SOUTHERNWOOD

250 BOLTON STREET ELTHAM, NILLUMBIK SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register

Southernwood_Eltham_entrance_KJ_Dec 09

Statement of Significance

• Other Records For This Place
  • Southernwood - National Trust
• Additional Place Information

  • History

    SOUTHERNWOOD - History

    CONTEXTUAL HISTORY

    The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It originated in July 1891, when the art critic Sidney Dickinson wrote a review of the exhibitions of works by Walter Withers and Arthur Streeton. Dickinson noted that these artists, whose works were mostly painted in the Heidelberg area, could be considered as 'The Heidelberg School'. Since that time, The Heidelberg School has taken on a wider meaning and covers Australian artists of the late nineteenth century who painted plein-air in the impressionist tradition. These artists were inspired by the beautiful landscapes of the Yarra River and the unique light that typifies the Australian bush.

    The most famous of the Heidelberg artists were Louis Buvelot, Charles Conder, Emanual Phillips Fox, Eugene Von Guerard, Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Walter Withers. The works of these artists are notable, not only for their merits as compositions, but as part of Australia's historical record. The period immediately before Federation is the setting for many classic Australian historical stories of the "bush", both fact and fiction. The School's work provides a visual complement to these tales and their images have embedded themselves into Australia's historical subconscious.

    WALTER HERBERT WITHERS (1854-1914)

    [Andrew Mackenzie, 'Withers, Walter Herbert (1854 - 1914)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp 551-553.]

    Walter Withers, artist and teacher, was born in Warwickshire, England, one of fourteen children. He trained at the Royal Academy of Arts, before embarking for Australia, arriving in Melbourne in 1883.

    After working on several country properties as a jackaroo for eighteen months, he moved to Melbourne where he enrolled in evening art classes at the Melbourne National Gallery school of painting under G. F. Folingsby. Employed as a draughtsman for lithographic printers, he produced portraits in black and white for several periodicals. His work was accepted for exhibition in the Old Academy, Melbourne. At this time he met Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts and Louis Abrahams who became lifelong friends.

    Encouraged by Roberts to travel overseas, Withers left Melbourne for London in May 1887, having journeyed overland from Naples, via Paris. On 11 October 1887 he married Fanny Flinn, and soon after, they departed for Paris, where they lived for six months, while he studied with Australian artists E. Phillips Fox, Tudor St George Tucker and John Longstaff at the Academie Julian. On the weekends he toured Paris, visiting major galleries where he was impressed and influenced by the works of Bastien LePage, Monet, Manet and Anton Mauve.

    Commissioned to illustrate The Chronicles of Early Melbourne by Edmund Finn, Withers and his wife returned to Melbourne in June 1888. They rented a cottage at Kew where Withers established a studio and met the artists Arthur Streeton, Charles Conder, Arthur Loureiro and George Rossi Ashton. While his wife revisited England in 1889, Withers shared with Roberts and Streeton the old farmhouse on the Mount Eagle Estate at Eaglemont. His attempts to organize his fellow artists earned him the nickname 'Colonel'. In 1890 the Withers family moved into the mansion, Charterisville, at Heidelberg, where Withers established a studio and sub-let cottages to other artists. In April 1891 he also established a city studio in Collins Street, took private pupils and in May held a successful major exhibition there. With the onset of the 1890s depression, black-and-white work became scarce and Withers contemplated returning to England, but decided to stay when McCubbin found him teaching positions at three schools.

    In 1893 Withers taught at Creswick, where Percy and Norman Lindsay were among his pupils. Next year he rented a house in Heidelberg, and produced some of his finest work: 'A Bright Winter's Morning' (1894), 'Tranquil Winter' (1895) and 'The Storm' (1896) which won the first Wynne prize for landscape painting in 1897. He again won the prize in 1900 with 'Still Autumn'. 'Tranquil Winter' was exhibited in the colonial art exhibition held in London in 1898.

    After rekindling friendships with pastoralists Edmund Smith and W. T. Manifold, Smith invited Withers to paint at his properties at Point Henry and Cowes, while Manifold commissioned him to produce six large, historic, Art Nouveau panels as a mural for Purrumbete, then being extensively altered to designs by the architect Guyon Purchas.

    In 1904-05 Withers was president of the Victorian Artists' Society, later joining a group of fellow professional artists who formed the Australian Art Association in 1912. He was one of the judges of the work of the National Gallery students for fourteen years and in 1912-14 was a trustee of the Public Library, museums and National Gallery of Victoria.

    Withers died of cerebral thrombosis on 13 October 1914 at Eltham and was buried nearby in the Anglican churchyard at St Helena. His wife, four daughters and a son survived him.

