New Art Exhibition Opens at Camden Art Gallery

'Portraits of Camden' Exhibition Opening

A new art exhibition, 'Portraits of Camden', was opened in Camden at the Alan Baker Art Gallery in John Street on Thursday 12 March 2020 by Camden Mayor Theresa Fedeli.

The cover of the exhibition catalogue 'Portraits of Camden' that is open between March and August 2020.. 

The exhibition 'Portraits of Camden' celebrates the second anniversary of the opening of the gallery.

Camden Mayor Theresa Fedeli opens the 'Portraits of Camden' exhibition on Thursday 12 March 2020. (I Willis) 

The exhibition celebrates the contribution of Alan Baker to the Camden art scene in the early 1970s  through the Camden Art Group.

The Camden Art Group met in the classroom of Ken Rorke at Camden Public School in John Street Camden.

The assembled audience at the exhibition opening was addressed by an original member of the Camden Art Group Nola Tegel.

Original member of the Camden Art Group Nola Tegel tells the audience stories about how Alan Baker guided the budding artists in the art works. (I Willis)

The artworks hung at the exhibition are a variety of subjects in charcoal drawn by Alan Baker at the Camden Art Group sessions.

A keen art enthusiast admires the artwork of Alan Baker at the 'Portraits of Camden' exhibition opening. (I Willis)

A guest at the exhibition opening writing their thoughts on Mr Rorke's classroom blackboard in the gallery. Ken Rorke initiated the Camden Art Group in the 1970s. Workshops and lessons were held in his classroom at Camden Public School. (I Willis)

The 'Portraits of Camden' exhibition runs from March to August 2020 at the Alan Baker Art Gallery. The gallery in located in the 19th century gentleman's town house Macaria in John Street Camden.

The assembled have dispersed for refreshments and eats after the formalities have finished at the exhibition opening in the Macaria forecourt in John Street Camden. Macaria is a wonderful 19th century gentleman's townhouse. It is one of the few 19th colonial buildings open to the public in Sydney's south western suburbs. (I Willis)

The Alan Baker Gallery is located at 37 John Street, Camden. 

Learn more about the life of Alan Baker the artist, the Camden Art Group and the house history of Macaria. 

Read more about Alan Baker and the Camden Art Group in Camden History from those budding young artists who participated in the lessons and workshops in the 1970s. 

The signage the fronts the Alan Baker Art Gallery in the 19th century gentleman's town house of Macaria in John Street Camden. (I Willis)

Colonial Art Exhibition at Campbelltown Arts Centre

A new exhibition of colonial artworks from the permanent collection of the Campbelltown Arts Centre and Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society was launched recently at the gallery.

Ruth Banfield guest curated the exhibition. They Came By Boat at the Campbelltown Arts Centre. Ruth was one of the original members of the Friend of Campbelltown Arts Centre. She has also helped the Arts Centre bring together other exhibition works.

The exhibition called They Came By Boat was guest curated by Ruth Banfield and runs from 30 June to 15 October 2017.

The highlighted colonial artists are Gracius Broinowski; Joseph Lycett; Arthur Willmore; Joseph Backler; Thomas Kirkby; John Scarr; and Samuel Bradshaw.

There was an enthusiastic audience at the recent launch of the exhibition of colonial artworks. They Came By Boat. They listened to guest curator Ruth Banfield give an account of drawing the works together and her role in putting the exhibition together.

The artworks highlight the Macarthur area, particularly the Cowpastures, in its role as both a government reserve and a regional identity.

The exhibition theme and promotional material states

During a period where art was a tool to both elevate status and possibly gain freedom for those punished under the Convict regime, They Came by Boat draws focus to early settler families who journeyed over oceans, arriving to Australia and eventually settling in what is now known as Macarthur; the houses they built and the landscape they inhabited.

Of particular interest are lithographs of wildlife by Polish artist Gracius Broinowski who settled in the Wedderburn area in the late 1880s.

There are etchings by Joseph Lycett, a convict transported for forgery, completed in the 1820s, including Raby, The Property of Alexander Riley, Esq, New South Wales (1825) and View Upon the Nepean River at the Cow Pastures, New South Wales (1824).

Image: Joseph Lycett, view upon the Nepean River at the Cowpastures, New South Wales, 1824-1825.
Lycett's artwork is one of the engravings in the exhibition, giving an idealised interpretation of the Cowpastures landscape and the Nepean River. 

