installation of the equipment did not interfere with the heritage value of the site in any way.

He hopes that Pandemonium will attach relevance and meaning to Tasmania’s rich convict history.

“This project has the potential to have mass appeal in the same way that Port Arthur and MONA [Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art] do,” Matthew says. “It is championing the National Trust’s role as making heritage not only accessible, but also exciting to the public.” >

“The ‘Pandemonium’ experience really represents a journey into the underbelly of the British Empire.” this page: Courtroom 1, complete with original ceiling and high windows. opposite page: Details from the exercise yard and the original iron gates saved from demolition. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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The Tench (Hobart Penitentiary) is located at 6 Brisbane Street (cnr Brisbane and Campbell Streets), Hobart, Tasmania. Access to the site is by guided tour (except for the gift shop and museum rooms). Tour times are as follows: Monday to Friday: 10am, 11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm. Saturday and Sunday: 1pm, 2.30pm.

The Tench is currently closed Wednesdays. (03) 6231 0911; email penitentiary.chapel@nationaltrusttas.org.au; bookings online at nationaltrusttas.rezdy.com or on site, subject to availability.

Pandemonium is currently closed for winter, reopening mid-October. For session times and availability check online at nationaltrust.org.au/pandemonium this page, clockwise from top left: A typical example of Georgian architecture, a beautifully symmetrical façade conceals the unsavoury purpose of the building. Interestingly the crucifix at the top of the free-stone arch is the only external indication that the building was used for religious purposes; Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stuart, historian and leading expert on convict life in Australia, and Sophie Bleach, PR, Marketing and Events Manager for the National Trust of Australia (Tasmania); view from the exercise yard towards the courtrooms and clock tower, which was requisitioned in 1827 from London at the request of Governor Arthur. opposite page: The Tench (Hobart Penitentiary) as seen from Brisbane Street in Hobart.

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The idea was a world-class tourism experience that would tell the full story of convict life in Van Diemen’s Land and connect the Tasmanian convict sites from the central hub of that era.

Writer in Residence A collaboration between two well-known Australian cultural critics produced a permanent home for Dymphna and Manning Clark. photographer Anthony basheer writer Steve Dow

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place THIS PAGE: The living room, with the piano Manning Clark played on breaks from writing his six-volume History of Australia.

The CLarks would host luminaries such as goUgh WhiTLam and paTriCk WhiTe at the house, and remained friends with boyd until his death in 1971.

THIS PAGE: The living room of the Manning Clark house, with a John Perceval painting on the left and a glimpse of a portrait of Dymphna by Pamela Houstein on the right. OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM TOP: The sitting room, with a seascape on the left and a print of a 1972 Arthur Boyd portrait of Manning Clark on the right: the original is on loan to the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra; the floor-to-ceiling bookcase in Manning Clark’s study.

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hen the historian Manning Clark and the architect and writer Robin Boyd met at a Melbourne party, a simpatico relationship was perhaps inevitable, given the critical lens each trained upon Australia. As it happened, Clark’s wife, Dymphna, having written about houses for The Age newspaper, had already decided that Boyd should be their architect.

Boyd designed 11 Tasmania Circle in the Canberra suburb of Forrest for the Clarks in 1952, and the couple moved into the house in 1953, raising six children there. The masonry construction may have been simple, but Manning’s most pressing requirement was specific and challenging: an isolated work area. There would be two separate parallel wings, dividing the house into living and sleeping areas, connected by a glass-walled passage.

Positioned over the entrance, and accessible via a steep flight of stairs, the north-facing study would house Manning’s extensive floor-to-ceiling library of books, and it is here he would handwrite his entire six-volume History of Australia. Only Dymphna used a typewriter. As decades passed, more bookcases would be added throughout the home.

For the first 15 years, Manning’s study could become an oven.

Melbourne-born Boyd hadn’t realised how sunny Canberra could be, initially installing glass from waist height to the ceiling. In 1968, the top half of that glass would finally be replaced with an extra bookcase, and outside a pergola and louvres were added to extend the shade.

The Clark family still stay in the house. There is a north-facing courtyard, where the eldest child Sebastian Clark and his siblings will almost certainly sit on a sunny day during Canberra visits, and the home is sometimes rented out to academics and their ilk. > spring 2017 / t r u s t

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PLACE The kitchen and dining table, with the portrait of Dymphna by Pamela Houstein on the right

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“When he was writing, he basically worked from nine to five, with breaks for morning and afternoon tea and for lunch...�

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A selection of German books; a mountain scene painting; Dymphna’s typewriter. Manning always wrote by hand; a bust of explorer and scientist Joseph Banks, artist unknown; the north courtyard, where the Clark children still love to sit when visiting the house today; access to Manning’s study is by a very steep flight of steps from the hall; view from the study.

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Today, the book collection in the house exceeds 10,000 titles. There is the typewriter that belonged to Dymphna and a bust of botanist Joseph Banks.

Sebastian helped his parents create the garden, sowing and mowing the lawns and aiding his father to build a chook house.

Cypresses were planted where there were no native trees; the land had previously been part of a farmer’s field. Today, the garden is “all grown like Topsy” and Sebastian still does the mowing.

Sebastian recalls that his father had a sensible work-life balance: “When he was writing, he basically worked from nine to five, with breaks for morning and afternoon tea and for lunch, and then he would come down and have tea. He hardly ever went to the study in the evening. He always took at least one day totally off, usually a Saturday, working in the garden. He’d hardly ever work more than half a day on Sunday.”

Both Manning Clark and Boyd wanted Australians broadly to think about how we live. In 1962, Manning’s first volume of history appeared, and he would write of this period: “I was beginning to see Australian history, and indeed all history, as a tragedy.” In 1960, Boyd had published The Australian Ugliness, lamenting: “There can be few other nations which are less certain than Australia as to what they are and where they are.”

The Clarks could be intellectually challenging as parents. “Mum and dad weren’t dominating in any sense, but they assumed, without saying so, that you would be showing an interest in current affairs and history and literature and film,” says Sebastian.

The Clarks would host luminaries such as Gough Whitlam and Patrick White at the house, and remained friends with Boyd until his death in 1971. Manning died in 1991 and Dymphna in 2000.

Today, the book collection exceeds 10,000 titles. There is the typewriter that belonged to Dymphna and a bust of botanist Joseph Banks. There is also a piano, which Manning used to play for half an hour on breaks from his study. “He wasn’t a great pianist at all,” says Sebastian, “but that was his favourite time of the day.”

Manning Clark House, 11 Tasmania Circle, Forrest, ACT. For information on events at the house, contact manningclarkhse@ gmail.com or (02) 6295 9433.

Restoring Harper’s Harper’s Mansion in Berrima, New South Wales, is one of the best remaining examples of a colonial Georgian house of its scale. Rescued from a state of dilapidation, today it is a cornerstone of the historic village. photographer KARA ROSENLUND writer ALEX SPEED

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THIS PAGE: A view of the parlour. The building was meticulously restored over seven years. OPPOSITE PAGE: Harper’s Mansion is a fine example of Georgian architecture in Australia.

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“James and Mary have their feet firmly on the first rung of the colonial social ladder.”

ames Harper, the son of convicts, might pinch himself were he to visit the Georgian home he built 180 years ago. Little of the eponymous Harper’s Mansion in Berrima, New South Wales, appears altered since its completion in 1836 when James Harper, a constable turned publican, his convict wife Mary and their two children moved in. Should he wander today outside the brick two-storey house with its stone quoins, sandstone flagstones and 12-pane sash windows, however, his jaw would surely drop. For where once were paddocks, now lie hectares of cool climate gardens including a maze more than three metres high.

This is no matter of fortune. Referred to as one of the best examples of a colonial Georgian house of its scale in Australia, Harper’s Mansion owes its pristine condition to a seven-year restoration project, and the ongoing commitment of volunteers.

Dr Clive Lucas OBE, National Trust of Australia (NSW) Board President, says he first clapped eyes on Harper’s Mansion in 1965 as an architectural student on a field trip.

“I was asked to give an impromptu speech about the house and I remember standing on an old tree stump to do so. It was a classic example of colonial Georgian architecture with symmetrical front and rear elevations, a pretty six-panel front door and arches over the windows, but it had terrible scars and was in a deplorable, dilapidated state.”

The Harpers moved to Berrima in the Southern Highlands in 1834 and bought 100 acres (about 40 hectares). Situated on the main road south, the settlement had recently been sited by Surveyor-General Thomas Mitchell as the county seat. Eric Savage, President of the Harper’s Mansion Management Committee, says James Harper, who was licensee at The Surveyor General Inn, sensed an opportunity to better himself.

“We think the house was built from the pattern book of a Georgian townhouse, which was common in the colony,” says Eric.

“There are 13 rooms all with original plaster cornices, cedar skirting boards and doors crafted from wood from Kangaroo Valley. The 100,000 clay bricks were made on-site and we believe the stone was quarried locally. At the time, tradesmen were building the courthouse and the jail, and James may have used them. The fact that most of the original structure remained intact, even before the restoration, suggests they were extremely good.”

Historian Ann Beaumont, author of A Light in the Window: Harper’s Mansion − Berrima, the place and its people, asserts the house was symbolic of a new world, where aspirational people could get ahead.

“He is the son of convicts, his wife Mary a former convict. Like many currency lads and lasses, James is doing well for himself.

