Located within the heart of the winery, the atrium style Cellar Door was designed by legendary Australian architect; Robyn Boyd and constructed in 1972. Offering views of the century old storage casks and famous dirt floors, the Cellar Door offers an up close experience to the making of our world famous wines.Black and white photograph of the interior of a wine cellar with stacks of wine casks of various sizes. A substantial number of people are in a glassed-in area at the back of the room. Glassed-in area ( cellar door sales area) designed by Robyn Boyd. 1972On back of photo: "S/S [upper case H in a circle] Morris"wineries, north east victoria, wine industry, morris winery, robyn boyd, rutherglen australia, winery, cellar door

Ebenezer Presbyterian Church is located in Armstrong Street South, Ballarat. The earliest church on the site was wooden church was and built in 1857 for the miners Gold Rush. In 1862 the wooden building was replaced by the bluestone church still in use today. The bluestone church was designed by architect Henry Richards Caselli in Lombardic Romanesque style. It features tall windows with paired round headed lights, buttresses and huge brackets. The porch and gallery were added in the 1880s to cater for an increase in the size of the congregation and are the only additions to the church. The 1880s porch features bracketted gables, finial, piers, string course and triple windows. The Ebenezer Church is important architecturally for its interior as well as its exterior, as it has a Classical Revival design that is both distinctive and unusual in Australia. The Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Hall built to the right of the church was constructed in 1892 and is made of locally produced red brick, which was more fashionable at the time. It too has been built in Lombardic Romanesque style in sympathy with the church building and features tall arched windows. The double-storey presbytery, built on the left of the church dates around the 1880s and is also constructed of red brick. Built in Victorian Classical Freestyle, it has elegant quoining on its corners, large windows upstairs, and prominent bay windows on the ground floor. The Armstrong Street facade is sheltered from the sun by a verandah and balcony featuring fine cast iron columns and lacework. The whole complex is surrounded by its 1880s cast iron paling fence. Henry Richards Caselli is perhaps best known in Ballarat for the large number of churches in Victoria that he designed, with two Lombardic Romanesque examples in Ballarat, the Ebenezer Presbyterian church, Armstrong Street South between 1862 and 1863 and the Lutheran Church in Doveton Street in 1876. This photograph was taken during the Covid19 pandemic and the associated shutdowns.Colour photographs of Ebenezer St John's Presbyterian Church.ebenezer st john's presbyterian church, ebenezer, church, ballarat, henry richards caselli

The World War One windows in the Barkly Street Uniting Church resulted from a request made in 1919 from the Barkly Street Young Men's Club who raised money to pay for the project. The window was designed by the Fisher Company, and was unveiled on 14 March 1920 at a total cost of 171 pounds 10 shillings. The windows are considered to be one of the most remarkable war memorial windows in Victoria, and the 1800s English Gothic-style front facade is believed to be protected by a City of Ballarat heritage overlay. Historical experts believe the windows were designed by renowned stained-glass window-maker William Montgomery. The centre window depicts a young soldier bearing an Anzac badge underneath the British and Australian flags. The image of the solider is surrounded by 24 crosses, a single dove and a bugle. A number of colour photographs of the interior of the Barkly Street Uniting Church taken while the church was offered for sale.barkly street uniting church, barkly street methodist church, world war one, world war one memorial, stained glass, soldier, religion, church

Emigre Frederick Sterne set up a four-year Interior Design program for the Melbourne Technical College c. 1948. It was the first program of its kind in Australia, On the cover the hand-written words ‘Interior Design’ have a sense of pride in their hand and the drawing of an interior – probably Sterne’s – emerging from the drawing board illuminated by artificial light that projects a future. Suzie Attiwell, 2017interior design, rmit university

Project: Stegbar Windowalls, Springvale drawn by Robin Boyd of Romberg and Boyd; two interior perspectives. In 1952-53, Robin Boyd designed the Stegbar ‘Windowall’ - a prefabricated, structural framing/glazing system - to create a wall of windows. These ‘Windowalls’ were used extensively in domestic architecture across Australia from the 1950s to the 1970s. Boyd also designed the factory and showrooms for Stegbar Limited. The Walsh Street Archive holds exterior and interior perspectives of the building. Interior perspectives, watercolour on board.windowall, robin boyd, stegbar, ohm2022, ohm2022_35

Project: Stegbar Windowalls, Springvale drawn by Robin Boyd of Romberg and Boyd; external perspective. In 1952-53, Robin Boyd designed the Stegbar ‘Windowall’ - a prefabricated, structural framing/glazing system - to create a wall of windows. These ‘Windowalls’ were used extensively in domestic architecture across Australia from the 1950s to the 1970s. Boyd also designed the factory and showrooms for Stegbar Limited. The Walsh Street Archive holds exterior and interior perspectives of the building. External perspective, watercolour on board.windowall, robin boyd, stegbar, ohm2022, ohm2022_35

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Takara Beautilion, Theme Pavilion, Osaka Expo '70, Japan. (Architect: Kisho Kurokawa.)Made in Australia / 21 / DEC 69M8 / Boyd (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Takara Beautilion, Theme Pavilion, Osaka Expo '70, Japan. (Architect: Kisho Kurokawa.)Made in Australia / 26 / DEC 69M8expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Takara Beautilion, Theme Pavilion, Osaka Expo '70, Japan. (Architect: Kisho Kurokawa.)Made in Australia / 19 / DEC 69M8expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Takara Beautilion, Theme Pavilion, Osaka Expo '70, Japan. (Architect: Kisho Kurokawa.)Made in Australia / 9 / DEC 69M8expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Takara Beautilion, Theme Pavilion, Osaka Expo '70, Japan. (Architect: Kisho Kurokawa.)Made in Australia / 23 / DEC 69M8 / Boyd (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Takara Beautilion, Theme Pavilion, Osaka Expo '70, Japan. (Architect: Kisho Kurokawa.)Made in Australia / 17 / DEC 69M8 / Boyd (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Two invoices to Robin Boyd for the windowalls and additional door frames at 290 Walsh Street. The three windowwall items are drawn with specifications. In 1952-53, Robin Boyd designed the Stegbar ‘Windowall’ - a prefabricated, structural framing/glazing system - to create a wall of windows. These ‘Windowalls’ were used extensively in domestic architecture across Australia from the 1950s to the 1970s. Boyd also designed the factory and showrooms for Stegbar Limited. The Walsh Street Archive holds exterior and interior perspectives of the building. Two foolscap pages. stegbar, windowall, ohm2022, ohm2022_35

