British born artist John Wolseley relocated to Australia in 1976, where he travelled extensively through the outback mainly recording the natural history of remote north Australia in large, minutely detailed paintings. Since 2009, he has travelled to Darwin annually to continue his exploration of the Top End, visiting Arnhem Land and Daly River to work with Indigenous artists to research and capture the detail and essence of particular landscapes. His works reflect how landscape can be thought of as fields of energy in which plant forms move or dance with rhythmic life. After The Fire - Leaf Surge represents the vibrant regrowth of new foliage emerging from a landscape recently ravaged by fire.

noombapee is an etching and lithograph by Gunditjmara and Keerray Woorroong artist Vicki Couzens. Couzens is a multi-disciplinary artist focused on strengthening her language and culture through research and creative projects. noombapee was created during a 2018 Collie Print Trust Printmaking Fellowship at the Australian Print Workshop. The work is an example of Couzens’ reclamation and celebration of Indigenous languages. The title is a Gunditjmara term which approximately translates to ‘have mercy’ or ‘forgiveness’. The word ‘noombapee’ appears multiple times in the lower right corner of the composition. The left side of the work includes a letter to the editor of the Warnambool Standard, dated 3 April 1940 and authored by Vicki’s ngapoon (paternal grandfather), Nicholas Couzens. Couzens explains that ‘he was an activist and advocate for our rights living on the Framlingham mission.’

In April 2002, illustrative panels were set in place at Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park designed to inform visitors about significant aspects of the reserve and its tower. One of these deals with its indigenous story, another portrays its original 1920 memorial, a third has upon it Will Longstaff’s famous war painting, “Midnight at Menin Gate.” This sign establishes a connection with the First World War by way of the painting "Menin Gate at Midnight". (NL 144) The artist William Longstaff lived in Eltham; his son attended school at Kangaroo Ground. The orignal of his painting is on permanent display in the Australian War Memorial. Since this photograph was taken (date unknown) the information panel has been restored and re-erected by staff of the Shire of Nillumbik who replicated the wooden side frame pieces with the same wood-turn design as seen here in the original. Colour photographMENIN GATE AT MIDNIGHT Will Longstaff, 1927 Oil on canvas, Size 135cm high x 254cm wide Collection: Australian War Memorial The artist Will Longstaff was born in in Ballarat in 1879 and died at Littlehampton, Sussex, UK, 1953. Will Longstaff for many years lived in Eltham, his son Tommy, attending school at Kangaroo Ground. As an Official War Artist, will Longstaff depicted in his alegorical painting the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium. The Memorial unveiled on 24th July 1927 honours by name over 50, 000 allied soldiers who fell in the Great War and have no known graves. The names of 6,208 men of the first Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) are listed within the Memorial on stone tablets. The painting held huge emotional appeal to Australians when it arrived from England in 1928, attracting an estimated one million viewers, many of whom interpreted the field of red poppies in the foreground as the spirits of the dead rising from their unknown graves. The painting is to be found in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.menin gate at midnight, william longstaff, kangaroo ground memorial, information panel, shire of eltham war memorial

These works are a display of my frustration of hour our family were lucky we were not beheaded, scalped, taken away and impaled as a warning to others not to enter farming lands, which had been traditional lands of the Nganyaywana country. The word 'Policy' represents the White Australia Policy, the word "Lost' stands for those lost including hundreds of family members, 'Jobs' asks why Aboriginal people can only find employment if through Aboriginal positions and policies. The number 3 symbolises myself and my siblings, red is for bloodshed, blue is for secrets and black the family history. Patrice MUTHAYMILES MAHONEY OAM Anewan/Nganyaywan/Dunghutti country. Patrice Mahoney is a printmaker, sculptor, weaver, drawer and painter. Her work challenges mainstream and Aboriginal Australians and is profoundly influenced by space, place and country, taking inspiration from nature, environment and looking forward to a time when she can return to her family's traditional country to make work. In 2012 the artist completed a Bachelor of Visual and Media Arts at Monash University’s Churchill campus (from 2014 Federation University's Churchill Campus). The Victorian Indigenous Art Awards 2014 were exhibited and judged at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.This unique edition triptych involves the techniques of intaglio copper plate, pigment, soft ground, open bite, aquatint, spit-bite, stamping, relief, drawing and burnishing on paper. It was awarded the 2014 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards Federation University Acquisitive Award for for work by a Victorian regional artist. Text, colour, metaphor and Aboriginal symbolism are important components of her work. This work expresses the artist's frustration with unjust situations experienced by traditional owners of Nganyaywana country. The word 'Policy' refers to White Australia Policy, 'Lost' the hundreds of lost family members, and 'Jobs' highlights the difficulty of Aboriginal peple obtaining work, especially outside Aboriginal positions and policy. The number 3 symbolises Patrice Mahoney's siblings, with black used to denote family history. The violently splattered red represents bloodshed, with the blue washing across the work obscuring details and representing secrets. The Selection Panel of the 2014 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards made the following comments on the work: 'The selection panel for the Federation University Acquisitive Award for 2014 were highly impressed by this work and applauded the vigorous use of symbolism and metaphor in a well scripted visual composition. The poignancy of connectedness to the past, memory, place and country is palpable and enhanced by the suggestive employment of text and minimal colour. A provocative and evocative work of art!artist, artwork, patrice mahoney, aboriginal, victorian indigenous awards, jobs, culture, printmaking, drawing, policies, lost, victorian indigenous art awards, available, alumni