Despite his humble beginnings it appears James and Mary have their feet firmly on the first rung of the colonial social ladder, and are well known and respected in the village.”

However, in the 1840s, the colony suffered a recession and Harper found himself in financial difficulty. At the time of his sudden death in 1845 aged 39, he had mortgaged his house and land. Mary was unable to repay the debt so the house went to >

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THIS PAGE: Michael and Sue Jackman, who rented Harper’s Mansion from 1999, built a maze and laid out a garden with some 80 varieties of heritage roses and plants grown in colonial times. OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM TOP: Eric Savage, President of Harper’s Mansion Management Committee, in the garden’s maze. At three metres high, it stands where once there were only paddocks; spring daffodils from the garden; place settings at the dining room table.

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THIS PAGE: The dining room, like the rest of Harper’s Mansion, is furnished in style with pieces from the National Trust collection.

Architectural features including fireplaces, doors and windows are original. opposite PAGE: Spring blossom from the garden.

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“It was a classic example of colonial Georgian architecture… but it had terrible scars and was in a deplorable, dilapidated state.”

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the mortgagee. In 1853 the Catholic Church bought Harper’s as a presbytery for priests, and later nuns.

It fell into disrepair, says Eric Savage, exacerbated when the Catholic Church sold it to several private owners who, it is said, found the restoration project beyond them. In 1978 local council and the National Trust assisted in securing a government grant of $44,000 to help buy the property. Serendipitously, it was Clive Lucas who led the award-winning restoration.

“It took many years because you have to work from the outside in to ensure the weather doesn’t get in. Over the two floors, the rooms are all dimensionally Georgian in terms of the balance of the rooms and the detail in the joinery, but due to the long presence of the priests, there is an overlay of Victorian decoration.”

Furnished in colonial style with pieces from the National Trust collection, all that remains of James and Mary Harper and their seven children — four of whom died under eight — are imagined silhouette portraits, upstairs in the parlour.

In 1999 the National Trust rented the property to locals Michael and Sue Jackman, who laid out the gardens and built the large maze. Today the grounds contain 80 varieties of heritage roses and the plantings focus on cultivating plants listed on the Colonial Plants Database, compiled in part from 1828 records from the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and early nursery catalogues.

“A garden evolves and never stays the same, but how do you build a new garden that relates to an old house?” asks Eric Savage.

“James Harper didn’t accept the stigma British society in the colony wanted to impose, that anyone from a lower class had no future. This house and the garden are a nice illustration of Australia as a new world.”

Harper’s Mansion is at 9 Wilkinson Street, Berrima, New South Wales; (02) 4877 1508; harpersmansion.com.au

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Place THIS PAGE: The upstairs parlour. All 13 rooms are Georgian in terms of balance and symmetry. The joinery was crafted from wood from nearby Kangaroo Valley. OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM Top LEFT: Small decorative details bring the house to life; an upstairs bedroom; furniture from the National Trust collection recreates the interiors when the Harper family lived in the house in the 1830s and ‘40s.

“We think the house was built from the pattern book of a Georgian townhouse, which was common in the colony.”

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the art of living Joan Lindsay wrote her famous 1967 novel PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK in only a month at her home Mulberry Hill. Here, on the book’s 50th anniversary, we take a look inside this artistic Mornington Peninsula property. photographer MARnie hawson writer christine reid

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isit Hanging Rock, Victoria, on a winter’s morning and its air of mystery is compelling. The mists swirl around this rare and ancient rock formation, with geologists estimating the rock’s age as 6.25 million years. It’s this sense of ancient time and eerie atmosphere that makes it easy to see why the place has attracted painters, photographers and writers.

In 1875 William Ford painted a delightful vision of a Picnic at Hanging Rock, now in the National Gallery of Victoria, with the dark brooding rocks in contrast to the girls’ pretty Victorian dresses. Twenty years later Nicholas Caire took his camera to capture some magnificent Hanging Rock images, now in the National Library of Australia.

But it is Joan Lindsay’s enigmatic novel of 1967, also called Picnic at Hanging Rock, that really captured the public imagination; and when Peter Weir made his acclaimed film in 1975 with its haunting music, the Rock and Joan Lindsay became internationally famous.

Over the years the novel’s readers have been captivated by the story and the mystery of the disappearances, but how many of those readers know that Joan’s writing room still exists intact at Mulberry Hill, just as she left it all those years ago? It remains one of the great surprises when you visit Joan’s former home near Baxter on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.

Her writing room — or ‘scribbling room’, as she called it — is remarkable for its austerity and lack of comfort: it’s a room where the imagination would have free rein without distractions.

According to Valerie Laycock, the National Trust of Australia (Victoria)’s Mornington Peninsula Properties Manager, Joan sat >

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Joan’s writing room still exists intact at Mulberry Hill, just as she left it all those years ago...

THIS PAGE: The fishbone ferns on the lower part of the walls in Joan’s studio were her own design and execution, while the mural was the work of her friend Fred Ward. OPPOSITE PAGE, from top: The drawing room offered a grand space for entertaining or simply relaxing; as an artist himself and the Director of the National Gallery of Victoria, Sir Daryl collected many works that are still displayed on the walls of the Mulberry Hill home. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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THIS PAGE, top: Joan and Sir Daryl Lindsay pictured on the verandah of their home. right AND BELOW: The detritus of their creative lives still lies where it was placed by the former inhabitants of Mulberry Hill. OPPOSITE PAGE: Sir Daryl’s painting studio is covered with his own works and those of his colleagues and friends in the Australian art world.

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The mural on the walls was designed by Joan on ‘little bits of paper,’ she said.

THIS PAGE, from top: A divan in the painting studio invites reflection on the artworks, including a portrait of Sir Daryl Lindsay painted by fellow artist George Bell for the 1923 Archibald Prize; a closer look at the wall mural in Joan Lindsay’s ‘scribbling room’.

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on a lambswool mat on the floor writing in longhand, surrounded by a sea of paper. She then typed up her copy on a typewriter at the tiny wooden table. In her later years, suffering from arthritis, she sat on a little nursing chair.

Personal mementos are few: a still life of lilies, probably a gift to Joan from her life-long friend Maie Casey (wife of the former governor-general, Lord Casey), with whom she shared a studio while they were studying at the National Gallery School.

Decoration is minimal, except for a mural on the walls designed

by Joan on ‘little bits of paper’, she said. Fred Ward, also a student at the Gallery School, painted the design of large banana and palm leaves on the walls while Joan added her artwork of fishbone ferns above the skirting boards.

It’s an impersonal room that is in marked contrast to her husband’s studio.

Joan’s husband, Sir Daryl Lindsay, whom she married in England in 1922 — on St Valentine’s Day — was a member of the large and creative Lindsay family from Creswick, Victoria.

His older brothers were Lionel and Norman Lindsay. A painter, he had studied at the Slade School, London, and many of his paintings of scenes in Australia and England, are held in Australian public collections.

The Lindsays bought the land at what was then Baxter with a cottage and stables not long after they returned to Australia.

As Joan writes in her memoir Time Without Clocks: “The first priorities were two items that most people can do without: somewhere to paint and somewhere to stable at least one horse.”

They called on their old friend, architect Harold Desbrowe Annear, to help shape the new additions; he personally supervised the building. “From Whelan the Wrecker, we bought slates the colour of over-ripe grapes for our roof, slender balustrades for the balcony porch and somebody’s old cedar staircase. These and an exciting variety of odds and ends all found a home Mulberry Hill,” writes Joan.

Tearing off an old verandah and knocking out walls transformed a section of the old cottage into Sir Daryl’s large and well-lit studio that remains intact at Mulberry Hill today.

Here’s the easel, paint palette and brushes all where he left them. A large divan bed is at the centre of the room, once the perfect spot to take a break from painting.

However, it’s the works informally grouped about the walls that really catch attention. They include several of Sir Daryl’s: a study of flannel flowers (1960), a view of the Yarra at Richmond (1939) and, on the easel, Equestrian Group at Mulberry Hill (1933). There’s George Bell’s portrait of Sir Daryl, entered in the 1923 Archibald Prize; a Justin O’Brien Portrait of a Boy; > spring 2017 / t r u s t

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a charming small oil of Macedon by Frederick McCubbin; a still life

by Russell Drysdale; an Arthur Boyd — Anthills in the Wimmera — and paintings and sculpture by brothers Percy and Lionel.

A stylised sculpture of a water buffalo in white marble is by Clive Stephen, a pioneer of the modernist art movement in Australia.

Many more paintings hang on the walls of the two formal rooms: dining room and drawing room. These interconnecting rooms exemplify the Lindsays’ life of formal dining — Joan always had a cook — and the elegant drawing room has a big open fireplace where they entertained their frequent guests. The house with its guest bedroom downstairs and main bedroom upstairs was not designed for informal, casual living. The service area of kitchen, scullery, laundry and maids’ room are all as they were first built.

Artistic, domestic and working lives all came together for the Lindsays when Sir Daryl became a curator at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1940, becoming Director in 1942. His great friend Sir Keith Murdoch, a near neighbour at Cruden Farm, was at that time Chairman of the Gallery Trustees.

Sir Daryl retired in 1956, after receiving a knighthood for services to the arts, and he and Lady Lindsay returned to a tranquil routine at Mulberry Hill. Sir Daryl, who assisted in founding the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) in 1956 and was its first president, died in 1976 and Lady Lindsay in 1984.

The house remains as they lived in it for so many years: a window into two artistic lives of the mid-20th century — and a mulberry tree still survives in the courtyard.

Mulberry Hill, 385 Golf Links Road, Langwarrin South, Victoria.

Open on Sundays. Groups by appointment. (03) 9656 9889 or contact valerie.laycock@nattrust.com.au.

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THIS PAGE, clockwise from top left: An arched window reveals the beauty of the Mornington Peninsula landscape; the little typewriter that Joan used to type her manuscripts; the spare interior of Joan’s ‘scribbling room’ gave her space to exercise a fertile imagination; walking shoes belonging to the house’s former inhabitants. opposite page: The preservation of the spaces just as they were when last occupied gives a real sense of the house’s history.

A SPECIAL NOTE: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story may contain images of, and references to, people who have died. THIS PAGE: A group portrait of Noongar men, women and children, including Fanny Balbuk Yooreel in the front row (and inset, opposite). BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Whadjuk Ballardong Elders Marie Taylor and Theresa Indich Winmar; Marie Taylor led the inaugural Fanny Balbuk Yooreel walk through the streets of Perth.

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Fanny Balbuk Yooreel

Realising a resistance fighter

With the theme ‘Having a Voice’, the 2017 Australian Heritage Festival marked the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum that recognised Aboriginal people as Australians for the first time. In Western Australia, the festival acknowledged the life and legacy of Noongar woman Fanny Balbuk Yooreel. Known as little more than a troublemaker by the broader community, this 19th century resistance fighter was decisively acknowledged as a leading lady of Perth’s Noongar community. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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She raged and stormed at the usurping of her beloved home ground... Through fences and over them, Balbuk took the straight track to the end. When a house was built in the way, she broke its fence palings with her digging stick and charged up the steps and through the rooms. Daisy Bates, The passing of the Aborigines: a lifetime spent among the natives of Australia, 1938 The first decade of settlement along the Swan River was described by eminent historian Tom Stannage as the most ‘wretched chapter in the history of black–white relations in Western

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Australia’s history’ and Fanny Balbuk Yooreel was there. She witnessed the relentless building and expansion that transformed her homelands, took the lives of her extended family and disenfranchised her community. Her knowledge of Whadjuk country, as recorded by Daisy Bates in the early 1900s, informed the Noongar Native Title claim of 2006, which upheld the Native Title determination in the Perth metropolitan area.

She courageously stood up and not fought as we know how to fight, but stood up in ways that made people call her a troublemaker. When in fact she wasn’t a troublemaker, she was a female warrior for her people. Marie Taylor, Elder Yet these harsh times have led to some kind outcomes. Seldom-heard Elders have shared the most extraordinary insights about Fanny during extensive recorded interviews that provided a foundation for a free booklet and documentary, while people from different walks of life came together to hear Fanny’s voice and story.

I think it’s very important to know about old Granny Fanny... and even though we are a much younger generation we are still

thinking of her as a living person really. She was always a hero in our eyes for us women.

May McGuire, Elder The anniversary events inspired many women to get involved, including Western Australian Governor the Honourable Kerry Sanderson AC, patron of the National Trust of Western Australia, who met with and hosted morning tea for the Elder women who contributed to the outcomes.

A self-guided walking trail was produced, supported by the City of Perth, highlighting places where Fanny Balbuk Yooreel lived her life, had friendships and gathered her food. Elder Marie Taylor led community members on the inaugural walk, ‘Fanny Balbuk Yooreel: Realising a resistance fighter’, visiting sites connected with Fanny’s life and finishing at the gardens of Government House with cultural dances and the laying of a floral tribute to Fanny Balbuk Yooreel’s ancestors.

Meantime, a band of talented female quilters (WA Inspired Art Quilters) had created 15 quilts especially for the project.

The exhibition, which was entitled ‘Balbuk’s Country’, not only launched the festival, but provided priceless moments of appreciation and understanding. The quilts (some pictured at right) were

photographs state library of western australia, matt poon, gina pickering, wa inspired art quilters

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anny Balbuk Yooreel: Realising a resistance fighter’ was the title of an event that invited Perth’s Elder women to share their knowledge and understanding of Fanny Balbuk Yooreel, a traditional Swan River woman who was born in 1840 and who died on the March 20th, 1907. Fanny lived through the colonisation of Perth and 2017 marks the 110th anniversary of her death. For journalist and self-taught anthropologist Daisy Bates, Fanny Balbuk Yooreel was both a fascination and a feature of many of her newspaper articles.

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“Even though we are a much younger generation we are still thinking of her as a living person really. She was always a hero in our eyes for us women.”

quickly snapped up by eager buyers, both Aboriginal and non-Indigenous.

Witnessing firsthand the transformation of people’s expectations and beliefs is a privilege of working in the cultural heritage sector. The program celebrating Fanny Balbuk Yooreel was made possible with the financial support of Lotterywest and through partnerships with the City of Perth, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions and with extensive research commitment from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Without the support of the Elder women, however, none of it would have been possible.

Expanding the inspirational trail of Fanny Balbuk Yooreel east to the Swan Valley and west to the Karrakatta Cemetery, where she is buried in a pauper’s grave, would provide a unique Western Australia experience for local people and visitors to Perth as well as economic opportunities for the Noongar community.

Specially led group walks for International Women’s Day, as well as significant Aboriginal events such as NAIDOC Week could easily continue to raise awareness of Perth’s original cultural identity.

To download the free map, documentary or booklet visit nationaltrust.org.au/wa/

THIS PAGE: Cultural dance in the grounds of Government House in Perth. OPPOSITE PAGE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Members of the WA Inspired Art Quilters apply finishing touches to quilts for the exhibition; Marie Taylor (top); Whadjuk Ballardong Elder May McGuire.

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BALBUK’S COUNTRY

Quilts from the exhibition, clockwise from above: Marri by Elizabeth Humphreys; Swan River Crossing c1835 by Hilary Arber; Heirisson Island, Looking East

by Elizabeth Humphreys.

T R AV E L

Palladian dreams A visit to Stourhead in Wiltshire, UK, opens up generous and majestic vistas and history for photographer Abbie melle.

Looking out over the lake and Palladian Bridge with the Pantheon in the distance. spring 2017 / tr u s t

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E

ntering the grounds of Stourhead, the famous National Trust property at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire in England, is like walking into a glorious artwork. I visited one chilly September afternoon, just as the tips of the trees were beginning to be tinged with autumn colours.

Spread out over more than a thousand hectares, the grounds and gardens of Stourhead are a breathtaking display of natural beauty and design. Originally planted in the 1740s, and designed by owner Henry Hoare as a series of carefully contrasted views, the incredible array of trees and plants are a testament to his foresight and vision, and that of the generations after him.

After picking up my ticket at the entrance, I followed the path down the incline, past the Spread Eagle Inn in Stourton village, and out towards the lake. With green fields leading down to the water’s edge, and dotted with overhanging trees, the lake is the centrepiece of the grounds, and truly a stunning scene.

On the opposite side stands the Pantheon, with statues of classical deities, and in the foreground is the Palladian Bridge, arching >

T R AV E L

THIS PAGE: The Virginia creeper on the Clock Tower entrance, tinged with autumn colour. opposite page: The medieval St Peter’s Church; the path leading up through the woods from the lake to the house. spring 2017 / tr u s t

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travel

THIS PAGE, clockwise from top: Pink hydrangeas flourish in front of the ivy-covered walls of the 18th century Spread Eagle Inn; a window into the pub; windowseat details in Stourhead House; the inn is available for accommodation and meals. opposite page: Cottages in Stourton Village, including 89 Church Lawn on the left, are also available for holiday accommodation.

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“The grounds and gardens of Stourhead are a breathtaking display of natural beauty and design.�

travel

gracefully over the lake and providing a link from one side to the other. I followed the path around the course of the lake, gradually moving through open fields to thickly wooded areas filled with beech, oak, ash and many other tree species. The silence and peace, as you wander underneath the deep canopy of trees, is so calming.

I stood watching birds gliding gently on the air currents over the lake, listening to their soft calls ringing out, and I wondered just how many others, over hundreds of years, had stood in that same spot in awe of the beauty before them.

The path again inclined slowly upwards, leading me through the woods towards the beautiful Stourhead House. From the top, I could see down to the church and village of Stourton nestled in the valley beside the lake. Part of the row of charming cottages is

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leased out for holiday accommodation with picturesque views across the lake, giving an opportunity to fully experience and soak in the peacefulness of the place.

As I left the woods behind, IÂ wandered down through the old walled garden and greenhouse, ending at the ancient Clock Arch, with its striking covering of autumn leaves.

At length I departed, so eager to return. Places such as this are truly timeless, transporting the visitor to another era with the opportunity to experience, if just for an afternoon, some of the rich beauty of a time gone by.

Stourhead, near Mere, Wiltshire, BA12 6QF; nationaltrust.org.uk/ stourhead. Stourhead is a 21/2 hour drive from London.

For more stories like this one, follow Abbie Melle on Instagram: @abbie_melle

“I stood watching birds gliding gently in the air currents over the lake, listening to their soft calls ringing out.�

THIS PAGE, clockwise from above: An old gateway in the Walled Garden; pelargoniums growing in the Pelargonium House; the glass Pelargonium House nestles against one side of the Walled Garden. opposite page: Looking out over the lake from the Pantheon, towards the Temple of Flora and Palladian Bridge.