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Kyoto International Convention Center, Kyoto, Japan, 1966. (Architect: Sachio Otani.)Made in Australia / 24 / APR 70M2expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Kyoto International Convention Center, Kyoto, Japan, 1966. (Architect: Sachio Otani.)Made in Australia / 23 / APR 70M2expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Nijo Castle walls and moat, Kyoto, JapanMade in Australia / 21 / APR 70M2expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Construction workers sleeping, JapanMade in Australia / 28 / DEC 69M8slide, robin boyd

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Japanese dry garden, probably Kyoto, JapanMade in Australia / 27 / APR 70M2expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Heavy Seas, Expo '70, Osaka, JapanExpo'70 / Heavy Seas / 29 (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Osaka Expo '70, JapanMade in Australia / 35 / MAY 70M3 / 44 (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Burmese Pavilion, Osaka Expo '70, JapanMade in Australia / 29 / MAY 70M3 / Encircled 4 (Handwritten) / Encircled 17 (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Sumitomo Pavilion, Osaka Expo '70, Japan. (Architect: Sachio Otani.)Made in Australia / 25 / MAY 70M3 / 13 (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Takara Beautilion, Theme Pavilion, Expo '70, Osaka, Japan. (Architect: Kisho Kurokawa.)Made in Australia / 10 / DEC 69M8 / Encircled 18 (Handwritten) / K (Handwritten) / Boyd (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Volcanic activity, Expo '70, Osaka, JapanExpo'70 / Volcanic Activity / 30 (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Utopia under the sea, Expo '70, Osaka, JapanExpo'70 / Utopia under the Sea / 31 (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Robin Boyd was appointed Exhibits Architect for the Australian Pavilion at Expo ‘70 in Osaka and travelled to Osaka several times in 1969-1970. Boyd designed the innovative Space Tube, which had over 25 exhibition boxes, projecting from it. Amongst the topics covered were Australian scientific innovation (including brain research, immunology, Antarctic research, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, rainmaking, and the night sky), Australian sport, house interiors, car manufacturing, Australian music and art, and Japanese-Australian relations.Colour slide in a mount. Elevated moving walkway, Expo '70, Osaka, JapanMade in Australia / 22 / MAY 70M3 / 21 (Handwritten)expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, slide

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.

Frances Burke: Designer of Modern Textiles Australia’s most influential and celebrated textile designer of the mid-20th century, Frances Burke (1904-1994), employed Australian native flora, garden flowers, marine subjects, Indigenous culture and increasingly, abstract motifs in her stunning modern fabrics. A confident, determined designer and businesswoman; Burke made the shift from fine art to design in 1937. While she began by designing dress fabrics for Melbourne’s fashionable Georges Department store, printing them on linen using lino blocks, she was an early adopter of the screen-printing process and during the war years began printing on cotton. Burke’s furnishing fabrics took their place in influential modern buildings Australia-wide through collaborations with leading architects and interior designers. They included Robin Boyd’s 1949 House of Tomorrow, Roy Grounds’ Quamby flats, Guilford Bell’s Royal Hayman Island Resort for Ansett Airlines, and Yuncken, Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson’s Canberra Civic Centre Theatre. In the post-war period, Burke made regular trips to the United States and Europe, on her return advising homeowners and manufacturers on the latest trends in products, colours and home design in lectures and interviews. At New Design her fabric showroom and interior design consultancy Burke introduced furniture by emerging designers Clement Meadmore and Grant Featherston in the early 1950s and presented local and imported homewares, mostly from the United States. She was enthusiastic about the convenient and comfortable lifestyle experienced by ordinary American women. Her fabrics and advice were regularly featured in Australian Home Beautiful, Australian House and Garden and the newspapers of the day. Some of Burke’s designs had remarkable longevity. Tiger Stripe (1938) for example, continued to be produced in a wide range of colours until 1970 and Crete (1946) remained a popular choice for interiors into the 1960s. Drawing from a rich variety of sources including Indigenous culture in Goanna (c.1954) and Pacific Island tapa cloth designs in Bird and Tree (1940), Burke also looked to Japan in designs such as Plum Blossom (1948) and Zen (1965). She loved exploring the potential of native flora, seen in designs including Waratah (1955) and Flannel Flower (1955), while garden flowers were the source for many other designs including Belladonna (1940), Periwinkle (n.d.) and Rose (1947). Burke’s clever interplay of a single striking printed colour with lively gestural lines revealing the white base fabric, gave her designs a vibrancy that characterised the optimistic post-war era. This can be seen in Burke’s fabrics for Hayman Island including Angel Fish and Seapiece (both 1949) which expressed the freshness and excitement of the luxurious new tropical resort and led to further commissions. Burke’s three decades in business (1937-1970) were an unparalleled success in the story of Australian design. Her fabrics have been collected by the NGA, the Powerhouse Museum, NGV, RMIT Design Archives and Sydney Living Museums in addition to Ararat Gallery TAMA. Written by Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs.