Showing 466 items matching withers
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Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Book, Andrew Mackenzie, Walter Withers; The Forgotten Manuscripts / compiled and introduced by Andrew Mackenzie ; foreword by Kathleen Mangan, 1987
Alexander McCubbin published Fanny Withers ‘The Life & Art of Walter Withers’ in 1920. But, although Withers had written a 100 page manuscript, the book was edited into a 28 page format. This is that entire manuscript, its preparatory notes and three other manuscripts (1902, 1911, 1918).Signed by Andrew Mackenzie on Title pageartists, eltham, fanny withers (nee flinn), walter withers -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Margery Withers, Early Eltham looking towards Montmorency, Margery Withers, 1910
Oil painting - Margey WithersThis 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 35mm B&W negativesepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, eltham, margery withers, montmorency -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Walter Withers, Pencil drawing from a sketch book by Walter Withers; figure study of man on horse with cow
Pencil drawing from a sketch book by Walter Withers. Held by the National Gallery of Victoria. Featured on p82 of "Pioneers and Painters". The figure study is reproduced in Wither's 'The Drover' (1912) held by Bendigo Art Gallery. The model was Mr W. J. Capewell, the Eltham Butcher.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 Print (x2)horse, pioneers and painters, sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, sketches, the drover 1912, w.j. capewell, walter withers, walter withers sketch -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Walter Withers grave
Colour photograph of Walter Withers headstone, St Katherines Churchyard, St HelenaIn Memory of Walter Withers Artist Born October, 22, 1884 Died October, 13, 1914 walter withers, artist, cemetries, st katherines, st helena -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Image, William Branwill Withers
W.B. Withers wrote the 'History of Ballarat'.Line drawing of a balding man and a jacket. He is journalist and local historian William B. Withers.w.b. withers, william b. withers, willaim bramwell withers -
Greensborough Historical Society
Aerial Photograph, Greensborough aerial with property overlay, 1945_
Enlargements of section of 1945 aerial survey photographs of central Greensborough, with property overlay boundaries and some street numbers by Noel WithersTwo photocopied enlargements with property overlay markingsStreet names and some property numbers. Overlays by Noel Withers.greensborough, plenty river -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Book, Walter Withers : a survey / Geelong Art Gallery, October 10 to November 21, 1975
Paperback; 11 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 22 cm.artists, walter withers -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Walter Withers, Miners 'Panning-out', sketch by Walter Withers
Reproduced Page 26 of Pioneers & Painters, edited by Alan Marshall (1971) Source: National Gallery of Victoria (1 Black and White print, no neg.) 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 and 11.5 x 20.5 cm B&W printgold, gold mining, panning, pioneers and painters, sepp, shire of eltham pioneers photograph collection, sketches, walter withers -
Greensborough Historical Society
Folder, Noel Withers, Partington family history: compiled by Noel Withers from the Alan Partington collection, 2006
Contents: Partington Family history: from Lancashire to the unknown; family tree [with corrections]; copies of photographs; obituary of Trevor Partington 2002.History of the origins of this Greensborough pioneer family. (2 files)20-page plastic binder, spiral bound, clear cover. Contains documents relating to the Partington familyCollected by Greensborough Historical Society. Folder commenced 2012.partington family, alan partington, noel withers -
National Wool Museum
Textile - DIY Deluge Design No. 5, Alison Withers, 2023
