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Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection
Painting, Frank Werther, Dead Wattles, 1962
CEMA Art Collection Winner of 1962 Portland Artists' Society Prize for the category Painting. Included in the 1999 "Salvage" Exhibition at CEMA Arts Centre.The painting depicts several trees on a multi-coloured ground with mountains in the background. The trees in the foreground are linear and completed in shades of browns and pinks. The work has a white, gold and blue hand-painted frame with exposed canvas.Front: Werther '62 (bottom right, brown paint) Back: PORTLAND "DEAD WATTLES" 40 GNS FRANK WERTHER COTTLES BRIDGE VIC per MAYNE NICKLESS (white chalk) Red sticker: 32 Yellow sticker: 1962cema, portland artists society -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Headwear - Hat, 1930s
Hat belonged to Catherine (Kitty) Ann Windsor (born 23 Nov 1919 died 17 Nov 2002) in the 1930s. She was the grandmother of Rachael Cottle (Whitehorse Historical Society Secretary Aug 2011-2016). She was gate keeper at the Tunstall (Nunawading) railway gates crossing at Springvale Road during 1934 - 1952.A house was supplied for the keeper. The gates were closed to traffic from midnight till 5 a.m.Dusky pink felt skull cap shaped cap. Pearly white, gelatin sequins in the shape of a feather on one side.costume, female headwear -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Document - Folder, Shanhun, Cheon and James
Cheon Shanhun lived between Wattle Glen and Hurstbridge from about 1870 to 1900. His son James settled in Panton Hill. Contents Letter Alison Connett, 27 December 1993, seeking information on the naming of Shanhuns Road, Cottles Bridge. Photocopy of photograph, group of people c1929, Mrs Jim Shanhun identified.Newspaper clippings, A4 photocopies, etccheong shanhun, james shanhun, shanhuns road cottles bridge, panton hill -
Nillumbik Shire Council
Painting: Rick AMOR (b.1948, Melb. AUS), Rick Amor, Out to Sea, 1993
Rick Amor was a good friend of three times Archibald Prize winner Clifton Pugh, living and working at Pugh's artist colony Dunmoochin, (Cottles Bridge) during the 1980-1990s. Amor made frequent outdoor painting trips with Pugh. His studies of Williamstown and areas around the port fuelled a period of sustained painting in his studio at Dunmoochin. Amor is an artist of national significance who had lived locally in Dunmoochin (Cottles Bridge) during the time of this work's making. This painting was exhibited/entered into the 1993 Shire of Eltham Art Awards. The work is representative of Amor's style and interest in seascapes as subject matter. Oil on linen, seascape painting. A solitary and motionless male figure in an overcoat stands at the edge of a dock/jetty with his hands in his pockets looking out to sea with his back towards the viewer. A motorised boat is moored close by and a white house with a blue roof can be seen in the distance. The figure is engulfed by the landscape and a resounding sense of desolation. A storm is brewing; the mood forecast by dark, heavy and thick ominous clouds, alternately darkening with the approach of night, a polluted haze and rough seas. In red paint, lower right, signed 'RICK AMOR '93'amor, seascape, painting, personal, boat, dramatic, atmospheric, ekphrasis 2015, dunmoochin -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Clothing - Cotton Striped Dress, c1930s
Dress owned by Catherine Ann Windsor (Kitty) (born 23 Nov 1919 died 17 Nov 2002) in the 1930s/1940s. She was grandmother of Rachael Cottle, Whitehorse Historical Society Secretary (2011-2016). Catherine was the gate-keeper at the Tunstall (Nunawading) railway gates at Springvale Road during 1934-1952. A house was supplied for the gatekeeper. The gates were closed to traffic from midnight to 5 am.Dress with elastic shirring top and frilled neckline with puff sleeves. Rayon material. Coloured orange, green, grey and white.tunstall (nunawading) railway station, windsor, catherine ann (kitty), cottle, rachael, dress, victorian railways -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Self Portrait - Clifton Pugh (1962), 1971
Clifton Pugh (1924-1990) was born at Richmond Victoria, and educated at various schools including Briar Hill Primary, Eltham Higher Elementary School and Ivanhoe Grammar. He studied art at the National Gallery School of Victoria 1948-52. Pugh is recognised as a one of Australia’s foremost painters. He is represented in major galleries throughout the country and overseas. He founded the “Dunmoochin” artists colony at Cottles Bridge.This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book, "Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as the 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.' It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.4 x 5 inch colour reversal film (1) Condition: May not be true to colour of original work. Scanned from a 4 x 5 inch colour transparency which was taken c.1970 (approx. 50 years old) and which has undergone significant colour degradation towards the red spectrum. Allowances made for colour cast correction in scan with best guess for white balance. In some cases, significant light flare is reflected off glossy surface of original work at camera lens causing quality issues.clifton pugh, sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, self portrait -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Clifton Pugh, 1971c
Clifton Pugh (1924-1990) was born at Richmond Victoria, and educated at various schools including Briar Hill Primary, Eltham Higher Elementary School and Ivanhoe Grammar. He studied art at the National Gallery School of Victoria 1948-52. Pugh is recognised as a one of Australia’s foremost painters. He is represented in major galleries throughout the country and overseas. He founded the “Dunmoochin” artists colony at Cottles Bridge.Two black and white photographs of Clifton Pugh painting, c.1971clifton pugh, painters, artists -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Mr Belot smokes his pipe whilst resting at Cottle's Bridge, c.1890
The area, previously known as Back Creek, was named after Thomas Cottle, who settled in the district in the 1870s, and the original bridge over the Diamond Creek on the road to Strathewen. The original bridge (seen in the photo) was replaced with a new timber bridge at a cost of £1,500, the tender being awarded to a contractor named Birch who commenced work in June 1927. The gentleman in the photo who is resting whilst having a smoke of his pipe is a member of the Belot family.Original sepia photograph mounted on card broken lower left corner and cracked upper rightbelot, bridge, cottles bridge, cottles bridge-strathewan road, diamond creek (creek), heidelberg-kinglake road -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Peter Laycock, 1971ca
Page 133: "..Studio potters and ceramic artists began settling in this area (Warrandyte) from about 1945.. Meanwhile a group was developing at Cottles Bridge, making their own kick-wheels and kilns and producing pots and models by what often began as a co-operative system, two or more artists co-operating in making each article... Husband and wife teams predominated.. Laycock and Alma Shanahan have been responsible for the now thriving reputation of the "Dunmoochin" pottery.."Black and white photograph reproduced on p131 of 'Pioneers & Painters: One Hundred years of Eltham and its Shire' by Alan Marshall (1971)pioneers and painters, peter laycock, dunmoochin, pottery -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Headwear - Hat, c. 1930