Currumbin Beach is just the starting point for your Queensland driving adventure.

Currumbin to Cooktown

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egin your journey in Currumbin, with its famous surf culture, stunning rock pools and hinterland.

Be sure to visit Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (currumbinsanctuary.com.au) and meet some of Australia’s much loved native animals. Head to Brisbane to spend a few nights exploring the Queensland Maritime Museum, the Queensland Museum or enjoy a show at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Take a short drive west to Wacol, where you can explore Brisbane’s oldest remaining farmhouse and have high tea at Wolston Farmhouse (wolstonfarmhouse.com.au).

Stay the night in Ipswich where you will find the Workshops Rail Museum. If you’re visiting in May or September, don’t miss the Greater Houses of Ipswich, when local homeowners open their historic and significant homes to the public.

Stop by Grandchester Railway Station on the way to historic Toowoomba, the city that hosts the spectacular Festival of Flowers during September. Toowoomba is also home to the Cobb+Co Museum, which holds the National Carriage Collection. Nearby

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is the Royal Bull’s Head Inn in Drayton — a preserved 19th century inn. Wander the original garden and stables, or visit at night for a paranormal tour.

Next stop is Gympie, just north of the Sunshine Coast. Explore the range of heritage buildings which date back to its time as a major gold mine. Take time to explore the beautiful national parks which lie just outside the region; including the Great Sandy National Park and Woondum National Park.

Famous as the birthplace of Mary Poppins’ creator, P.L.Travers, Maryborough is the next stop along the trail. A visit to Brennan and Geraghty’s Store Museum is a must. Relive the 20th century retail experience with this fascinating museum trapped in time.

From here, travel only a short distance to spend the night in Hervey Bay. Drive north to the numerically named town of 1770, made famous as the second landing by James Cook on Australian soil and known as the birthplace of Queensland.

After passing through Rockhampton, just 45 kilometres northeast is Emu Park, where you can spend the night overlooking its sandy beaches from the hilly landscape.

main photograph Andrew sole/alamy stock photo

Explore all that Queensland has to offer, from stunning beachside Currumbin to Cooktown in Far North Queensland. You’ll find a wide range of natural wonders as well as heritage sites on your adventure.

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clockwise FROM TOP LEFT: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary; Grandchester Station; the James Cook Museum at Cooktown; Brennan and Geraghty’s Store Museum.

A Captain Cook ship monument here commemorates his discovery of Queensland.

Travel to Charters Towers to discover the remains of what was once Australia’s second-largest city, after a gold discovery in 1871.

Visit the Stock Exchange Arcade, which was once responsible for tapping into the world trade markets via telegraph. The Zara Clark Museum reflects the town’s golden past, and is also home to a collection of World War II military memorabilia.

Your road trip continues to the beautiful coastal city of Townsville. Take a trip up to Castle Hill Lookout for a 360-degree view of the city; visit the Museum of Tropical Queensland and explore the historic architecture; and head to the Townsville Heritage Centre to visit Currajong House and Gardens. Take a short ferry ride to explore the beauty of Magnetic Island, which sits within the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.

Spend your next night in the Atherton Tablelands, enjoying rainforest scenery. Visit Hou Wang Chinese Temple and Museum, which is the last timber-and-iron Chinese temple in Australia.

The museum offers a fascinating insight into Chinese heritage in North Queensland. The award-winning Paronella Park is also a must see, along with the Historic Village Herberton.

Finally, arrive at Cooktown: the gateway to Cape York Peninsula. Located at the mouth of the Endeavour River, where James Cook beached his ship for repairs in 1770, Cooktown offers beautiful rainforest and waterways and outstanding examples of historic architecture in a charming community. Partake in fishing charters, croc river tours or visit the Powerhouse Museum. The James Cook Museum also features the fascinating history of Cooktown inside what was a convent built in the 1880s and is now home to the original anchor and cannon from HMB Endeavour: a must see!

This could be your Currumbin to Cooktown driving trail: a trip of a lifetime with so many stories to hear, hidden gems to discover and inspiring natural heritage to experience throughout the beautiful state of Queensland.

For information about National Trust of Australia (Queensland) properties along the route, visit nationaltrustqld.org.au/qld

clockwise from left: Inside the Stock Exchange Arcade in Charters Towers; actors bring the James Cook story to life at the Museum; the Zara Clark Museum.

BOOK

THE LOSS Graeme Henderson, in his book Swallowed by the Sea, tells the poignant tale of the ultimate fate of one of the flagships of the First Fleet.

OF THE SIRIUS

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photograph Adobe stock

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he British Government chose a vessel built as a humble Baltic trader designed to carry timber for the First Fleet escort, rather than a powerful warship, symbolic of the expansion of empire. Having completed the First Fleet voyage, HMS Sirius became both protector and provider for the infant colony until its tragic loss at Norfolk Island in 1790.

By February 1790, the shortage of supplies in the settlement of Sydney had reached such a crucial stage that Governor Phillip decided to send both the Sirius and the Supply to the Norfolk Island settlement to off load hungry convicts and marines. The Sirius, under the command of Captain John Hunter, would then continue on to China to buy supplies, while the Supply, under Philip Gidley King, would head back to England.

Approaching the island, the Sirius failed to tack at a crucial moment and the wind blew the ship backwards onto the reef: the result perhaps of an unexpected shift of the wind, a shoreward current, King’s failure to warn Hunter about the current and a bold commander who sometimes sailed close to the wind.

The crew cut away the masts but the heavy surf threw the vessel upon the reef.

Lying with its side parallel to the shore, the Sirius made a good breakwater, and the crew landed two boatloads of provisions before rising surf stopped further unloading. They floated a cable end to the shore and tied it to a pine tree, so that a travelling block and hauling lines could be used to drag people, three or four at a time, safely ashore. The whole community gathered at the water’s edge to witness the disaster. A heartbroken Lieutenant Clark wrote: “The whole of our provisions are in this ship, now a wreck before us, I hope in God we will be able to save some if not all, but why do I flatter myself with such hopes, there is at present no prospect of it, except that of starving … I am so low that I cannot hold the pencil to write.”

On March 22nd, two convicts volunteered to swim to the wreck and liberate the livestock from inside the hold. However, the convicts discovered the ship’s cellar, became gloriously drunk and set fires that burnt through the gun deck. The Lieutenant Governor, Major Robert Ross, declared martial law on the island and the Supply returned to Port Jackson to deliver news of the disaster.

Government interest in the Sirius wreck began in 1983 when the Australian Bicentennial Authority sought the assistance of the Western Australian Museum. I was invited to bring together a project team to establish what remained of the wreck. The onsite underwater archaeological work was exhilarating. The hull’s remains lie under the high-energy ‘washing-machine’ zone of breaking swells in two to three metres of water. We wore extra weights to withstand the surge and,

Approaching the island, the Sirius failed to tack at a crucial moment and the wind blew the ship backwards onto the reef. as each wave broke above us, we experienced ‘white-outs’ — the foam extending to the seabed around us and obliterating all vision for a second or two.

We recorded the positions of larger wreck objects through communication between a diver holding a pole vertically against the object and a shore-based theodolite operator. The remains of the ship consist

BOOK

of a more-or-less level oval platform of interlocking rectangular iron ballast blocks that are impervious to the savage swells.

These blocks obscure and protect whatever hull timbers remain on the reef below the ballast.

We found smaller artefacts buried by shingle ballast in rock holes. The shingle pebbles were heavy enough not to be washed out of the rock holes by the surge, providing a protective barrier for the artefacts. We bag the shingle and examine it at leisure in our laboratory on shore, producing wonderful surprises.

The most evocative of the personal items we found was an edge-ground stone hatchet head of Aboriginal origin from New South Wales. The British Government had sent out curios with the First Fleet, including ironmongery, beads and looking glasses, to entice trading interest from the Indigenous populations.

The Europeans were interested in Aboriginal implements, as Phillip observed in November 1788: “The natives now avoid us more than they did when we first landed, and which I impute to the robberies committed on them by the convicts, who steal their spears and fizgigs [harpoons], which they frequently leave in their huts when they go out a-fishing…”

THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: A map of the movements of the two ships just before the shipwreck; The Melancholy Loss of HMS Sirius by midshipman George Raper; a plan for balancing the cargo. OPPOSITE PAGE: One of Sirius’s anchors, now displayed outside Sydney’s National Maritime Museum.

The archaeological collection of more than 6000 Sirius shipwreck items assembled during the Bicentennial project is the most significant array of First Fleet cultural heritage. Items include a onetonne anchor, two carronades, cannon and musket balls, grapeshot, fragments of glass containers, stoneware jars, tableware and ship’s furniture, buttons and shoulder belt plates from officers’ uniforms and delicate navigational instruments. One of the Sirius’s anchors takes pride of place at the National Maritime Museum in Sydney.