The property is a classic example of what made Eltham famous from the late 1940s to the 1960s. Covered under Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p149 The first view of the large double-storey house at Yarra Braes Road, Eltham South, is of a jutting roofline over a balcony, reminiscent of a large sailing vessel or galleon – very appropriate, considering the name of one of the first owners, Le Gallienne. The Downing-Le Gallienne property is a classic example of what made Eltham famous from the late 1940s to the 1960s and attracted so many artists and intellectuals to the area. Set in a largely indigenous bush-style garden, the mud-brick and timber house was built by Alistair Knox. It was built for economist Richard Downing, to become a founder of the welfare state in Australia and Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and musician and composer Dorian Le Gallienne. Le Gallienne was a pioneering composer of modern music in Victoria before 1945, whose works included the Symphony in E.1 He wrote several pieces of film music for Eltham Films, including The Prize, working with its writer and artistic director Tim Burstall. Le Gallienne was also a music critic for The Argus and later for The Age. In 1967 the music critic Roger Covell argued that Le Gallienne’s Symphony, was ‘still the most accomplished and purposive . . . written by an Australian’. According to Alan Marshall the main inspiration behind the building that evolved from 1948 to 1964 was Le Gallienne. ‘He was able to see value in the simplest things and many who worked there had their eyes opened for the first time to the Eltham environment, to the bush and the trees and the fauna which lived there.’ The garden included no formality, no lawns, nor exotic plants. ‘Natural informal growth came right up to their doors and so did the indigenous birdlife.’ This informal style – consisting of mass and void – was to be developed and popularised by landscaper Gordon Ford from the 1950s. The large mud-brick and timber house, which was built in four stages and has three separate but linked sections, began as a small weekend retreat for the couple. In 1948, Downing and Le Gallienne (Dick and Dor to their friends), asked Knox to build the 36 x18 foot (11mx5.4m) building with a pitched slate roof. It was built on a concrete slab and included a fireplace, which is still in use. The second wing was built in 1954 after Downing had returned from working at the International Labour Office and the couple decided to live there full-time. The third section was built after the death of Le Gallienne in 1963, aged 48. He is buried in the Eltham Cemetery. When Downing married widow, Jean Norman (nee McGregor) and had to accommodate a large family, including her six children and one of their own, the last stage was built by 1964. At that time the house was considered one of the largest mud-brick houses in Victoria. It consists of five living areas, including a small ballroom. Several artists helped Knox build the Downing-Le Gallienne house, which was one of his first of mud-brick. They included painter Clifton Pugh, artist John Howley and actor Wynn Roberts. Ellis Stones had landscaped the first wing and Gordon Ford set the boulder steps and made a pool as part of the landscaping he completed. Inside, the mud-bricks are largely whitewashed with pine-lined ceilings and Oregon beams. A winding timber staircase in the front extends behind a glass window from the ground floor to the top. The property, of a little more than 0.5 ha, is bordered by Parks Victoria land, which extends to the Yarra River.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, dorian le gallienne, downing-le gallienne house, eltham, mudbrick construction, mudbrick houses, richard downing, yarra braes road