Hat belonged to Catherine (Kitty)Ann Windsor (born 23 Nov 1919 died 17 Nov 2002) and was worn in the 1930s. She was gatekeeper at the Tunstall (now Nunawading) railway gates crossing at Springvale Road during 1934-1952. A house was supplied for the keeper. The gates were closed to traffic from midnight to 5.00 a.m. The donor Rachael Cottle ( Whitehorse Historical Society Secretary Aug 2011 - Aug 2016) is the granddaughter of Catherine Ann Windsor.Black soft velour beret shaped hat with 5cm turned up brim and black feather at back.costume, female headwear -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Negative - Photograph, Mr Belot smokes his pipe whilst resting at Cottle's Bridge, c.1990 (c.1890)
Copy of original photograph. The area, previously known as Back Creek, was named after Thomas Cottle, who settled in the district in the 1870s, and the original bridge over the Diamond Creek on the road to Strathewen. The original bridge (seen in the photo) was replaced with a new timber bridge at a cost of £1,500, the tender being awarded to a contractor named Birch who commenced work in June 1927. The gentleman in the photo who is resting whilst having a smoke of his pipe is a member of the Belot family.Roll of 35mm Black and White negative film, 3 strips, (1 of 14 frames)Film - Agfa Ortho 25belot, bridge, cottles bridge, cottles bridge-strathewan road, diamond creek (creek), heidelberg-kinglake road -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Slide, Pills Cottage, Heidelberg-Kinglake Road, Cottles Bridge, Vic, c.1970
Pills Cottage about halfway from Cottles Bridge to St Andrews near 1575 Heidelberg-Kinglake Road, St Andrews. William John "Bill" Pill was born on 19th June 1894 at Diamond Creek He was brutally murdered on 21st December 1958 age 64, in his cottage. His father was John Henry Pill, born 24 November 1856, Lalone, Perranzabuloe, Cornwall, England, He died 21 December 1930 at Cottles Bridge, His mother was Jessie Ann Whatmough, born 6th June 1870. She died 21 August 1921. William John "Bill '' Pill, grew tomatoes on his rich two and a half acres. In 2024 his second cousin Steve Whatmough recalled visiting Bill in 1957 with his parents (Eric and Nancy Whatmough) and Bill showing them his tomatoes. He had a very large aeroplane propeller set up at one end on his tomato crop. He would run the propeller on frosty mornings to keep away the frost damage. His tomatoes would ripen early and would receive a premium price for them. The cottage consisted of two buildings. The one closest in the right side of the photo was the kitchen. The second building that also has a chimney was his bedroom and living room.35 mm colour positive transparency Mount - Agfacolor Service (Blue)heidelberg-kinglake road, pills cottage, st andrews, william john pill, bill pill, john henry pill, jessie ann pill (nee whatmough), market gardener, murder, cottles bridge (vic.), tomato farm, mount - agfacolor service (blue), scan - 35mm positive -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Slide, Pills Cottage, Heidelberg-Kinglake Road, Cottles Bridge, Vic, c.1970
Pills Cottage about halfway from Cottles Bridge to St Andrews near 1575 Heidelberg-Kinglake Road, St Andrews. William John "Bill" Pill was born on 19th June 1894 at Diamond Creek He was brutally murdered on 21st December 1958 age 64, in his cottage. His father was John Henry Pill, born 24 November 1856, Lalone, Perranzabuloe, Cornwall, England, He died 21 December 1930 at Cottles Bridge, His mother was Jessie Ann Whatmough, born 6th June 1870. She died 21 August 1921. William John "Bill '' Pill, grew tomatoes on his rich two and a half acres. In 2024 his second cousin Steve Whatmough recalled visiting Bill in 1957 with his parents (Eric and Nancy Whatmough) and Bill showing them his tomatoes. He had a very large aeroplane propeller set up at one end on his tomato crop. He would run the propeller on frosty mornings to keep away the frost damage. His tomatoes would ripen early and would receive a premium price for them. The cottage consisted of two buildings. The one closest in the right side of the photo was the kitchen. The second building that also has a chimney was his bedroom and living room.35 mm colour positive transparency Mount - Agfacolor Service (Blue)bill pill, cottles bridge (vic.), heidelberg-kinglake road, jessie ann pill (nee whatmough), john henry pill, market gardener, mount - agfacolor service (blue), murder, pills cottage, scan - 35mm positive, st andrews, tomato farm, william john pill -
Federation University Historical Collection
Book, David Andrew Roberts, Journal of australian Colonial History: Eureka: Releasing the Spirit of Democracy, 2008
A number of images for this journal were supplied by the University of Ballarat Historical Collection,Brown and Black soft covered book of 200 pages. Chapters include and introduction (Geoffrey Blainey); Eureka: gathering the 'Oppresed of all Nations (Anne Beggs-Sunter); The 'Southern Cross': a radical legacy (Drew Cottle); Ballarat of Eureka (Keith McKenry); 'Men of Colour' John Joseph and the Eureka Treason trials (Jeffrey Atkinson); 'Blood, Sweat and Tears': Women of Eureka (Dorothy Wickham); 'Why should they pay money to the Queen?: Aboriginal Miners and Land Claim (Fred Cahir); Raffaello Carboni's Perception of Australia (Gaetano Rando); Democracy, Political Rhetoric and the Conservative Response to manhood Suffrage in Colonial New South Wales (Gregory Melleuish); 'Foreign to their feelings as freemen': Liberal politics in a goldfields community, Bendigo 1853-1883.ballarat, bendigo, eureka, aborigines, southern cross, women, charles hotham, australian democracy, agitation -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Clifton Pugh - Dunmoochin, Cottles Bridge
A series of photos of Pugh at work. Clifton Pugh (1924-1990) was born at Richmond Victoria, and educated at various schools including Briar Hill Primary, Eltham Higher Elementary School and Ivanhoe Grammar. He studied art at the National Gallery School of Victoria 1948-52. Pugh is recognised as a one of Australia’s foremost painters. He is represented in major galleries throughout the country and overseas. He founded the “Dunmoochin” artists colony at Cottles Bridge. This front image from "Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall, page 128 shows Pugh working on his portrait of Dame Mabel Balcombe Brookes (1890-1975).. Accoridng to an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography for Dame Brookes, this Pugh portrait remains in the family. This photo forms part of a collection of photographs gathered by the Shire of Eltham for their centenary project book, "Pioneers and Painters: 100 years of the Shire of Eltham" by Alan Marshall (1971). The collection of over 500 images is held in partnership between Eltham District Historical Society and Yarra Plenty Regional Library (Eltham Library) and is now formally known as the 'The Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph Collection.' It is significant in being the first community sourced collection representing the places and people of the Shire's first one hundred years.Digital image Various prints and colour reversal films artists, clifton pugh, cottles bridge, dunmoochin, eltham local characters, painters, "pioneers and painters", sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, painting, dame mabel brookes -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Postcard - Correspondence, Postcards from members, 2013 - 15
Postcards from Whitehorse Historical Society members who were on vacation at the time.Postcards from Whitehorse Historical Society members who were on vacation at the time, and one from Deidre Hancock regarding the health of her husband. Postcards from Whitehorse Historical Society members who were on vacation at the time. postcards, whitehorse historical society inc, hancock, keith, hancock, deidre, cottle, rachael, simmenauer, peter, hall, harley, gardiner, bob, hopley, megan -
Nillumbik Shire Council
Ceramic (plates): Alma SHANAHAN (b.1924 - d.2015 Melb.), Alma Shanahan, Horse Power - The Flip Side, c.1965
Alma Shanahan (1924-2015) was a Victorian potter who came to live at Clifton Pugh's Dunmoochin art colony at Cottlesbridge, on Melbourne's outskirts in 1953. Unable to join the co-operative proper, as she was a potter, not a painter, she built her house at the top of the hill, 135 Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. The c.1953 house is historically, aesthetically and architecturally significant because it is a good example of the design and ethos of mud brick dwellings synonymous with Eltham and features the extensive use of recycled materials, which was characteristic of the 'Eltham style' of architecture. Like the others in the artist community, Alma Shanahan built her own residence in stages out of local materials. Shanahan was later joined by neighbours and Dunmoochin potters Peter and Helen Laycock. She trained for a term with Peter Laycock but was otherwise self-taught, basing her practice on the teachings of Bernard Leach. After Pugh's death in 1991 she became the longest standing Dunmoochin resident. Her works are incised with her full name. Alma Shanahan was a part of the Dunmoochin Artist's community whose (other) members (Kevin Nolan, John Howley, John Olsen, Mirka Mora, Peter Laycock, Helen Laycock, Peter Wiseman and Chris Wiseman) made an important contribution to Victoria's cultural history. From the mid 1950s Pugh persuaded a number of other painters, as well as potters and other artists, to come and live at Dunmoochin and they formed one of Victoria's most important artist communities. She started potting around 1961 (aged 37). "Horse Power" was made using Chullora clay, which indicates it was made during her first seven years of production. Horse Power is about man's search for "energy" and how the "energy" can turn around. Made from Chullora (Sydney) clay. Glazed stoneware plates (x2) with brush decorations resting on hand made ceramic stands. Plate one: 2006.64.1VA (Horse Power + stand) shows a figure on horse back with blue foliage in background. Plate two: 2006.64.2VA (Flip Side + stand) shows a horse with figure under it's hooves. Hand painted signature in brown/black on back of both plates; "Alma Shanahan"shanahan, stoneware, glaze, plates, horse, dunmoochin -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Visit to Clifton Pugh's home, Dunmoochin, 26 May 1991, 26/05/1991
[from EDHS Newsletter No. 78, May 1991:] DUNMOOCHIN TRIP "Dunmoochin" was the home of the famous artist Clifton Pugh who died last year. The house also gives an informal name to the surrounding area at Cottles Bridge where artists, conservationists and like minded people have made their homes. This is an area of unconventional houses blending in with the surrounding bushland. The Pugh house is a rambling complex including studios and a large pottery kiln. It contains many of Clifton Pugh's works. For this excursion we have arranged a guided visit of the Pugh house and hope to be able to visit another house in the area. We will also be able to wander through bushland which Clifton had purchased for conservation purposes. This will be an afternoon excursion on Sunday 26th May starting with lunch (bring your own) at 12:30 pm at the Panton Hill Memorial Park. Transport will be by private car but transport can be arranged for those not wishing to drive. There is no cost but we need to be advised of members attending. Advise Russell Yeoman at the May Meeting or by 10th May if you intend to go. We will not be able to add extra people after that date.Three colour photographsactivities, clifton pugh, dunmoochin -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Leon Saper residence, 60 Dunmoochin Road, Cottlesbridge, 26 May 1991, 26/05/1991
[from EDHS Newsletter No. 78, May 1991:] DUNMOOCHIN TRIP "Dunmoochin" was the home of the famous artist Clifton Pugh who died last year. The house also gives an informal name to the surrounding area at Cottles Bridge where artists, conservationists and like minded people have made their homes. This is an area of unconventional houses blending in with the surrounding bushland. The Pugh house is a rambling complex including studios and a large pottery kiln. It contains many of Clifton Pugh's works. For this excursion we have arranged a guided visit of the Pugh house and hope to be able to visit another house in the area. We will also be able to wander through bushland which Clifton had purchased for conservation purposes. This will be an afternoon excursion on Sunday 26th May starting with lunch (bring your own) at 12:30 pm at the Panton Hill Memorial Park. Transport will be by private car but transport can be arranged for those not wishing to drive. There is no cost but we need to be advised of members attending. Advise Russell Yeoman at the May Meeting or by 10th May if you intend to go. We will not be able to add extra people after that date.Two colour photographsactivities, clifton pugh, dunmoochin, leon saper -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Doug Orford, Pottery kiln, visit to Clifton Pugh's home, Dunmoochin, 26 May 1991, 26/05/1991
[from EDHS Newsletter No. 78, May 1991:] DUNMOOCHIN TRIP "Dunmoochin" was the home of the famous artist Clifton Pugh who died last year. The house also gives an informal name to the surrounding area at Cottles Bridge where artists, conservationists and like minded people have made their homes. This is an area of unconventional houses blending in with the surrounding bushland. The Pugh house is a rambling complex including studios and a large pottery kiln. It contains many of Clifton Pugh's works. For this excursion we have arranged a guided visit of the Pugh house and hope to be able to visit another house in the area. We will also be able to wander through bushland which Clifton had purchased for conservation purposes. This will be an afternoon excursion on Sunday 26th May starting with lunch (bring your own) at 12:30 pm at the Panton Hill Memorial Park. Transport will be by private car but transport can be arranged for those not wishing to drive. There is no cost but we need to be advised of members attending. Advise Russell Yeoman at the May Meeting or by 10th May if you intend to go. We will not be able to add extra people after that date.Colour photographactivities, clifton pugh, dunmoochin -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Visit to Clifton Pugh's home, Dunmoochin, 26 May 1991, 26/05/1991
[from EDHS Newsletter No. 78, May 1991:] DUNMOOCHIN TRIP "Dunmoochin" was the home of the famous artist Clifton Pugh who died last year. The house also gives an informal name to the surrounding area at Cottles Bridge where artists, conservationists and like minded people have made their homes. This is an area of unconventional houses blending in with the surrounding bushland. The Pugh house is a rambling complex including studios and a large pottery kiln. It contains many of Clifton Pugh's works. For this excursion we have arranged a guided visit of the Pugh house and hope to be able to visit another house in the area. We will also be able to wander through bushland which Clifton had purchased for conservation purposes. This will be an afternoon excursion on Sunday 26th May starting with lunch (bring your own) at 12:30 pm at the Panton Hill Memorial Park. Transport will be by private car but transport can be arranged for those not wishing to drive. There is no cost but we need to be advised of members attending. Advise Russell Yeoman at the May Meeting or by 10th May if you intend to go. We will not be able to add extra people after that date.Three colour photographsactivities, clifton pugh, dunmoochin -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Photograph, Lidded ceramic vessel with Bamboo like design
Robert MAIR Robert (Bob) Mair (1943- ) Born New Zealand A potter who trained at the Sturt Pottery in Mittagong under Les Blakebrough and later set up a pottery at Clifton Pugh’s Dunmoochin estate at Cottles Bridge near Melbourne. He then worked with John Olsen for two years from 1969-1970, with Mair throwing and Olsen hand-decorating the pots. During the 1970s, Bob Mair worked in goldfield production pottery in Ballarat with Robert Pitman before moving to Clarendon in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia in 1982. In the late 1880s and 1990s Robert Mair is working at Sturt Pottery timeline again in the late 1980s/1990s as a visiting potter under Campbell Hegan. In the early 2000s, he and partner Janie Kerr set up a pottery at Braemar in the Southern Highlands of NSW. They then moved, first to Sutton Forest where they took up a residency at Hillview, the former summer residence of the governors of NSW, then to Wingham in the Mid North Coast region of NSW. Mair’s work may be marked with an impressed ‘RM’, an impressed tricuspid symbol or both. In Clarendon, he continued to use the tricuspud symbol with an impressed ‘Old Clarendon Pottery Adelaide’ stamp. A Ballarat mark has not been identified, but simse this lidded pot was found in Ballarat it could be a cross in a circle?Lidded ceramic container with blue bamboo like design on the outside.australian studio pottery, ceramics, bamboo -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.
Document, Estimates 1933/34 - Details of certain expenditures, 1933 - 1934
Shire of Blackburn and Mitcham estimates 1933-34 of details of expenditure; includes salaries of staff.Shire of Blackburn and Mitcham estimates 1933-34 of details of expenditure; includes salaries of staff.Shire of Blackburn and Mitcham estimates 1933-34 of details of expenditure; includes salaries of staff.local government, shire of blackburn and mitcham, financial documents, roeszler, norman .george, bishop, herbert thomas, charlesworth, albert roy, gray, r.j., glancy, s, graham, e., hopley, s.g., cottle, l., cochrane, stanley, dr, hopley, r -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Book, Picture Nillumbik, 2012
A community-led project to contribute to a vision for the Shire of Nillumbik. Between October 2011 and June 2012, Nillumbik Shire Council undertook a community information gathering project to ask residents "what is your vision for your local community?” Picture Nillumbik represents a collection of responses from community groups, schools and households via online submissions, photos, interviews and workshop contributions. The resulting document provides a snapshot of the values, ambitions and resilience of Nillumbik communities. The project aimed to inform community planning and identify how Council can work better with residents. The resulting document provides a snapshot of the values, ambitions and resilience of Nillumbik communities. Aimed to inform community planning and identify how Council can work better with residents. Further that the document be inspiring, stimulating and a reminder that the future is worth planning for. Includes a number of case studies of local organisations and projects including: Christmas Hills - Butterfly Studios, Strathewen Tree Project, St Andrews mosaic seat, Eltham & District Woodworkers Inc., Edendale Farm - Home harvest, Hurstbridge, Bend of Islands, Bendigo bank, Dunmoochin - Cottles Bridge, Artists Open Studios Program, World Matters and Past Matters, Nillumbik Reconciliation Group, Boots for all. Chapters include: Deep connection and resilient community, local village life, Balance with nature, a sustaining and evolving economy, creative expression, art and cultural exchange, experience discovery and fulfilment and stewarding the Nillumbik way. Each chapter includes further questions for discussion.Spiral bound document printed in landscape format. Includes text and colour photographs. 196 pagesSmall piece of paper headed "DRAFT" included at the front of the document when bound.shire of nillumbik, planning, future, christmas hills, strathewen tree project, st andrews, eltham & district woodworkers inc., edendale farm, bend of islands, dunmoochin, artists open studios program, nillumbik reconciliation group, community groups, vision, strategy -
Nillumbik Shire Council
Print (drypoint): Rick AMOR (b.1948 Melbourne, AUS), Rick Amor, 'The Ruin' from 'The Baldessin & Friends' commemorative folio, 2016
Painter, printmaker and sculptor Rick Amor is one of Australia's most distinguished senior artists. He was a good friend of the late George Baldessin and three times Archibald Prize winner Clifton Pugh, having lived and worked at Pugh's property, Dunmoochin in Cottles Bridge, Nillumbik during the 1980s and 90s. George Baldessin (1939-1978) was born in San Biagio di Callalta, in the Veneto in Northern Italy and arrived in Australia ten years later. A printmaker and sculptor he built his bluestone studio at St Andrews (Nillumbik) in 1971 with his partner Tess and the three Hails brothers, Rob, Doug and Don. Made of recycled materials the studio today contains all of George’s equipment including the large press, which he modelled himself with the help of Neil Jeffrey (Enjay Presses). George won many prizes throughout his career and is represented in many of Australia's public art collections including his famous 'Pears' sculpture in front of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. In 1975 he represented Australia in the Sao Paulo Biennale, before living and working in Paris until his return to St Andrews in 1977. In 1978 George was killed in a car accident aged 39 years. In 2001 Tess returned to St Andrews to reclaim the run-down studio and reconstitute it as The Baldessin Press & Studio - a printmaking retreat. It operates in George’s memory, so that artists may continue to create, perpetuating the generous spirit of George. 'The Ruin' is one of eight prints in the 'Baldessin & Friends commemorative folio. The folio was conceived by Tess Edwards as a fundraising initiative in celebration of the The Baldessin Press & Studio's fifteen year anniversary, and as a way to honour George Baldessin's memory. The folio is a unique coming together of seven very different and acclaimed artists who are connected by their friendship to the missing eighth member, George Baldessin. The Baldessin Press & Studio is a not-for-profit organisation created in memory of the late George Baldessin (1939-1978), whose original studio is now open to the public for creative use and as a practical legacy to living artists. The Studio is located in St Andrews, Nillumbik. Rick Amor has been an ardent supporter of the Baldessin Press & Studio and a great patron of living artists. In 2014 the Press partnered with Amor and the State Library of Victoria to create The Amor Residency at The Baldessin Press & Studio, which is part of the Library's annual fellowship program. 'The Ruin' was based on a plein air painting done by Rick Amor on a trip to Broken Hill in 2001 and reflects on death and the passing of time so eloquently portrayed by the industrial ruins of NSW. In the tradition of a Piranesi, the work emphasises the transience of life and the triumph of time. Black and white drypoint etching in which a small figure, a traveller; located bottom left, points to a large crumbling edifice (building), a stage like space in the background. Ed.14/25baldessin, print, drypoint, amor, 2018 ekphrasis, ruin, etching, ekphrasis2018 -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Document - Folder, Pugh, Clifton
The artist, Clifton Pugh, grew up in Briar Hill. He served in WWII and settled at Cottles Bridge, building his own house and forming Dunmoochin artist colony. He married three times and had two sons. He painted the portraits of many eminent people. Contents Newspaper article: "This is the house that Cliff built", The Age, 2 May 1964. Description of Clifton and Marlene Pugh's house.. Folder: Brief biography Clifton Pugh. Photocopy section of "Clifton Pugh: Patterns of a lifetime", Traudi Allen, Nelson, Melbourne 1981. Magazine article: "Clifton Pugh: His home is a work of art", Woman's Day, 16 January 1894. Describes Clifton Pugh's house at Hurstbridge. Newspaper article: "A guide to our orchids", Diamond Valley News, 14 February 1984. Clifton Pugh contributed to the book "A Year of Orchids". Newspaper article: "A family tradition is continued". Diamond Valley News, 28 February 1984. Clifton Pugh's childhood and career. Magazine article: "Clifton Pugh's bush paradise", Home Beautiful, May 1989. Clifton Pugh's house and studio. Clipping: "Clifton Pugh award winning artist". Clifton Pugh currently working on illustrations for a book, with Pam Blashki, on wood chipping ["A Kingdom Lost: A Story of the Devastation of Our Wilderness", published 1989]. Newspaper article: "Funeral drama shows the Pugh touch", The Age, 19 October 1990. Clifton Pugh's funeral at Montsalvat. Newspaper article: "Friends bid farewell to Pugh". Herald-Sun, 19 October 1990. Clifton Pugh's funeral at Montsalvat. Newspaper article: "Friends paint a lowing portrait". Herald-Sun, 19 October 1990. Funeral and obituary of Clifton Pugh. Newspaper article: "Montsalvat mourns passing of a great". Diamond Valley News, 23 October 1990. Clifton Pugh's funeral at Montsalvat. Newspaper article: "Loner who was a fair dinkum mate". Diamond Valley News, 23 October 1990. Obituary of Clifton Pugh. Newspaper article: "Pugh's last works", Tempo, The Age, 17 July 1991. Clifton Pugh was illustrating Helen Lunn's book 'The Digger's Mate' when he died. Newspaper article: "Dunmoochin's rich tradition to live on", Diamond Valley News, 29 October 1993. Dunmoochin Foundation Board to advertise lease of studios. Newspaper article: "Clean up for Cliff", Herald Sun, 8 December 1993. Preparation for exhibition of Clifton Pugh's work at LaTrobe University Art Museum. Flier: Exhibition "Clifton Pugh: A Retrospective", Montsalvat, 12 to 14 November 1999. Newsletter: "Dunmoochin: an edited version of the history prepared for the Heritage Study by David Bick", Eltham District Historical Society newsletter 140, September 2001 Newspaper article: "Hail rising of Phoenix", Diamond Valley Leader, 20 July 2005. Dunmoochin Foundation and official opening of buildings Phoenix I and Phoenix II after the 2001 bush fire. Newspaper article: "Legacy to the arts", Diamond Valley Leader, 10 August 2005. Dunmoochin Foundation and the rebuilding after the 2001 bush fire. Newspaper article: "Tiwi art to go on show", ?publication, ?2002. Shane Pugh, Johnny Young and Ian McKimmie organising exhibition of Tiwi art to mark 100th birthday of Strathewen hall. Flier: Exhibition "Clifton Pugh AO: Reflections of Dunmoochin". Briar Hill Primary School, 23 to 25 November 2007. Printout: "Dunmoochin", http://www.standrews.vic.edu.au/dunmoochin.html. 19 May 2004. Newspaper article: "Hail rising of Phoenix", Diamond Valley Leader, 20 July 2005. Rebuilding at Dunmoochin after bushfire. Newspaper article: "Legacy to the arts", Diamond Valley Leader, 10 August 2005. Rebuilding at Dunmoochin after bushfire. Newspaper article: "Artist's legacy on show". Dunmoochin one of four Cottles Bridge sites for a tour by Trust for Nature, 2 and 3 October no year. Newspaper clippings, A4 photocopies, etcclifton pugh, hurstbridge, adriane strampp, princess michael of kent, arthur boyd, john brack, charles blackman, fred williams, shane pugh, marlene pugh, professor jock marshall, briar hill victoria, cottles bridge victoria, turner family of briar hill, yandell family of briar hill, st helena church, st helena road, briar hill primary school, eltham high school, dunmoochin, campbell beardsell, david beardsell, ivanhoe boys grammar school, national gallery art school, hurstbridge grevillea, montsalvat, george dreyfus, kew city band, justus jorgensen, sir edward "weary" dunlop, prue acton, john howley, fay dunmore singers, derryn hinch, jeff kennett, tom uren, dennis gowing, matcham skipper, kyra skipper, gordon ford, hilary jackman, peter graham, robert marshall, john greaves, jenni mitchell, rodney roschollor, gough whitlam, sir john kerr, lionel murphy, manning clark, arts policy committee of victorian branch of the australian labor party, latrobe's art museum, rudy komon gallery, leonard french, jon molvig, rick armor, john olsen, latrobe university, donovan pugh, trevor welshman, australia council visual arts board, lesley alway, dailan pugh, paul barnett, helen nixon, helen lunn, a year of orchids book, campbell bearsdell, david bearsdell, johnny young, ian mckimmie, tiwi art, strathewen hall, rhonda noble, latrobe university art museum, traudi allen, clifton pugh patterns of a lifetime book, trust for nature, randall robinson -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Fay Bridge, Clifton Pugh's Artists' Colony, Dunmoochin, Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge, 14 May 2016
Following military service in the second world war, Clifton Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie at the National Gallery School in Melbourne as well as Justus Jorgensen, founder of Montsalvat. For a while he lived on the dole but also worked packing eggs for the Belot family saving sufficient to purchase six acres (2.4 ha) of land at Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. He accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in a property of approximately 200 acres, stablishing it as one of the first artistic communes in Australia alongside Montsalvat in Eltham. It was around 1951 that Pugh felt he had '"done moochin' around" and so the name of the property evolved. He bought timber from Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminer's huts, it was a one room wattle-and-daub structure with dirt floor. Over the years it expanded with thick adobe walls made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors. All materials other than the local earth were sourced from second hand materials, most found at wreckers' yards. Artists from across the nation were drawn to Dunmoochin, with several setting up houses and shacks on the property, maintaining their independence but sharing their artistic zeal. Artists who worked or resided at Dunmoochin included Mirka Mora, John Perceval, Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen. In 2002, Pugh's house along with its treasure trove of art and a library of some 20,000 books was destroyed by fire. Traces of Pugh's home remain with the presence of the Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design, procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. In place of Pugh's house rose two double-storey mud-brick artists' studios topped with corrugated iron rooves curved like the wings of a bird with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings survived the fire.fay bridge collection, 2016-05-14, art gallery, barreenong road, clifton pugh, cottles bridge, dunmoochin, maurice hurry -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Fay Bridge, Clifton Pugh's Artists' Colony, Dunmoochin, Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge, c.1995
