elizabeth farm, north elevation
In 1974, the fate of Elizabeth Farm hung in the balance. Since 1968, attempts at restoration carried out by a local band of neighbours and benefactors had proven unsuccessful. Saved from demolition, the property remained derelict and vulnerable.
Though passionate and well-connected, the Elizabeth Farm Museum Trust was struggling to finance further repairs. Fears were mounting, at least within heritage circles, that poor skill and judgment was placing the property at further risk.
As moves were underway in state parliament to frame new heritage laws, a small departmental report was prepared by government architect Charles Weatherburn and project architect Peter Bridges, recording evidence and listing options for the future of Elizabeth Farm.
Succinct and persuasive, this document featured a series of vivid black and white photographs that in years to come would form, perhaps Read More »
So what makes Elizabeth Farm different?
What makes Elizabeth Farm different is the way in which it sneaks up on its visitors – what might at first seem like a conventional house museum peddling the usual blend of comfortable half-truths and comforting illusions, turns into a yarn that doesn’t add up, or is open ended, or has fascinating twists… not your usual house museum: part abstract installation, part period piece, part education tool, part historic shrine…
I use the term ‘post-modernism in drag’ to characterise the curatorial treatment of Elizabeth Farm because the guiding principle at the heart of the museum is a kind of wilfully deceptive, game being played – not only on visitors but also on its own history. I like the notion because it captures a variety of other attributes – dressy, theatrical and iconoclastic…
Room arrangements have been intentionally distorted, filled with errors and inaccuracies. Some objects are covered, others are left bare. Pictures that never hung in the house, some never even seen by the family are given pride of place. Modern replicas of historic pieces have been chosen over originals. Spaces like the Drawing Room, known to be busy family spaces, filled with books, ornaments, pictures, journals, are furnished in the most minimal way possible – walls have been left bare, decoration is Read More »
Who’d have thought that so much mystery and misunderstanding would surround one of Australia’s most admired pioneering figures?
Undated, untitled portrait in oil, by unknown artist, assumed to be Elizabeth Macarthur, held in the Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales.
Though often regarded as one of a pair, her portrait was painted by an unknown artist – possibly in England – in the 19th century, several years apart from its companion piece – the large oil of John Macarthur. At the time of being painted, the ‘subjects’ John and Elizabeth Macarthur were living in Australia. The paintings depict them at the age of about 30 – 40 years old, dating them roughly (if we are to assume they are in fact John and Elizabeth Macarthur) to the years 1810-1820. Its unlikely the Macarthurs ever saw these paintings or even knew of their existence. Read More »
This homey article from the London Guardian looks at changing perceptions of private and public business.
These stunning photographs, taken by an unknown builder, document the conservation of roofing timbers, shingles and iron at Elizabeth Farm in the early 1980s. They were culled from the vast Public Works Department archives, now in the museum collection.
HISTORIC HOUSES TRUST
In 1981, roofing workers carefully peeled back layers of corrugated tin, patched and mended for well over a century, Read More »