merri-bek public art collection

"The breeze going through the eel trap gives a feeling of water flowing through the vessel with the feathers softly waiving as the water flows. My grandfather Nicholas Couzens and my uncles made eel traps to fish the Hopkins River - this is how my mother learnt the techniques which she passed on to me."Bronwyn RAZEM Gunditjmara/Kirrae Whurrong Bronwyn Razem is an Indigenous Australian basket weaver and painter. She is a Gunditjmara woman of the Kirrae Whurrong clan of western Warrnambool on the Victorian coastline. Bronwyn’s practice involves an exploration of her Indigenous heritage and identity, and she creates symbolic representations of places and events that are meaningful to her family. She integrates ochres, sand and other materials into her paintings, and her works also draw on the possum skin cloak traditions of her ancestors. In 2008, Bronwyn was chosen by the Australia Council for the Arts to be part of a delegation of Indigenous artists to attend the 10th Pacific Arts Festival in Western Samoa. Bronwyn’s mother, Aunty Zelda Couzens, was a well-respected basket weaver and elder who taught Bronwyn basket-making techniques. Bronwyn now regularly conducts basket weaving workshops with Victorian Indigenous communities in order to facilitate the revival of cultural traditions. She has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours at Deakin University, and in 2008 she was enrolled in a Master by Research degree at Deakin Institute of Koorie Education, Geelong, and was living in Ballarat. (https://www.daao.org.au/bio/bronwyn-razem/biography/, accessed 18 April 2016) This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 1000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.Bronwyn RAZEM (1953- ) Gunditjmara/Kirraw Wurrong A woven New Zealand flax eel trap with emu feathers. This work won the University of Ballarat Acquisitive Award for work reflecting Victoria's Western District. The judges were impressed by Bronwyn Razem's translation of the traditional eel trap into a sculptural form evocative of the flow of water and possible the passage of time. The design and technical knowhow which Razem inherited from her mother, uncles, and grandfather connects this work to the family;s life and traditions. She then enhances the simplicity of this very functional object by the addition of delicate emu feathers, creating a work that creatively and symbolically transcends its original form. art, artwork, bronwyn razem, razem, eel trap, aboriginal, indigenous, available

Jenna Lee dissects and reconstructs colonial 'Indigenous dictionaries' and embeds the works with new cultural meaning. Long obsessed with the duality of the destructive and healing properties that fire can yield, this element has been applied to the paper in the forms of burning and mark-making. In Without Us, Lee uses charcoal to conceal the text on the page, viewing this process as a ritualistic act of reclaiming and honouring Indigenous heritage while challenging the oppressive legacies of colonialism. Lee explains in Art Guide (2022), ‘These books in particular [used to create the proposed works] are Aboriginal language dictionaries—but there’s no such thing as “Aboriginal language”. There are hundreds of languages. The dictionary just presents words, with no reference to where they came from. It was specifically published by collating compendiums from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, with the purpose to give [non-Indigenous] people pleasant sounding Aboriginal words to name children, houses and boats. And yet the first things that were taken from us was our language, children, land and water. And the reason our words were so widely written down was because [white Australians] were trying to eradicate us. They thought we were going extinct. The deeper you get into it, the darker it gets. But the purpose of my work is to take those horrible things and cast them as something beautiful.’Framed artwork

This work is from a series centred around the Chinese proverb “to hold a book in one’s hand is to hold a house of gold” in which the artist positions himself within sites of colonial power. Set within the National Wool Museum gallery, the artist references the pose of an exhausted shearer after a long day of arduous labour. However he is reclining while reading The Fire Stick by Wulla Merrii, a novel set against the 1891 Queensland Shearer’s Strike, questioning cultural stereotypes and how they pertain to concepts of work and leisure. Dressed in sub fusc, his official uniform as an Oxford scholar, Thompson is a defiant intellectual challenging past and continued misperceptions of First Nations people, while embracing both the intersections of his identity and his ancestral heritage. Dr Christian Thompson AO is a Bidjara man of the Kunja Nation with Irish and Chinese heritage. His practice spans across video, photography, sculpture, textiles, performance and sound, evolving through a process of auto – ethnography. While employing various modes of research, he connects his own experience to larger social, political, cultural meanings and understandings. His doctoral research and art practice has had a critical impact on International and Australian art, making global history as one of the first Australian Indigenous students at Oxford University. In 2018 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished services to the visual arts and as a role model to young indigenous artists in the Queen’s Birthday honours list.Framed photograph showing a man dressed in an academic gown, laying on their back holding a book. The setting is a reconstructed shearing shed, inside the galleries of the National Wool Museum.dr christian thompson, first nations, artwork, photography, oxford, heritage, national wool museum