Artist Alison Withers work DIY Deluge Design No. 5 was awarded Expressions: The Wool Quilt Acquisitive Award in 2023. Works were received from across Australasia and internationally from some of quilting’s most highly regarded and awarded artists. Finalists work was displayed at Art Quilt Australia 2023 presented by Ozquilt Network and the National Wool Museum from 12 August to 12 November 2023. Artist Statement: It's clear we need to adapt the anatomy of our human spaces to become more resilient to the increasingly unavoidable impacts of climate change. Made by piecing, applique and free machine stitching, using industrial felt, hand dyed merino felt, woollen suiting, cotton fabric, wool theatre curtain backing and cotton and polyester thread.Rectangular portrait orientated art quilt depicting an environmental scene including boats, lights, elevated buildings, plants and birds on a background of shades of cream, blue and grey. A baton is sewn into the back at the bottom.Back: DIY Deluge Design No.5 / Alison Withersquilt, ozquilt network, prize, wool, art, felt, piecing, applique -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Newspaper - Newspaper Clipping, Melbourne Punch, Artist Walter Withers, PEOPLE WE KNOW, Melbourne Punch, June 17, p. 2, 1897
ARTIST WALTER WITHEBS, whose pictures are now on exhibition at his Melbourne studio on Wednesdays and Saturdays, is an Englishman by birth, but an ardent Australian by adoption. His landscapes are "racy of the soil,” and amongst the most successful work of the kind done by Victorian artists. Withers does most of his work at his Heidelberg home, where he leads a serene life of artistic simplicity amidst the most picturesque surroundings. PEOPLE WE KNOW (1897, June 17). Melbourne Punch (Vic. : 1855 - 1900), p. 2. Retrieved August 22, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article174626232Journal inscribed: "Mrs Withers 463 Collins St. West Melbourne"art exhibition, art review, john withers collection, melbourne, walter withers studio, 463 collins street west, walter herbert withers, artist -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Journal - Copies of Newspaper Notices of W. Withers, Art Review, Walter Withers Exhibition, The Australasian Critic, July 1, 1891
Art Review, Walter Withers Exhibition (opened May 14, 1891) at his studio, 463 Collins Street West, Melbourne, The Australasian Critic, July 1,. 1891 See also other reviews Art and Artists. (1891, May 22). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 4. Retrieved August 22, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article147284837 ART NOTES., (1891, May 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 6. Retrieved August 22, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8643932Journal inscribed: "Mrs Withers 463 Collins St. West Melbourne"463 collins street west, art exhibition, art review, john withers collection, melbourne, walter withers studio, walter herbert withers, artist -
Federation University Historical Collection
Print - Images, Unbound Images from Withers' 'History of Ballarat', c1987
Copies of all images from the 1887 version of Withers' 'History of Ballarat'. The images include copies of the Eureka Stockade reward posters. mail coach, eureka graves, ballaarat old cemetery, mining registrar's office, reward posters, lake wendouree, bakery hill, madame berry gold mining company, ballarat from bath's hotel, quartz crushing, black hill, horse puddler, pennyweight flat, aborigines, creswick, withers, william b. withers, history of ballarat -
Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens History Group
Work on paper - Benefactors of Statues, Withers, W.B. History of Ballarat
Statues presented by two benefactors, Stoddart and ThompsonWritten by John Garner using Withers as a referencestatues, benefactors, ballarat botanical gardens, doctor john garner, thomas stoddart, james russell thomson, john garner collection, garner, dr, ballarat, gardens -
Ballarat Heritage Services
Image, William Bramwell Withers, c1887
Portrait of William Bramwell Withers, journalist and author of 'History of Ballarat.'william bramwell withers -
Stawell Historical Society Inc
Book, Gary Withers, History of Stawell Hospital - Previously Cat No 3628, 2009
To Stawell Historical Society G Withersstawell medicine -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Believed to be Fanny Withers with daughter Mary Pitt Withers, c.1900
Mary Pitt Withers was the daughter of artist Walter Herbert Withers and Fanny (nee Flinn) She was born December 4, 1895 at Heidelberg.Many items in this collection have suffered from significant water damage and black mouldjohn withers collection, heidelberg, 1900, fanny withers (nee flinn), mary pitt withers, scan - 3¼ × 4¼ inch quarter-plate glass neg -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Document, Mary Owen, Mary Owen's speech at the unveiling of the Memorial Plaque to her grandfather, Walter Withers, at Walter Withers Reserve, cnr Arthur and Bible Streets, Eltham, 13 October 1990, 1990
Mary Owen was the granddaughter of Walter WithersA4 cream copy paper, typed, 5 pagesdedication, mary owen (walter withers granddaughter), walter withers rock -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Newspaper Clipping, Australian Landscapes; Walter Withers' works; The Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld), p4, December 14, 1918
AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPES. (1918, December 14). The Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1903; 1916 - 1926), p. 4. Retrieved August 22, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215454911Journal inscribed: "Mrs Withers 463 Collins St. West Melbourne"art exhibition, art review, artist, john withers collection, walter herbert withers -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Newspaper Clipping, Landscape Art; The Withers Exhibition; The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld), p7, December 16, 1918
AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPES. (1918, December 14). The Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1903; 1916 - 1926), p. 4. Retrieved August 22, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215454911Journal inscribed: "Mrs Withers 463 Collins St. West Melbourne"art exhibition, art review, artist, john withers collection, walter herbert withers -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Sketch, 'Old Raglans (?) Eltham' by Walter Withers
Black and white photograph of a sketch by Walter Withers with publication inscriptions for reproduction on p76 of 'Pioneers & Painters' but ultimately not used.pioneers and painters, sepp, walter withers -
Benalla Art Gallery
Painting, Walter WITHERS, Sheep in shadows, 1910
Born: Birmingham, England 1854; Arrived Australia 1882; Died: 1914Heidelberg SchoolLedger Gift, 1980Rural landscape with grazing sheep and trees. Gold brushed grey painted timber frame. Recto: Signed "Walter Withers" in brown paint l.r.c of composition; Dated: "~ 10 ~" in brown paint; Not titledlandscape, animals, trees, sheep, australian art -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Mary Pitt (left) and Nancy Josephine Withers at Heidelberg, c.1898
Mary Pitt and Nancy Josephine Withers were daughters of artist Walter Herbert Withers and Fanny (nee Flinn) Mary Pitt Withers was born December 4, 1895 at Heidelberg. Nancy Josephine Pitt Withers was born 17 May 1897 at Heidelberg, Victoria. Many items in this collection have suffered from significant water damage and black mouldjohn withers collection, 1898, nancy josephine pitt withers, heidelberg, mary pitt withers -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Mary Pitt (left) and Nancy Josephine Withers at Heidelberg, c.1898
Mary Pitt and Nancy Josephine Withers were daughters of artist Walter Herbert Withers and Fanny (nee Flinn) Mary Pitt Withers was born December 4, 1895 at Heidelberg. Nancy Josephine Pitt Withers was born 17 May 1897 at Heidelberg, Victoria.Many items in this collection have suffered from significant water damage and black mouldjohn withers collection, 1898, nancy josephine pitt withers, heidelberg, mary pitt withers -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Sgt Tyrrell George Evans with fiancee, Mary Pitt Withers outside the Withers family home, Southernwood, Bolton Street, Eltham, c.1917
Enlisted 7 July 1915 Disembarked Suez 7 Feb 1916 Was wounded by a gun shot to the left arm 21 July 1916 in France bythat time a C.S.M.. Evans returned to Australia and was discharged April 1917. On July 6, 1918 Tyrrell George Granville Evans married at Eltham, Mary Pitt Withers, daughter of artist Walter Herbert Withers (deceased) and wife Fanny (nee Flinn). They had one child, Mary Roberta Evans born February 8, 1921 at Balwyn. Tyrrell died June 27, 1922 at Balwyn of acute heart failure. Present day Google Street View https://goo.gl/maps/PZZMoEdJYUXbgf4a8Many items in this collection have suffered from significant water damage and black mouldjohn withers collection, eltham, tyrrell george granville evans, mary pitt withers, 1917, bolton steet, scan - 620 format 6x9 negative, southernwood -
Greensborough Historical Society
Book, Mannagum Press, Walter Withers: the forgotten manuscripts, 1987_
Letters and manuscripts by Fanny Withers, wife of Walter Withers, with other material.144 p., b & w and col. illus.walter withers, fanny withers, painters -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Believed to be Nancy Josephine Withers, c.1900
Nancy Josephine Pitt Withers was the daughter of artist Walter Herbert Withers and Fanny (nee Flinn) Nancy Josephine Pitt Withers was born 17 May 1897 at Heidelberg, Victoria. Many items in this collection have suffered from significant water damage and black mouldjohn withers collection, nancy josephine pitt withers, heidelberg, 1900 -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Mary Owen, granddaughter of Walter Withers, unveiling the commemorative plaque on Walter Withers Rock at the corner of Bible and Arthur Streets, Eltham, 13 Oct 1990, 13/10/1990
[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Three colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Mary Owen, granddaughter of Walter Withers, unveiling the commemorative plaque on Walter Withers Rock at the corner of Bible and Arthur Streets, Eltham, 13 Oct 1990, 13/10/1990
[from EDHS Newsletter No. 75, November 1990:] WALTER WITHERS PLAQUE At long last we have unveiled our plaque in the Walter Withers Reserve. The function was attended by a number of members and friends of the Society and descendants of the Withers family. Following the unveiling, the group proceeded to the Eltham Shire Office for afternoon tea and a small exhibition of Withers' paintings arranged by Andrew Mackenzie. The unveiling was performed by Mary Owen, a grand-daughter of Walter Withers. Her speech provided an interesting personal perspective on Withers and is repeated in full here: I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the responsibility of paying tribute to the man you have all come to honour today. I have the feeling that most of you probably know more about him and his work than I do. Walter Withers died nearly seven years before I was born and so I never knew him. Sadly, although other members of his family inherited some of his talent, I was not among them and I know very little about art. This is doubly hard to bear because my husband had some ability to draw and my second daughter also has some talent in this direction. My children are all artistic - mostly in the field of music inherited partly from their father - a Welshman who sang like a Welshman - and partly from my grandmother, Fanny Withers who, I believe was no mean pianist. However all this talent gave me a miss and for many years I felt a complete ignoramus in the fields of the arts. It was not until I was nearly fifty years old that I walked into a gallery in Brisbane and, as I wandered around the room, suddenly one picture leapt at me and I knew instantly that it had been painted by my grandfather. I had never seen the picture before and it gave me quite a shock to find that I had recognized the style of painting. I realized then that I had absorbed more than I realized simply by living with pictures and with people who painted them and talked about their painting and the painting of others. When I was a child I sometimes spent school holidays with my Aunt Margery Withers and her husband, Richard McCann. Aunt Marge painted me several times but I'm afraid I was a restless subject and used to sit reading a book and look up grudgingly when she wanted to paint my eyes. During the September holidays my aunt and uncle were busy preparing paintings far the annual exhibition of the Melbourne Twenty Painters, to which they both belonged. I remember how important I used to feel when they took me along to the Athenaeum Gallery on the Friday night before the opening to help hang their pictures. There were many artists there but the two I remember are perhaps surprisingly both women: Miss Bale and Miss Tweddle. I remember how cold it used to be up in that gallery at night. They used to heat water on a gas ring to make tea and Aunt Marge used to bring sandwiches and fruit for our evening meal. Everyone seemed to be poor in those days and no-one dreamed of going out for a meal. It was a case of make-do - even to cutting down frames to fit pictures or cutting pictures to fit the frames. They had to use the same frames from year to year if the pictures didn't sell. The opening was an exciting event for me. I felt I was privileged to meet important people - people who knew a lot more than I - and Uncle Dick would get quite merry after a couple of the tiny sweet sherries which were always distributed. I realise now that quite a lot of "art talk" rubbed off on me during my visits to the Athenaeum and during my stays with my aunt and uncle. I suspect that much of our most useful learning comes this way and those of us who have had the privilege of associating with artists, writers, philosophers and other thinkers have a richness in our lives of which we may be unaware. Walter Withers was a prolific painter and, although he painted for love of it, I suspect that the need to provide for his family drove him, like Mozart, to greater efforts than he might otherwise have achieved. Reading old letters and articles about the Heidelberg artists, I have come to realize something of the constant strain placed on many of them - particularly Withers and McCubbin - by poverty and the need to make ends meet. Withers was ever conscious of the need to provide for his wife and his five children and there are touching letters to his wife, regretting that he was not able to earn more for them. In addition to his painting, he worked hard at teaching and illustrating and, as he grew older, the strain began to tell and his health deteriorated. He seems never to have had a very strong constitution and suffered from rheumatism, which must have made painting quite painful at times. His eldest daughter, Gladys, was eventually confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and I have a tendency to arthritis myself, so I am particularly aware of what this could have meant to him. Recently I found a short letter written by my mother to her mother, Fanny Withers on the anniversary of her father's birthday in 1919, in which she said: "Poor old Dad, I often think now what a lot he must have suffered. His life was too hard and too strenuous for him. He had too many chick-a-biddies, I think. He wasn't equal to so much town life and train journeys with so many delicacies as he had. Since I have been ill, I have realised what he must have felt like.” He certainly drove himself to produce. He travelled all over Victoria by train, buggy, bicycle and on foot and for a time he travelled from Eltham to Melbourne every day by train, although later he lived in Melbourne during the week and only returned to Eltham for the weekends. My mother died seven years after her father's death, when my twin sisters were 10 days old and I was 16 months. So I never knew my mother or my grandfather. But my two aunts, Gladys and Margery, sometimes took me to stay with Gan Withers at Southernwood in Bolton Street . No cars in those days and it seemed a very long hot and dusty walk from the Station. Three memories remain with me of Southernwood. One is the well at the back which I found quite terrifying; the second is Gan killing a snake - even more terrifying. She was a formidable woman, my grandmother and a great ally and support to her husband. I think she was the business end of the partnership. The third memory of Southernwood is my grandfather's studio – down what seemed like a toy staircase inside the room. This and the big walk-in fireplace stayed in my mind from the age of about six until I saw them again about forty years later when the house was being used as a Sunday School. I just wish that money could be found to purchase this old house for the City of Eltham so that a permanent museum could be established in memory of a man who did so much to put Eltham on the map of art history. Recently I have become interested in family history and spent some time in England, Ireland and Wales looking for traces of my ancestors. I realized then how important it is to have records of people who have contributed to our society. We forget so soon and it is amazing how often, within two generations, names, dates and many details are forgotten. We are fortunate that so many of Walter Withers' works have been bought by galleries and that people like Andrew Mackenzie have taken the trouble to search out people who knew him and to write about him and his work. And I am very grateful to the Historical Society of Eltham for recognizing the importance of having a permanent tribute in Eltham to the contribution made by Walter Withers, who loved Eltham so much and who has assured this lovely district a place in the annals of history. I am indebted to Kathleen Mangan; the daughter of another famous Australian painter , Fred McCubbin, - featured in The Age this morning (thanks again to Andrew Mackenzie) for the most apt tribute to Walter Withers. Kathleen is not well and she rang me a couple of days ago, regretting that she could not be present today “to pay tribute” as she said, “to Walter Withers for I always think Walter Withers is the spirit of Eltham.” Thank you, Kathleen. And now I have much pleasure in unveiling the plaque commissioned by the Eltham Historical Society from Bob McLellan of Charmac Industries to commemorate the life and work of Walter Withers, the spirit of Eltham. Mary Owen, 13 October 1990.Two colour photographswalter withers rock, walter withers reserve, mary owen -
Eltham District Historical Society Inc
Photograph, Believed to be Mary Pitt Withers, c.1900
Mary Pitt Withers was the daughter of artist Walter Herbert Withers and Fanny (nee Flinn) She was born December 4, 1895 at Heidelberg.Many items in this collection have suffered from significant water damage and black mouldjohn withers collection, heidelberg, 1900, mary pitt withers, postcard