Visit to Dunmoochin prior to Clifton Pugh's home being destroyed by fire in 2002. Following military service in the second world war, Clifton Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie at the National Gallery School in Melbourne as well as Justus Jorgensen, founder of Montsalvat. For a while he lived on the dole but also worked packing eggs for the Belot family saving sufficient to purchase six acres (2.4 ha) of land at Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. He accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in a property of approximately 200 acres, stablishing it as one of the first artistic communes in Australia alongside Montsalvat in Eltham. It was around 1951 that Pugh felt he had '"done moochin' around" and so the name of the property evolved. He bought timber from Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminer's huts, it was a one room wattle-and-daub structure with dirt floor. Over the years it expanded with thick adobe walls made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors. All materials other than the local earth were sourced from second hand materials, most found at wreckers' yards. Artists from across the nation were drawn to Dunmoochin, with several setting up houses and shacks on the property, maintaining their independence but sharing their artistic zeal. Artists who worked or resided at Dunmoochin included Mirka Mora, John Perceval, Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen. In 2002, Pugh's house along with its treasure trove of art and a library of some 20,000 books was destroyed by fire. Traces of Pugh's home remain with the presence of the Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design, procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. In place of Pugh's house rose two double-storey mud-brick artists' studios topped with corrugated iron rooves curved like the wings of a bird with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings survived the fire.fay bridge collection, 1995, barreenong road, cottles bridge, dunmoochin -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph - Digital Photograph, Marguerite Marshall, Art Gallery at Clifton Pugh's Artists' Colony, Dunmoochin, Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge, 5 February 2008
Art Gallery with mural painted by Clifton Pugh (1924-1990) at his Artists' Colony, Dunmoochin, Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. Following military service in the second world war, Clifton Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie at the National Gallery School in Melbourne as well as Justus Jorgensen, founder of Montsalvat. For a while he lived on the dole but also worked packing eggs for the Belot family saving sufficient to purchase six acres (2.4 ha) of land at Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. He accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in a property of approximately 200 acres, stablishing it as one of the first artistic communes in Australia alongside Montsalvat in Eltham. It was around 1951 that Pugh felt he had '"done moochin' around" and so the name of the property evolved. He bought timber from Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminer's huts, it was a one room wattle-and-daub structure with dirt floor. Over the years it expanded with thick adobe walls made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors. All materials other than the local earth were sourced from second hand materials, most found at wreckers' yards. Artists from across the nation were drawn to Dunmoochin, with several setting up houses and shacks on the property, maintaining their independence but sharing their artistic zeal. Artists who worked or resided at Dunmoochin included Mirka Mora, John Perceval, Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen. In 2002, Pugh's house along with its treasure trove of art and a library of some 20,000 books was destroyed by fire. Traces of Pugh's home remain with the presence of the Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design, procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. In place of Pugh's house rose two double-storey mud-brick artists' studios topped with corrugated iron rooves curved like the wings of a bird with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings survived the fire. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then / Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p153 It’s not surprising that artist Clifton Pugh was drawn to Cottles Bridge to establish his artists’ colony Dunmoochin. Undisturbed by the clamour of modern life at Barreenong Road, Pugh was surrounded by the Australian bush he loved, and where his ashes were later scattered. The 200 acres (81ha) of bushland, broken by glimpses of rolling hills, has more than 50 species of orchids and Pugh shared his property with native animals including kangaroos, emus, phascogales, wombats, and diverse bird life. Pugh encouraged these creatures to join him in the bush by creating, with Monash University, a holding station where the animals were raised. Dunmoochin inspired Pugh for such paintings as in a book on orchids and the Death of a Wombat series.1 But his love for the bush was accompanied by the fear that Europeans were destroying it and much of his painting illustrated this fear and his plea for its conservation.2 However it was his house rather than the surrounding bush that was to be destroyed. Tragically in 2002 Pugh’s house, with its treasure of art and library of 20,000 art books, was destroyed by fire. Traces of the beauty of Pugh’s home still remain, however, in the magnificent Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. Now in place of Pugh’s house, are two double-storey mud-brick artists’ studios topped with corrugated roofs curved like birds’ wings, with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings remain.3 Pugh grew up on his parents’ hobby farm at Briar Hill and attended the Briar Hill Primary School, then Eltham High School and later Ivanhoe Grammar. At 15 he became a copy boy for the Radio Times newspaper, then worked as a junior in a drafting office. Pugh was to have three wives and two sons. After serving in World War Two in New Guinea and Japan, Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie, at the National Gallery School in Melbourne.4 Another of his teachers was Justus Jörgensen, founder of Montsalvat the Eltham Artists’ Colony. Pugh lived on the dole for a while and paid for his first six acres (2.4ha) at Barreenong Road by working as an egg packer for the Belot family. Pugh accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in the 200 acre property. They, too, purchased their land from the Belot family by working with their chickens. Around 1951 Pugh felt he had ‘Done moochin’ around’ and so the name of his property was born. Pugh bought some used timber from architect Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminers’ huts it was a one-room wattle-and-daub structure with a dirt floor. It was so small that the only room he could find for his telephone was on the fork of a tree nearby.5 Over the years the mud-brick house grew to 120 squares in the style now synonymous with Eltham. It had thick adobe walls (sun-dried bricks) made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors with the entire structure made of second-hand materials – most found at wreckers’ yards. Pugh’s first major show in Melbourne in 1957, established him as a distinctive new painter, breaking away from the European tradition ‘yet not closely allied to any particular school of Australian painting’.6 Pugh became internationally known and was awarded the Order of Australia. He won the Archibald Prize for portraiture three times, although he preferred painting the bush and native animals. In 1990 not long before he died, Pugh was named the Australian War Memorial’s official artist at the 75th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli. Today one of Pugh’s legacies is the Dunmoochin Foundation, which gives seven individual artists or couples and environmental researchers the chance to work in beautiful and peaceful surroundings, usually for a year. By November 2007, more than 80 people had taken part, and the first disabled artist had been chosen to reside in a new studio with disabled access.1 In 1989, not long before Pugh died in 1990 of a heart attack at age 65, he established the Foundation with La Trobe University and the Victorian Conservation Trust now the Trust for Nature. Pugh’s gift to the Australian people – of around 14 hectares of bushland and buildings and about 550 art works – is run by a voluntary board of directors, headed by one of his sons, Shane Pugh. La Trobe University in Victoria stores and curates the art collection and organises its exhibition around Australia.2 The Foundation aims to protect and foster the natural environment and to provide residences, studios and community art facilities at a minimal cost for artists and environmental researchers. They reside at the non-profit organisation for a year at minimal cost. The buildings, some decorated with murals painted by Pugh and including a gallery, were constructed by Pugh, family and friends, with recycled as well as new materials and mud-bricks. The Foundation is inspired by the tradition begun by the Dunmoochin Artists’ Cooperative which formed in the late 1950s as one of the first artistic communes in Australia. Members bought the land collaboratively and built the seven dwellings so that none could overlook another. But, in the late 1960s, the land was split into private land holdings, which ended the cooperative. Dunmoochin attracted visits from the famous artists of the day including guitarists John Williams and Segovia; singer and comedian Rolf Harris; comedian Barry Humphries; and artists Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and Mirka Mora. A potters’ community, started by Peter and Helen Laycock with Alma Shanahan, held monthly exhibitions in the 1960s, attracting local, interstate and international visitors – with up to 500 attending at a time.3 Most artists sold their properties and moved away. But two of the original artists remained into the new millennium as did relative newcomer Heja Chong who built on Pugh’s property (now owned by the Dunmoochin Foundation). In 1984 Chong brought the 1000-year-old Japanese Bizan pottery method to Dunmoochin. She helped build (with potters from all over Australia) the distinctive Bizan-style kiln, which fires pottery from eight to 14 days in pine timber, to produce the Bizan unglazed and simple subdued style. The kiln, which is rare in Australia, is very large with adjoining interconnected ovens of different sizes, providing different temperatures and firing conditions. Frank Werther, who befriended Pugh as a fellow student at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne, built his house off Barreenong Road in 1954. Werther is a painter of the abstract and colourist style and taught art for about 30 years. Like so many in the post-war years in Eltham Shire, as it was called then, Werther built his home in stages using mud-brick and second-hand materials. The L-shaped house is single-storey but two-storey in parts with a corrugated-iron pitched roof. The waterhole used by the Werthers for their water supply is thought to be a former goldmining shaft.4 Alma Shanahan at Barreenong Road was the first to join Pugh around 1953. They also met at the National Gallery Art School and Shanahan at first visited each weekend to work, mainly making mud-bricks. She shared Pugh’s love for the bush, but when their love affair ended, she designed and built her own house a few hundred yards (metres) away. The mud-brick and timber residence, made in stages with local materials, is rectangular, single-storey with a corrugated-iron roof. As a potter, Shanahan did not originally qualify as an official Cooperative member.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, art gallery, clifton pugh, dunmoochin, cottlesbridge, cottles bridge, barreenong road -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph - Digital Photograph, Marguerite Marshall, Doorway of Clifton Pugh's former house at Dunmoochin, Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge, 5 February 2008
Following military service in the second world war, Clifton Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie at the National Gallery School in Melbourne as well as Justus Jorgensen, founder of Montsalvat. For a while he lived on the dole but also worked packing eggs for the Belot family saving sufficient to purchase six acres (2.4 ha) of land at Barreenong Road, Cottles Bridge. He accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in a property of approximately 200 acres, stablishing it as one of the first artistic communes in Australia alongside Montsalvat in Eltham. It was around 1951 that Pugh felt he had '"done moochin' around" and so the name of the property evolved. He bought timber from Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminer's huts, it was a one room wattle-and-daub structure with dirt floor. Over the years it expanded with thick adobe walls made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors. All materials other than the local earth were sourced from second hand materials, most found at wreckers' yards. Artists from across the nation were drawn to Dunmoochin, with several setting up houses and shacks on the property, maintaining their independence but sharing their artistic zeal. Artists who worked or resided at Dunmoochin included Mirka Mora, John Perceval, Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and John Olsen. In 2002, Pugh's house along with its treasure trove of art and a library of some 20,000 books was destroyed by fire. Traces of Pugh's home remain with the presence of the Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design, procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. In place of Pugh's house rose two double-storey mud-brick artists' studios topped with corrugated iron rooves curved like the wings of a bird with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings survived the fire. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then / Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p155 It’s not surprising that artist Clifton Pugh was drawn to Cottles Bridge to establish his artists’ colony Dunmoochin. Undisturbed by the clamour of modern life at Barreenong Road, Pugh was surrounded by the Australian bush he loved, and where his ashes were later scattered. The 200 acres (81ha) of bushland, broken by glimpses of rolling hills, has more than 50 species of orchids and Pugh shared his property with native animals including kangaroos, emus, phascogales, wombats, and diverse bird life. Pugh encouraged these creatures to join him in the bush by creating, with Monash University, a holding station where the animals were raised. Dunmoochin inspired Pugh for such paintings as in a book on orchids and the Death of a Wombat series.1 But his love for the bush was accompanied by the fear that Europeans were destroying it and much of his painting illustrated this fear and his plea for its conservation.2 However it was his house rather than the surrounding bush that was to be destroyed. Tragically in 2002 Pugh’s house, with its treasure of art and library of 20,000 art books, was destroyed by fire. Traces of the beauty of Pugh’s home still remain, however, in the magnificent Victorian doorframe archway with leadlight of intricate design procured from a demolished Melbourne mansion; and two bronze life-sized female statues created by Pugh and cast by Matcham Skipper. Now in place of Pugh’s house, are two double-storey mud-brick artists’ studios topped with corrugated roofs curved like birds’ wings, with accommodation for seven. The original studios, gallery and other buildings remain.3 Pugh grew up on his parents’ hobby farm at Briar Hill and attended the Briar Hill Primary School, then Eltham High School and later Ivanhoe Grammar. At 15 he became a copy boy for the Radio Times newspaper, then worked as a junior in a drafting office. Pugh was to have three wives and two sons. After serving in World War Two in New Guinea and Japan, Pugh studied under artist Sir William Dargie, at the National Gallery School in Melbourne.4 Another of his teachers was Justus Jörgensen, founder of Montsalvat the Eltham Artists’ Colony. Pugh lived on the dole for a while and paid for his first six acres (2.4ha) at Barreenong Road by working as an egg packer for the Belot family. Pugh accumulated more land and persuaded several other artists and friends to buy land nearby, resulting in the 200 acre property. They, too, purchased their land from the Belot family by working with their chickens. Around 1951 Pugh felt he had ‘Done moochin’ around’ and so the name of his property was born. Pugh bought some used timber from architect Alistair Knox to build his house on the crest of a hill. Inspired by local goldminers’ huts it was a one-room wattle-and-daub structure with a dirt floor. It was so small that the only room he could find for his telephone was on the fork of a tree nearby.5 Over the years the mud-brick house grew to 120 squares in the style now synonymous with Eltham. It had thick adobe walls (sun-dried bricks) made from local clay, high ceilings and stone floors with the entire structure made of second-hand materials – most found at wreckers’ yards. Pugh’s first major show in Melbourne in 1957, established him as a distinctive new painter, breaking away from the European tradition ‘yet not closely allied to any particular school of Australian painting’.6 Pugh became internationally known and was awarded the Order of Australia. He won the Archibald Prize for portraiture three times, although he preferred painting the bush and native animals. In 1990 not long before he died, Pugh was named the Australian War Memorial’s official artist at the 75th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli. Today one of Pugh’s legacies is the Dunmoochin Foundation, which gives seven individual artists or couples and environmental researchers the chance to work in beautiful and peaceful surroundings, usually for a year. By November 2007, more than 80 people had taken part, and the first disabled artist had been chosen to reside in a new studio with disabled access.1 In 1989, not long before Pugh died in 1990 of a heart attack at age 65, he established the Foundation with La Trobe University and the Victorian Conservation Trust now the Trust for Nature. Pugh’s gift to the Australian people – of around 14 hectares of bushland and buildings and about 550 art works – is run by a voluntary board of directors, headed by one of his sons, Shane Pugh. La Trobe University in Victoria stores and curates the art collection and organises its exhibition around Australia.2 The Foundation aims to protect and foster the natural environment and to provide residences, studios and community art facilities at a minimal cost for artists and environmental researchers. They reside at the non-profit organisation for a year at minimal cost. The buildings, some decorated with murals painted by Pugh and including a gallery, were constructed by Pugh, family and friends, with recycled as well as new materials and mud-bricks. The Foundation is inspired by the tradition begun by the Dunmoochin Artists’ Cooperative which formed in the late 1950s as one of the first artistic communes in Australia. Members bought the land collaboratively and built the seven dwellings so that none could overlook another. But, in the late 1960s, the land was split into private land holdings, which ended the cooperative. Dunmoochin attracted visits from the famous artists of the day including guitarists John Williams and Segovia; singer and comedian Rolf Harris; comedian Barry Humphries; and artists Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd and Mirka Mora. A potters’ community, started by Peter and Helen Laycock with Alma Shanahan, held monthly exhibitions in the 1960s, attracting local, interstate and international visitors – with up to 500 attending at a time.3 Most artists sold their properties and moved away. But two of the original artists remained into the new millennium as did relative newcomer Heja Chong who built on Pugh’s property (now owned by the Dunmoochin Foundation). In 1984 Chong brought the 1000-year-old Japanese Bizan pottery method to Dunmoochin. She helped build (with potters from all over Australia) the distinctive Bizan-style kiln, which fires pottery from eight to 14 days in pine timber, to produce the Bizan unglazed and simple subdued style. The kiln, which is rare in Australia, is very large with adjoining interconnected ovens of different sizes, providing different temperatures and firing conditions. Frank Werther, who befriended Pugh as a fellow student at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne, built his house off Barreenong Road in 1954. Werther is a painter of the abstract and colourist style and taught art for about 30 years. Like so many in the post-war years in Eltham Shire, as it was called then, Werther built his home in stages using mud-brick and second-hand materials. The L-shaped house is single-storey but two-storey in parts with a corrugated-iron pitched roof. The waterhole used by the Werthers for their water supply is thought to be a former goldmining shaft.4 Alma Shanahan at Barreenong Road was the first to join Pugh around 1953. They also met at the National Gallery Art School and Shanahan at first visited each weekend to work, mainly making mud-bricks. She shared Pugh’s love for the bush, but when their love affair ended, she designed and built her own house a few hundred yards (metres) away. The mud-brick and timber residence, made in stages with local materials, is rectangular, single-storey with a corrugated-iron roof. As a potter, Shanahan did not originally qualify as an official Cooperative member.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, art gallery, clifton pugh, dunmoochin, cottlesbridge, cottles bridge, barreenong road