There are stunning colonial portraits of the Scarr and Edrop families by artist Joseph Backler who was transported to New South Wales and convicted of forgery. There are the Reddalls, who were relations of the first poster of Campbelltown's St Peters Church of England, Thomas Reddall, by artist Thomas Kirkby.

Colonial artworks such as these provided a valuable documentary role for historical research when they were the only recorded images of a locality, particularly the Cowpastures, in a settler society. 

The landscape images of the Cowpastures provide one way of viewing the countryside managed by the Dharawal people for thousands of years. 

Usually, there were two ways that the Cowpastures landscape was viewed by colonials: the countryside and its visible features and the aesthetic appeal of neat rows of paddocks and fences; the other by artists like Lycett as an idealised aesthetic pictorial representation. 

Grace Karskins has given an account of how the early colonists in New South Wales viewed the new colony in her book The Colony.

The exhibition is complemented by an informative catalogue which gives historical extracts from three of the engravings for the Cowpastures area. With ample illustrations, the catalogue is a valuable historical document in its own right.

While these colonial artworks were aimed at the metropolitan centre in England and provided an 'idealised view of Australia' they are valuable records of our region.

The cover of the catalogue of the exhibition of colonial artworks They Came By Boat at the Campbelltown Arts Centre.

These artworks highlight the valuable historical role played by the Campbelltown Arts Centre in telling the story of the local area.

This exhibition is a must for anyone interested in the colonial history of the Macarthur region, the Cowpastures or the wider Cumberland Plain.


See:
Campbelltown Arts Centre and the exhibition 'They Came By Boat'.

Read more about the aesthetics of the Cowpastures landscape and representations of how it reflected an English landscape.

For another interpretation of the Cowpastures landscape, see:
Ian Willis, On the edge, settler colonialism on the Cumberland Plain , and The Cowpastures Project.

Macarthur author researches the stories of local diggers from the First World War

Cover of Book by Lauren Hokin (L Hokin)

A local Macarthur author Lauren Hokin has just finished a major research and writing project on the First World War Anzacs of the Macarther region. 

Lauren Hokin writes about the First World War

Lauren writes about the impact of the First World War on the our region and why she decided to write about it:

The First World War devastated many communities throughout the country. And this was no different for the small rural population of what is now the Macarthur Region. The Great War was one of the most momentous incidences of recorded history, and a catalyst for much of the events of the 20th Century.

Thus, it has become an integral part of Australia's national narrative. Its impact on our history, society and culture cannot be denied and must be understood if we are to know who we think we are. 

The sacrifice of so many who left for the battlefields and those who gave everything on the home front must be remembered and commemorated. However, with the passage of time, the names and stories of the countless brave men and women who served in the war and those on the home front are becoming lost. 

Back cover of Lauren Hokin's Book

The book, 'Anzacs of Macarthur: The Men and Women Who Served in the First World War,' by Lauren Hokin attempts to remedy this. The book denotes the war time narratives of each of the 1100 plus individuals from the area whom decided to serve and those who stayed behind struggling to deal with a catastrophic world crisis unaware that many of their loved ones would not return home.

So as a community, lets honour and never forget our fellow townsfolk who left for war so long ago but remain in our hearts.

Author 

Lauren Hokin 

Lauren Hokin is a local historian and author of 'Anzacs of Macarthur: The Men and Women Who Served in the First World War.' The book is  for sale for $60 and details the wartime narratives of soldiers, sailors, and nurses from the Macarthur area including Camden. 

If you   interested you can find Lauren  on Facebook Anzacs of Macarthur @macarthur.anzacs or email her at anzacsofmacarthur@gmail.com

St Johns Church Camden NSW

St John’s Church Camden

6-22 Menangle Road, Camden, NSW 2570
Lot 1 DP 1024949
Lot 1 DP 2399467

St Johns Church Camden 2010 (I Willis)

History and Description

The St Johns Church Precinct includes the church and church grounds, and also includes the

cemetery, the Rectory and Stables, and church hall.

The church is set within a fine group of other ecclesiastical buildings that includes the Rectory

(1859) and church hall (1906), together with the cemetery in a rural landscaped environment

resplendent in native and exotic mature trees, fence lines, paths and memorials. (NSWSHI)

1874 Chancel extension complete.

Rectory built 1859. The rectory and associated lands remained in the ownership of the Macarthur family up to November 1905.

St Johns Parochial School located at the intersection of Hill and Broughton Streets was founded in 1850 as a denominational school.

Original church hall built 1906 and second hall in 1973.

The church cemetery forms part of the original Macarthur family endowment of 1841. The first burial is believed to be that of Thomas Budd of Narellan made in March 1843. (NSWSHI)

Condition and Use

Split timber shingled roof replaced with terracotta shingles in 1929.

Electric motors replaced manual winding mechanism of clock in c1950.

Tower lourves replaced in 1970.

Render of the spire removed and replaced in 1973.

The church, rectory, stables, churchyard and slopes retain good integrity and intactness. (NSWSHI)

Heritage Significance

 St John the Evangelist at Camden was the first 'archaeologically correct' Gothic church to be completed in the colony of New South Wales. It was probably designed in England by Edward Blore under instructions from the Macarthur family.   In its architectural innovation and picturesque placement in a controlled landscape, it is among the most important parish churches in Australia. (Hector Abrahams, Christian church architecture, Dictionary of Sydney, 2010)


St Johns Church is perhaps the finest example of early Picturesque Gothic Revival style church architecture in Australia. The church, with its tower and spire, is a landscape monument in the rural lands and town of Camden. It is also a monument to the pioneering pastoral Macarthur family, who built it, and has become an icon in consideration of these values. (Noel Bell Ridley Smith and Parters Pty Ltd, Conservation Management Plan Addendum 2010, St Johns Anglican Church Precinct, Camden. Sydney, p7)

The church precinct is rare in New South Wales as a complete ensemble. The church building
is complete with tower, spire, clock, stained glass and all its furniture. Its relationship to the
town and landscape are deliberate. It possesses an equally well-treated, though not grand, rectory, graveyard and originally had a church school. It can be said to be one of the most
complete church groups achieved in New South Wales in the nineteenth century. Equivalent
groups are rare. (Clive Lucas, Stapleton and Partners Pty. Ltd., St. John’s Anglican Church Precinct
Menangle Road, Camden, Conservation Management Plan. Sydney, 2004, pp. 43-44)

Heritage Listing

Local Environment Plan                       Item 63
NSW State Heritage Inventory

Australian Heritage Commission        National Estate Database

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Sydney Architecture St Johns Church Camden

Australian Heritage Database Rectory and Stables

Australian Heritage Database St Johns Church

A view of Menangle

A view of Menangle

Menangle resident Laura Egan-Burt writes:

Tucked away in the back of The Menangle Store, in a dilapidated room that houses the beautiful, original baker's oven is a lovingly curated photographic display.

Past members of the Menangle Community Association, with the leadership of the late Maurice Blackwood, collected photographs and memorabilia from residents. They then spent countless hours creating a visual representation of our beautiful village.

The group held a travelling roadshow featuring the display. Some of the venues visited included libraries and museums. They also formally presented to politicians and councillors, highlighting Menangle's unique and important history.

The Menangle Community Association would like to thank The Menangle Store for  volunteering as the ongoing venue for the display.

Images by Laura Egan-Burt

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Laura says that you can see the display  at The Store, 2 Station Street, Menangle. 

As well as the display there is the Menangle Walking Tour available  @  www.menangle.com.au 

Camden Vale Milk Depot

Camden Vale Milk Depot/Old Dairy Farmers Co-op Depot

11 Argyle Street Camden

Lot 1, DP 219757

Camden Vale Milk Depot/Dairy Farmers Milk Depot c1970s (Camden Images)

History and Description

The foundation stone was laid in 1926 by Mrs F.A. Macarthur-Onslow, Mayoress of Camden and wife of Camden Vale Milk Co Ltd. The name was later changed to Dairy Farmers Co-operative Milk Co in 1928. They operated the factory until the 1970s.(SHI)

Condition and Use

The Old Dairy Farmer's Co-op Depot has poor to fair integrity and intactness. (SHI)

Heritage Significance

An early dairy of the Camden Vale Milk Co Ltd (later changed to Dairy Farmers). (SHI)

Heritage Listing

Camden Heritage Inventory LEP 2010 Listing Item I3

State Heritage Inventory Built Commercial Listing

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State Heritage Inventory Click here