Extract taken from Swallowed by the Sea: The Story of Australia’s Shipwrecks by Graeme Henderson, NLA Publishing in collaboration with the Western Australian Museum, $44.99. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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ON THE SHELF Adventures in distant lands or as close to home as your own kitchen beckon from the pages of this month’s new books.

dreamscapes

By Claire Takacs, Hardie Grant, $70 (October release)

One of the world’s best garden photographers — and Trust magazine contributor — Claire Takacs will revisit a garden several times to make sure she has captured it in the right light. From Paul Bangay and Belgian designer Piet Oudolf ’s work to Sarah Ryan’s spectacular Hillandale garden near Bathurst (on the cover), these pages are a must for garden lovers. You won’t be disappointed.

BOOKS

EMERGENCIES ONLY

By Amanda McClelland, Allen and Unwin, $32.99

Amanda McClelland has nursed in remote Indigenous communities, been nearly kidnapped in Mogadishu and led the Red Cross’s West African Ebola response. In 2015 this Australian nurse was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal for her ‘exceptional courage and devotion to victims of armed conflict and natural disasters’. It’s a life that makes for a fascinating memoir.

cornersmith salads and Pickles

By Alex ElliottHowery and Sabine Spindler, Murdoch Books, $39.99 (October release)

Apparently we are buying more food per household than ever before, but cooking less which means we are throwing a lot of what we buy in the bin. This book from the team behind popular Sydney cafés Cornersmith is all about reducing kitchen waste by making sure you use every last food scrap — which is where these pickling and preserving recipes come in.

atlas of untamed places

sweet

By Chris Fitch, Arum Press, $39.99 (October release)

By Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh, Ebury Press, $55

From the northern edge of the known world to collecting honey in the Sundarban mangrove forests, Chris Fitch really does what the subtitle says; takes you on An Extraordinary Journey Through Our Wild World. Fitch, who writes for Geographical, the Royal Geographical Society’s magazine, includes man-made disaster areas along with the natural phenomena.

logical family: a memoir

By Armistead Maupin, Doubleday, $35

According to Armistead Maupin, all memoirs are selective memory but he is unflinchingly honest here about his life as a gay rights pioneer. Maupin, famous for his ‘Tales of the City’ column in the San Francisco Chronicle, writes “Sooner or later, we have to venture beyond our biological family to find our logical one, the one that actually makes sense for us.”

The choke

A RIGHTFUL PLACE: A ROAD MAP TO RECOGNITION

By Sofie Laguna, Allen and Unwin, $32.99

Edited by Noel Pearson and Shireen Morris, Black Inc, $27.99

Sofie Laguna, the winner of the 2015 Miles Franklin award for The Eye of the Sheep, began her career writing for children over a decade ago and it shows in her latest novel The Choke. The book is about a young girl, Justine, living with her grandfather, trying to find her way. Laguna clearly understands how to craft a powerful narrative from a child’s point of view.

The intriguingly titled Middle Eastern Millionaire’s Shortbread is just one of the 110 recipes in the latest book from Mr Ottolenghi, the Israeli–British chef who redefined salads when he opened his London restaurant in 2002. But here the focus is on all things sweet — and how irresistible do they sound?

Flourless Chocolate Layer Cake with Coffee, Walnut and Rosewater, anyone?

It would be hard to find a more impressive group of contributors on this subject than the ones listed on the cover of this collection of essays. From activist Noel Pearson and journalist Stan Grant to filmmaker Rachel Perkins and Warren Mundine AO, it’s essential reading. The book also includes ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ by Dr G Yunupingu.

Motherhood By Helen Simpson race By Toni Morrison eating By Nigella Lawson Liberty By Virginia Woolf Vintage Minis, $7.99

At around 100 pages each, Vintage Minis are a new range of books described by the publisher as “short books on big subjects”. With 20 titles to choose from, it’s hard to make a decision but we liked Helen Simpson, who landed a job on British Vogue after winning a writing competition, on Motherhood, Nigella Lawson’s Eating, Toni Morrison’s Race and Liberty by Virginia Woolf.

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Wolston Farmhouse Tea Terrace Café NOW OPEN Wed-Sun | 10am-4pm Historically known as Wolston House, this National Trust property is one of the oldest existing residential farmhouses in Brisbane.

With the Tea Terrace Café now open, you can sit back and unwind with friends or book for a special occasion.

Tea Terrace Café with its classic wide verandah overlooks the lush green farmland, and is now serving beautiful Farmhouse High Tea, light lunches and delectable sweet treats.

Spend the day at Wolston Farmhouse wandering through this beautiful heritage property and grounds.

Reservations are a must by calling 07 3088 8133.

Wolstonfarmhouse.com.au

223 Grindle Road, Wacol.

events

News & Events Discover the exciting activities happening at National Trust properties across the country.

Tasmania’s Runnymede will be hosting a spring plant sale and a Christmas fair in the coming months. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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events

PHOTOGRAPHERS ANTHONY BASHEER previous page photograph marnie hawson

RIPPON LEA OPEN DAILY Bring a picnic or simply enjoy a day out in the beautiful gardens where you’ll find the lake, historical fruit orchard, fernery and rose gardens.

192 Hotham Street, Elsternwick. como gardens OPEN DAILY Relax at one of Melbourne’s most glamorous and historic locations, wander the gardens, tour the house and grab a bite to eat at The Stables Café.

Corner Williams Road & Lechlade Avenue, South Yarra. endeavour fern gully free public access Watch out for wildlife, stroll the walking track and learn of the native plants and trees hidden among the Mornington Peninsula’s original rainforest.

195 Arthurs Seat Road, Red Hill. la trobe’s cottage open days sundays from october Explore Melbourne’s oldest surviving building, containing artifacts from the earliest time of Victoria’s settlement, and view the garden in all its spring glory.

Corner of Birdwood Avenue & Dallas Brooks Drive, The Domain, Melbourne.

old melbourne gaol & polly woodside open DAILY during school holidays Be a pirate or a prisoner inside the Gaol and aboard our tall ship. Learn the history or join in the activities and tours.

377 Russell Street, Melbourne, and 21 South Wharf Promenade, South Wharf. labassa open day third sunday of the month Discover the diverse group of artists, musicians and bohemians that once occupied this 35-room mansion and make sure to stop in the tea room.

2 Manor Grove, Caulfield North. como: paris to provence November 24th–26th Watch, touch, smell and taste all that embodies France when Como is transformed into a French popup village for three days.

Visit paristoprovence.com.au.

Como, corner Williams Road & Lechlade Avenue, South Yarra.

EXPLORERS: NARRATIVES OF SITE IN CONTEMPORARY ART PRACTICES October 7th, 21st & November 18th The idea of exploration is a strong narrative in Australian history, with the Blue Mountains featuring among the earliest forays of discovery. Working with a range of media including painting, installation, media performance and time-based media, the exhibition works within the framework of contemporary art practice to respond to the historical and cultural resonances of the site of the Blue Mountains oldest building complex. Curated by Modern Art Projects (MAP), supported by Arts NSW, NSW Government.

Email woodfordacademy@ gmail.com. Tickets, $6 (adults), $4 (concession/child 4–16 years), $15 (family of 2 adults, 2 children), guided tours $2 per person (4+ years). Woodford Academy, 90-92 Great Western Highway, Woodford. nationaltrust.org.au/nsw

the heights heritage house & garden open sundays Stop and smell the roses at the largest prefabricated house in Victoria, which still retains much of its mid-19th century charms.

140 Aphrasia Street, Newtown.

NSW

nationaltrust.org.au/vic

victoria

Swanpool Fundraising Film Day September 18th Join the North East Women’s Auxiliary of the National Trust for a film and lunch with all proceeds going towards Lake View House. Meet at Swanpool Cinema to watch The Apartment, a 1960 American romcom, winner of five Academy Awards.

Ph (03) 5743 1570. Tickets, $20 (includes drinks, nibbles, basket lunch and film).

Swanpool Cinema, 2386 Midland Highway, Swanpool.

12noon–3:30pm.

GEORGIAN GLASS, OLD GOVERNMENT HOUSE September 29th, 2017 to January 21st, 2018 Georgian Glass introduces the Havelberg collection, bequeathed to the National Trust. It dates from 1700–1840 but is mostly within the Georgian period. View this most important accoutrement of fine dining as enjoyed by the early governors and their guests, and learn about changes in technology — from the fine and very expensive Venetian glass, to the more robust and affordable glassware that became available as the English glassware industry grew. The exhibition tour takes in other examples of glassware that are part of the collection at the property. Curated by Anna Ridley, Parramatta Properties Assistant Curator.

Ph (02) 9635 8149. Email ogh@nationaltrust.com.au.

Tickets, NT members free, $14 (non-members), $11 (concession), $6 (child), $28 (family), $11 (groups, per person). Old Government House, Parramatta Park (Pitt Street entrance).

hidden gems of melbourne

Monday September 11th–Friday 15th Organised by National Trust (NSW), delight in spring in the gardens and enjoy fabulous shopping, art galleries and wellpreserved heritage in this sophisticated city. Private tours through National Trust buildings Labassa and Rippon Lea, among others.

Bookings/enquiries: David Smith, Travel on Capri, 1800 670 066. Tickets, $1650 per person.

Labassa, this page and left, is just one of the National Trust properties featured in the Hidden Gems of Melbourne tour, and is also open on the third Sunday of every month.

convicts who worked the Domain, and the traditional owners of the land.

Ph (02) 9635 8149. Email info@friendsofogh.com.

Tickets, $32 (NT members), $35 (non-members).

Old Government House, Parramatta Park (Pitt Street entrance). 7.15pm for 7.30pm start.

Wendy Sharp’s portrait of Lilikoi Kaos of Circus Oz is one of the works in the Salon des Refusés at the S.H.Ervin Gallery.

S.H.Ervin Gallery 2017 Salon des Refusés until October 15th The ‘alternative’ selection from hundreds of entries to the Archibald and Wynne Prizes.

Each year our guest selectors go behind the scenes at the Art Gallery of New South Wales to select the exhibition. The Salon has an excellent reputation, and visitors can vote in the Holding Redlich People’s Choice Award.

Tickets, $4 (NT members), $10 (non-members), $7 (seniors and concession), children under 12 years free.

Portia Geach Memorial Award October 20th– November 26th The annual award exhibition for portraiture by contemporary Australian women artists. First given in 1965 in memory of the artist Portia Geach, the Award displays selected entries representing diversity in contemporary portraiture from artists across the nation.

It is recognised as one of the most important celebrations of the talents and creativity of Australian female portrait painters.

Ph (02) 9258 0173. Email shervingallery@nationaltrust. com.au; shervingallery.com.au.

Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks, Sydney. Tuesday to Sunday 11am–5pm. Closed Mondays, public holidays and for exhibition changeover.

BUSTLE TO BIAS BRIDES, 1880–1940 An exhibition from Cavalcade of History and Fashion September 16th Enjoy a delicious home-cooked buffet luncheon followed by a fascinating journey through 60 years of bridal fashions and more, from 1880 to 1940.

These were years of enormous social change, which was reflected in fashion. An opportunity to examine historic gowns and accessories, hear about their wearers and the etiquette and histories that were part of their lives.

Ph (02) 4784 1974. Email friendsofeverglades@gmail. com. Tickets, $45 (NT members), $50 (non-members).

Everglades House and Gardens, 37 Everglades Avenue, Leura. 12.30–4pm GHOST TOURS AT OLD GOVERNMENT HOUSE September 15th, October 20th, HALLOWEEN October 31st, November 17th This long-running event, held on the third Friday of the month, never ceases to intrigue and amaze. As you wander through the candlelit corridors and rooms of this 216-year-old building — Australia’s oldest public residence — sense the presence of the first governors, their families, the military, the

PIONEERS IN PETTICOATS September 24th The lives of four charismatic women — Mary Bryant, Eliza Hawkins, Fanny Macleay and Lola Montez — are brought to life in this performance by Blaxland and Daughter in the Drawing Room of Old Government House. Ticket includes afternoon tea and tour of Old Government House.

Ph (02) 9635 8149. Email info@friendsofogh.com or Facebook. Tickets, $42 (NT members), $45 (non-members).

Old Government House, Parramatta Park (Pitt Street entrance). Two sessions: 12.30pm and 3pm GHOST TOURS AT WOODFORD ACADEMY Friday October 13th Featured in the spine-chilling series Haunting Australia, Woodford Academy’s ghosts belong to dark times of mystery and murder. Get your ghostly chills and thrills as you move from room to room hearing the stories of these troubled souls, who perhaps refused to leave!

Ph (02) 9258 0141. Email woodfordacademy@gmail.com.

Tickets, $26. Woodford Academy, 90–92 Great Western Highway, Woodford (on-street parking on Vale Road). 7.30pm and 8.30pm.

WHITE Everglades Historic House & Gardens November 11th A soiree and exhibition of themed artworks celebrating the style, beauty and grace of the avant-garde 1930s Everglades House. The home of successful entrepreneur

ECHO CALL

September 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th An exhibition of drawings by Blue Mountains artists — Freedom Wilson, Jacqueline Spedding and Edith Rewa — that ‘speak’ to the rooms, objects and grounds of the Woodford Academy and the many people who pass through them.

Email woodfordacademy@ gmail.com. Tickets, $6 (adult), $4 (concession/child 4–16 yrs), $15 (family: 2 adults, 2 children). 90–92 Great Western Highway, Woodford.

Saturdays 10am–4pm, Sundays 12noon–4pm.

Henri Van de Velde, it is known for its Art Deco interiors and spectacular gardens, with sweeping vistas to the Jamison Valley. Smooth music by the Rachel Hannan and John Stuart duo, a selection of canapés and locally produced drinks, and artworks by renowned local artists James Gordon, Julie Martin and Helen Sturgess curated by Louise Abbott of iArt will make this an event to remember. PLEASE DRESS IN WHITE. Ph (02) 4784 1938. Email everglades@ nationaltrust.com.au. Tickets, $50 (NT members), $60 (non-members). 37 Everglades Avenue, Leura. 5–8pm.

CHRISTMAS LUNCH Illawarra Shoalhaven Branch November 18th A fabulous start to the festive season! Begin with a glass of bubbly, followed by a delicious two-course lunch on the verandah overlooking the beautiful Berry countryside.

Meet special guest, National Trust Board member Kate Dezarnaulds. Bring friends and book a table.

Ph (02) 4272 9813. Email nt_isb@nationaltrust.com.au.

Tickets, $60 (NT members), $70 (non-members and friends). Silos Winery, B640 Princes Highway, Berry.

12noon–3pm.

events

RIVERSDALE’S VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS

Riversdale, at Goulburn in New South Wales, is the perfect setting for a trip back in time to enjoy Christmases past.

November 5th– December 21st Riversdale will be decked out in traditional style, evoking the ambience of a real Victorian Christmas. Enjoy a poignant collection of memorabilia — toys, clothing and books — from those who once inhabited the township and the homestead.

Ph 0409 953 859 or 0414 951 955. Email riversdale@ nationaltrust.com.au. Tickets, NT members free, $8 (nonmembers), $5 (concession), under 12s free. 2 Twynam Drive, Goulburn.

photographer kara rosenlund

lindesay christmas gift fair november 16th–18th Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity to buy special gifts of exceptional quality and to enjoy the wonderful grounds of this 1834 property, the first to be built on Darling Point with its sweeping vistas of Sydney Harbour. Lunch in the courtyard with your friends.

Ph (02) 9363 2401. Tickets, $5 per person. Lindesay, Lindesay Avenue, Darling Point.

Complimentary shuttle bus from Edgecliff bus interchange. the jewels of diana, princess of wales september 9th Love jewellery? Alan Dickens, owner of Circa AD Jewels, presents a talk featuring the many stunning jewels worn by the late Princess Diana that, together with her clothes, made her one of the most iconic and photographed princesses of the 20th century.

Bring your own pieces for Alan’s advice on restyling.

Ph (02) 4934 4087.

To help us continue to protect special places, donate today. Go to nationaltrust.org.au/ donate/

TOURS AND TREKS

National Trust (NSW) way holiday tours For all enquiries, detailed itineraries and bookings, please ring David Smith, Travel on Capri, 1800 679 066.

NORFOLK ISLAND October 16th–23rd, 2017 This is your last chance to book for this tour of Norfolk Island, with its sheer natural beauty and colonial history. The town of Kingston, a World Heritage Site, includes restored Georgian buildings. Accommodation is in the prestigious Governor’s Lodge Resort. A small tour with a maximum of 15 people.

Bookings/enquiries: David Smith, Travel on Capri, 1800 679 066. Tour Leader: Lorraine Collins, 0439 947 479

PIEDMONT, ITALY May 21st–30th, 2018 An exciting new tour with ever-popular Italian hosts, Barbara and Ugo Mariotti. Unpack only

twice as we explore the birthplace of the ‘slow food’ movement with its emphasis on fresh regional food, lovingly prepared. This scenic region is bounded on three sides by the European Alps, spreading out to the fertile plains of the Po River Valley.

Bookings/enquiries: David Smith, Travel on Capri, 1800 679 066. Tour leader: Jill Bunning, 0439 321 164.

SCOTTISH ISLES AND HIGHLANDS June 2nd–15th, 2018 This immensely popular and unique tour is being repeated due to demand! From a coach tour visiting some of Scotland’s most ancient castles and historic sites, you will embark on a romantic cruise of the Hebrides and Isle of Mull on a luxuriously restored, traditional fishing boat.

Comfort, beautiful cuisine and unforgettable scenery.

Expressions of interest: David Smith, Travel on Capri, 1800 679 066.

Tour leader: Lorraine Collins, 0439 947 479.

NSW short breaks Our Early Aviation Heritage october 22nd (PM) or October 25th (AM) An exclusive guided tour of selected items. Relive Australia’s early aviation heritage as you explore a full-size replica of Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith’s Southern Cross, a flying de Havilland Tiger Moth, a full-size model of the da Vinci Flying Wing and the blueprints from which these and other similar aircraft were manufactured in Australia. Lunch and refreshments provided.

Ph (02) 4272 9613. Email nt_isb@nationaltrust.com.au.

Tickets, $80 (NT members), $90 (non-members). Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), Albion Park. Take the train to Albion Park Railway Station, or drive approximately 1½ hours south of Sydney.

HIDDEN GEMS OF MELBOURNE September 11th–15th See page 85 for details of this interstate tour.

Distribution of this magazine may vary; we apologise if some events are already completed or booked out in advance. We recommend contacting the organisers to confirm details and ensure availability. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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Killara Day September 12th Four private houses, close to Killara Station and within easy walking distance of each other, showcasing the leafy qualities and diverse architectural styles of Sydney’s North Shore.

10.30am–12.30pm or 1–3pm.

Country Weekend: The picturesque port macquarie district October 13th–15th Drive yourself or join one of two coaches leaving from Sydney or Maitland/Newcastle for a fully organised short break. Enjoy the ambience of country New South Wales, visiting properties ranging from contemporary award winners to gracious heritage homes.

Tickets include two nights accommodation, hot breakfasts, dinners and tickets to inspections; lunches extra.

House inspections: Saturday October 14th, 10am–12 noon and 2–4 pm, Sunday October 15th, 9.30am–1pm.

Dawes Point Day October 31st Taking its name from Lieutenant William Dawes who arrived with the First Fleet and established a small observatory on this point of Sydney Cove, the area is steeped with maritime and social history.

Close to Sydney’s The Rocks area, its history is fascinating.

10.30am–12.30pm or 1–3pm.

For details, prices and bookings, please contact the Ticket Secretary (NSW National Trust, Lindesay) Ph (02) 9363 2401.

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Sunday November 5th Demonstrations, talks and garden tours in Riversdale’s very beautiful restored gardens. Plants, tools, local produce, wines and ciders for sale. Morning and afternoon teas and light lunches.

Plenty of car parking and bus parking also available.

Ph 0409 953 859 or 0414 951 955. Email riversdale@ nationaltrust.com.au. Tickets, $7 (NT members and concessions), $10 (non-members), under 12s free. 2 Twynam Drive, Goulburn.

Clarendon September 15th TAFE Interior Decoration Presentation of makeover and In Conversation evening.

Speakers are Matthew Smithies, National Trust; Joanna Pinkiewicz, Tas TAFE; and Brad Williams, Heritage Manager for Centre for Heritage Oatlands.

Ph (03) 6398 6220. Email clarendon@nationaltrusttas. org.au. 234 Clarendon Station Rd, Nile, via Evandale. 6–10pm. nationaltrust.org.au/tas

House inspections have been a popular feature of the NSW National Trust since the early 1960s. Organised by the NSW National Trust Women’s Committee, they offer members-only exclusive glimpses into private homes.

Visit properties of architectural significance, showcasing the eclectic and artistic tastes of their owners and always in beautiful surroundings.

riversdale RARE PLANTS AND GROWERS GARDEN FAIR

tasmania

LOOKING AT ARCHITECTURE

Blooming Tasmania September 23rd & 24th See spring in full bloom this weekend at Clarendon. Garden tour by donation.

Ph (03) 6398 6220. Email clarendon@nationaltrusttas. org.au. 234 Clarendon Station Road, Nile, via Evandale.

10am–4pm.

Runnymede Plant Sale October Date to be confirmed, depending on weather. This very popular event will be running again this year with Experience the gracious gardens of Franklin House.

loads of plants, Devonshire teas, bric-a-brac and more on sale.

Follow us on Facebook @nationaltrusttasmania. pandemonium mid-October (TBC) The world-class multisensory experience, Pandemonium, will reopen at The Tench.

Book now to avoid missing out at nationaltrusttas.rezdy.com Clarendon Spring Art Show October 21st & 22nd Exhibitors: Will Stackhouse — Tasmanian Aboriginal artist and sculptor. Emotive sculptures of wood and metal have been exhibited at various exhibitions. Art work consists of digital paintings and Inktense pencils are used to create special images.

Currently exhibiting in Vietnam; Penelope Hunt — photographer from Melbourne.

Her work explores universal themes around the environment, mortality and the transitory nature of our existence; Carol Barnett — a contemporary artist who is currently working onsite at Clarendon. Her artwork is

focussed on the colours and environment within the estate.

Coach House Studio. Entry by donation. 10am–4pm.

Clarendon Spit Roast October 21st Tickets will be available on National Trust website. All guests may view the Spring Art Show in the Coach House Gallery from 6–7pm.

Tickets, $50 per person. 6–11pm.

Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival October 27th String quartet in the Stone Barn at Clarendon.

Tickets are sold out. 7pm.

Franklin House October 28th A high-end dinner to be held in the ground floor rooms of Franklin House. Numbers are limited so book early.

Ph (03) 6344 7824. Tickets, $200 per person.

November High Teas sundays in November The very popular Runnymede high teas will be held every Sunday at 2.30pm. Book quickly to avoid missing out.

Ph (03) 6278 1269 or Facebook @nationaltrusttasmania.

Carols and Cake December 10th Franklin House hosts Carols by the Tamar Valley Voices.

The very popular Franklin House fruit mince pies will be served. Bookings essential for catering purposes.

Ph (03) 6344 7824. Tickets, $10. 2pm.

Franklin House Spring Garden Party

Sunday November 12th Sausage sizzle, Devonshire tea, stalls, games, Launceston City Band (11am–1pm), Colonial Strollers, learn to play croquet.

Ph (03) 6344 7824. Tickets, normal admission prices to view the house. 11am–3pm

Perth Heritage Days at East Perth Cemeteries October 15th Why was WA’s first inland town called York? What happened to George of Shenton Park? Learn about people behind the names The Royal Bull’s Head Inn, Toowoomba, promises some bloomin’ scary fun.

of Perth places on a self-guided tour through East Perth Cemeteries. Gazetted in December 1829, it was the chief burial ground for the first 70 years of the Swan River Colony. Come along and spot names you will recognise.

Bronte Street, East Perth.

12noon–4pm.

National Trust of WA Annual General Meeting November 8th National Trust members and the public are invited to attend the National Trust of WA’s Annual General Meeting, which includes highlights of activities and projects throughout the year and also the delivery of the important Volunteer Recognition program, which recognises the vital contribution volunteers make to the work of the organisation. Refreshments following the meeting at the Old Observatory next door.

RSVP NTWAagm2017.eventbrite. com.au. Constitutional Centre of WA, 40 Havelock Street, West Perth. 5.30pm.

FROM Guildford to Gallipoli November 11th On Remembrance Day, we recall the Harper brothers, who left their elegant home on the banks of the Swan River to fight with the Light Horse in World War I. Hear about their experiences; learn about their fate. Through readings and displays of letters and documents, Wilfred’s and Gresley’s lives at the front are revealed in this moving presentation in the Billiard Room of their family home.

Bookings essential.

Visit nationaltrust.org.au/wa.

Tickets, $8 (adults), $5 (NT members & children), $7 (concession), $23 ( family). Ford Street (enter via Gov Stirling High School), Woodbridge.

Great Houses of Ipswich September 9th Ipswich is a city studded with stunning heritage homes. With the overwhelming success of the Great Houses of Ipswich in May, we are excited to showcase three more period homes.

The first to be revealed is the beautifully restored Mona Lodge; this magnificent property dates from 1863.

Visit greathouses.com.au for further details or stay up-to-date with the Great Houses of Ipswich Facebook page. Tickets, free for NT members, children and students, all others $5 per person, per property. 10am–4pm. nationaltrust.org.au/qld

Perth Heritage Days at the Old Observatory October 14th Join a guided tour of the Old Observatory during Perth Heritage Days and discover the history of Western Australia’s first observatory. Learn about the scientific history of the site, artworks on display and how Fraser Avenue in Kings Park once led right to the front door.

Bookings oldob.eventbrite.com.au.

4 Havelock Street, West Perth.

Enter via long driveway opposite Ord Street.

QUEENSLAND

WA nationaltrust.org.au/wa

events

FestEvil at the Fangtuary October 27th & 28th Join us if you dare for a Halloween scare — FestEvil at the Fangtuary — I’m sure you’ll be there! Spine-tingling fun for one and all in conjunction with the Currumbin Sanctuary Markets, if you make it through there at all. Frightful activities will make you squeal. Ride the ghost train; if you dare … >

A Bloomin’ Scary Night at the Inn

September 22nd & 23rd Part of Toowoomba’s Carnival of Flowers. Royal Bull’s Head Inn is a historic building which served as a resting place for travellers in the 1800s.

With a floral theme and some ‘scary’ fun, relish the atmosphere of the 155-yearold inn at night time. BYO torches and arrive 10 minutes early for your tour.

Facebook @royalbullsheadinn.

Email toowoomba@ nationaltrustqld.org.

Tickets, $12 (adults).

6.30–7.30pm & 8–9pm.

$8 (children 8 years old and over), trybooking.com/RGQH. Ayers House Museum, 288 North Terrace, Adelaide.

Enjoy tea on the terrace at Wolston Farmhouse.

Bon Accord Mine Museum october 7th & 8th The Blacksmith Shop is fully operational: a blacksmith will be working with a forge of typical Cornish design and original elephant-hide bellows.

Ph (08) 8892 2743; 0429 160 322. Corner West Street and Railway Terrace, Burra.

10am–3pm.

Tea Tree Gully Heritage Museum october 15th ‘Power of the Past’ featuring members of the Adelaide Hills Motor Restorers’ Club demonstrating a selection of restored vintage standing motors.

Ph (08) 8251 3499. ttgmuseum. on.net. Tickets, $5 (adults), $4 (concessions), children free.

3 Perseverance Road, Tea Tree Gully. 1–4pm.

The visitor experience has now been enhanced with the Visitor Centre, Tea Terrace Café and Gift Store giving more depth to this involvement.

At Wolston Farmhouse you can wander through rooms that embody the comfortable rural lifestyle of previous owners. Take a break in the new café with a light lunch of Farmhouse favourites, delight in our sweet specialties or book for special occasion High Teas. wolstonfarmhouse.com.au. 10am–4pm

we’d love to see you there! currumbinsanctuary.com.au.

Tickets, $10 (NT members), $15 (adults and kids), children under 4 free. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, 28 Tomewin Street, Currumbin.

6–9.30pm.

Blinky Bill’s Studio Adventure September school holidays Blinky Bill’s Studio Adventure brings the excitement of

television to life. Mums, dads and kids of all ages will become part of the action as Blinky Bill and our trusted Wildlife Host, rehearse and film scenes from their next television episode.

The show is a fun, interactive, fast-paced musical show that will have the audience singing and dancing and send imaginations soaring. Blinky Bill’s Studio Adventure: where adventure comes to life! currumbinsanctuary.com.au.

28 Tomewin Street, Currumbin.

A Very Victorian Halloween October 31st Enjoy a frightfully fun evening at Ayers House Museum as we celebrate Halloween the Victorian way!

Dress up in your favourite costume and prepare for a shadowy night of spooky stories and scary songs.

See what’s cooking in the witch’s kitchen and hide under the ghoul’s blanket.

Bookings essential.

Ph (08) 8223 1234. Email ayershouse@nationaltrustsa. org.au. Tickets, $12 (adults), nationaltrust.org.au/sa

Tea Terrace Café and Gift Store NOW OPEN Wednesday to Sunday

SA

Wolston Farmhouse

help us protect special places and donate today.

Go to nationaltrust.org. au/donate/

BEAUMONT HOUSE Open Garden Day Sunday September 24th

Come and enjoy the splendour of the Beaumont House garden in full bloom at the Open Garden Day. Explore this lovingly restored Mediterranean garden, and learn about the early history of these experimental gardens and the original olive grove.

Guided tours of the garden will be available. There will be a working blacksmith, plant sales, a performance by the Dixieland band of the South Australian Police and Devonshire teas served on the verandah.

Ph (08) 8202 9200. Email events@nationaltrustsa.org.au.

Tickets, $8, $6 (concession), under 18s free. 631 Glynburn Road, Beaumont.

Distribution of this magazine may vary; we apologise if some events are already completed or booked out in advance.

We recommend contacting the organisers to confirm details and ensure availability.

events

act photograph MARNIE HAWSON

nationaltrust.org.au/act

Trees of Heritage Significance at the National Arboretum, Canberra Gardens September 18th Trees hold special meanings to many people around the world, including cultural, spiritual, historical and economical. This facilitated walk will visit some of the trees planted at the Arboretum and explore some

of the stories of their significance, as well as the importance of the Arboretum project as a whole. The walk is approximately 2km return and does require a reasonable level of fitness. Afternoon tea at the Village Centre is included.

Ph (02) 6230 0533. Email info@nationaltrustact.org.au.

Tickets, $25 (NT/U3A members/Friends of NLA), $35 (non-members). National Arboretum, Forest Drive, off Tuggeranong Parkway, Weston Creek. 1–3.15 pm.

Private Gardens of the Monaro October 24th This self-driving tour will visit three private gardens in the Monaro High Country: Hazeldean, Shirley and Curry Flat Homestead. The coldclimate gardens are located on historic pastoral properties where sheep and cattle graze over the extensive Monaro plains, about an hour and a half ’s drive south of Canberra city. This is a self-drive tour.

When you book please advise

Enjoy the gardens at Beaumont House, South Australia, on Sunday September 24th.

if you can take extra passengers or if you require transport.

Ph (02) 6230 0533. Email info@nationaltrustact.org.au.

Tickets, $125 (NT/U3A members/Friends of NLA), $135 (non-members).

We will meet at the first property at 10.30am.

Directions will be provided.

12th Reid Open Houses and Gardens November 5th Once again, the National Trust (ACT) in collaboration with the Reid Residents’ Association (RRA) and the property owners will open three privately owned houses and gardens from the 1920s and 1930s in Reid’s Heritage precinct. Meet the owners and view inside the houses and also the gardens.

The properties comprise two late 1920s Federal Capital Commission (FCC) houses (a FCC 7 & a FCC 9), and a 1936 Department of Interior Type ‘O’ house.

Ph (02) 6230 0533. Email info@nationaltrustact.org.au.

Tickets, $25 (NT/U3A members/Friends of NLA), $35 (non-members). Meet next to the Reid Tennis Club Pavilion in Dirrawan Gardens, Currong Street, Reid. 1.15–4.30pm bowning, binalong & yass tour november 11th We begin with an inspection of Cliftonwood Homestead in Yass. The current owner, Tony Wade, has taken on the task of restoring this historic property.

Morning tea follows at Rollonin Café, a reconstructed slab hut next to the Cobb & Co coaching station in Bowning. Heritage consultant Pip Giovanelli will introduce us to Binalong where we will have lunch before returning to Yass for a guided stroll and visit to the Antique Farm Machinery Museum.

Ph (02) 6230 0533. Email info@nationaltrustact.org.au.

Tickets, $85 (NT/U3A members/Friends of NLA), $95 (non-members). Pick up points are in Deakin and Lyneham. spring 2017 / t r u s t

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PHOTOGRAPHS anthony basheer, kARA ROSENLUND, MARK ROPER, MARNIE HAWSON

Membership

NATIONAL TR

NATIONAL TRUST

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Encourage a FRIEND or FAMILY member to sign up or DONATE today and help us protect our special PLACES. Go to www.nationaltrust. org.au/membership to discover more about the benefits of membership.

Victoria Alexander’s photographs of Old Government House, Sydney, shown on this page, were commissioned to be a range of cards for The Store, National Trust. Victoria, right, is a lifelong supporter of the National Trust.

life & times Author, renovator and photographer VICTORIA ALEXANDER on the importance of heritage.

Once a fashion editor at Vogue Australia and then the rescuer and founder of well-known Sydney restaurant The Bathers’ Pavilion, Victoria Alexander did many things before getting behind a camera. Shooting Old Government House for a card range for The Store, National Trust is one of her latest projects. Here, this author of four books, including Real: Living a Balanced Life, talks about how the National Trust has influenced her life.

What does the National Trust mean to you?

I grew up with the National Trust in the background. My mother regularly attended Open House events and for some time my father was Treasurer, which meant that I vicariously learned just how dependent cultural and arts institutions are on donations and government grants.

I remember my mother being particularly happy at my father’s appointment, because she felt, as I now do, that voluntary work is an important part of a healthy society. Although not empowered with statutory rights enabling it to ensure the

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conservation and preservation of buildings other than its own, the Trust has a pivotal role and responsibility to ensure the preservation of our Indigenous, natural and historic heritage.

What are our heritage responsibilities?

Australians often see heritage as an old people’s domain. It’s far from it. It’s relevant to all of us: a common link to our culture and past as well as an important learning tool. Conservation ensures continuity and cultural meaning, with differences telling community stories. Each of us has a responsibility to ensure our history is told through the built form; that important buildings and our natural heritage are treated with respect and care. We all play a role in this, no matter how small. Buildings and nature, like people, need nurturing and should be enlivened by being given relevant uses that match the needs of our time.

Your latest project was shooting Old Government House, a National Trust property in Sydney, for a range of cards sold in The Store, National Trust.

This building is in my past: my mother-in-law used to be a volunteer there. For a convict-built building, the quality of light surprised me, particularly in the schoolroom and kitchen. As with most Georgian buildings, the proportions are graceful and considered rather than being imposing. As the oldest public building in Australia, along with its colonial furniture collection, I was reminded of its important place, not just in our history in connection with the settlement of Australia and British rule, but also in a larger context of world architectural styles and the way it differs so greatly from our Indigenous peoples’ way of life as it was at the time it was built.

Is there any National Trust property that you have a special connection with?

I regularly pass the National Trust headquarters on Observatory Hill and the S.H.Irwin Gallery on my way to and from home. The curating of the exhibitions there interests me: Cressida Campbell’s was particularly memorable in the way it included her methodology, and the recent Elisabeth Cummings retrospective was not before time.

For many years we lived in a terrace house in Millers Point and it was an almost daily ritual to push a pram up the hill and around the building.

The card range is available from The Store, National Trust in Evandale, Tasmania.

Ph (03) 6391 8720 or email lucy@thestore.com.au.

portrait photograph daniel Shipp/the planthunter

L A ST W O R D

SAVE THE DATE Sunday 12th November 10.00am - 4.30pm The National Trust Centre Observatory Hill The Rocks, Sydney

Australia’s Own Art & Antiques Roadshow

Enquire now at www.ozartandantiques.com.au or call: (02) 9252 5554 MM0086

Start your journey…

Currumbin to Cooktown Set off on a driving trail from Currumbin to Cooktown and explore Queensland’s National Trust properties. Travel through beautiful towns visiting hidden gems along the way.

James Cook Museum Cooktown Hou Wang Temple Atherton

Currajong House Townsville Stock Exchange Arcade Zara Clark Museum Charters Towers

Brennan & Geraghty’s Store Maryborough Royal Bull’s Head Inn Toowoomba Grandchester Railway Grandchester

Great membership discounts plus entry to over 800 National Trust properties worldwide.

Plan your trip now nationaltrust.org.au/qld

Wolston Farmhouse Wacol Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Gold Coast