    In his art Withers developed his own distinctive, poetic style, capturing nature in all her moods, and reflecting his early interest in the works of the English water-colour artists Peter De Wint and David Cox. Critics have discerned the influence of Constable in Withers' sombre, low-toned, lyrical landscapes, and of the Impressionists in his use of broken colour, his preoccupation with light and his interest in the momentary and the commonplace. He is represented in national, State and regional galleries, and in many private collections in Australia and abroad. An exhibition of his paintings was held in Collins House, Melbourne, in 1915, an Art Union of his paintings and those of his son Charles Meynell was held in May 1926, and a major retrospective exhibition of Withers' works was held in 1975 at the Geelong Art Gallery.

    Select Bibliography

    A. McCubbin, The Life and Art of Walter Withers (Melb, nd, c1920); C. B. Christesen (ed), The Gallery on Eastern Hill (Melb, 1970); M. Rich, Walter Withers: A Survey, exhibition catalogue (Geelong, 1975); J. Clark and B. Whitelaw, Golden Summers (Syd, 1985); A. Mackenzie, Walter Withers: The Forgotten Manuscripts (Melb, 1987); A. Mackenzie, Walter Withers, 1854-1914: A Biographical Sketch (manuscript, 1989, privately held); National Trust of Australia, Trust News, Sept 1987; Age (Melbourne), 26 July 1958, 21 July 1987; Withers papers (State Library of Victoria); R. McCann papers (State Library of Victoria); private information. More on the resources

    HISTORY OF PLACE

    Southernwood was built in 1891 for Julia Harby, the owner from 1891 until 1901, and it was occupied by John Harby, a labourer. The house then was probably a four-roomed cottage.

    Payment for the commission for the murals at Purrumbete for William Manifold, completed in 1902, provided Withers with the means to buy Southernwood, then on 2½ acres (1 ha), to which he added a studio. He taught art on week days in Melbourne, and was reliant on the railways for transport. Because of ill health, he lived during the week at his studio in Oxford Chambers, Melbourne, and on weekends and holidays with his family at Eltham, then in a semi-rural situation. The completion of the railway to Eltham, in 1903, allowed him to travel there easily.

    Several additions were made to the house during Withers' occupation. He first added the large studio on the southern side of the house, and probably a kitchen east of the studio and the entrance hall linking the studio to the rest of the house. A photo of his daughter Nan in the studio is thought to have been taken in c1904. An addition with two bedrooms and a bathroom was also made (possibly later) to the east of the house. The design of the interiors of the additions was possibly influenced by Guyon Purchas's work at Purrumbete, and there are similarities for example in the design of the fireplace surrounds and in the Art Nouveau-inspired hinges used for the large cupboard in the bedroom corridor.

    Further extensions were made at the rear in 1948, probably the living area joining the kitchen, since rebuilt, to the rear bedroom section. Alterations have also been made at the front, with the addition of a bay window to the lounge room and a new entrance porch.

    Assessment Against Criteria

    SOUTHERNWOOD - Assessment Against Criteria

    a. Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria's cultural history

    Southerwood was the home from 1903 until his death in 1914 of Walter Withers, one

    of Australia's most important artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He played an influential role in the development of Australian art, and his move to Eltham attracted many artists to an area which was to become a focus of artistic activity in Victoria in the twentieth century.

    b. Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria's cultural history.

    c. Potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Victoria's cultural history.

    d. Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places or environments.

    Southernwood is important for the retention of the studio built for Walter Withers, which is an outstanding example of an early twentieth century artist's studio.

    e. Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics.

    f. Importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period.

    g. Strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. This includes the significance of a place to Indigenous peoples as part of their continuing and developing cultural traditions.

    h. Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Victoria's history.

    Southernwood was the home and studio of the artist Walter Withers from 1903 until his death in 1914. Withers was a leader of the Heidelberg School, the first major local artistic movement in Australia, which had a great influence on the history of Australian art, particularly landscape painting. Walter Withers was considered to be the most versatile and educated member of the Heidelberg School.

    Plaque Citation

    SOUTHERNWOOD - Plaque Citation

    This was the home from 1903 until his death in 1914 of the artist Walter Withers, one of the founders of the Heidelberg School of art, who extended the 1891 house and added the large artist's studio in c1904.

    Permit Exemptions

    SOUTHERNWOOD - Permit Exemptions

    General Exemptions:

    General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

    Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

    Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

    Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

    Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

    Specific Exemptions:

    General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of works that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such works shall cease and Heritage Victoria shall be notified as soon as possible. General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and plan endorsed by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it. Note: The existence of a Conservation Management Plan or a Heritage Action Plan endorsed by the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria provides guidance for the management of the heritage values associated with the site. It may not be necessary to obtain a heritage permit for certain works specified in the management plan. General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this determination prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this determination exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authorities where applicable. Minor Works : Note: Any Minor Works that in the opinion of the Executive Director will not adversely affect the heritage significance of the place may be exempt from the permit requirements of the Heritage Act. A person proposing to undertake minor works may submit a proposal to the Executive Director. If the Executive Director is satisfied that the proposed works will not adversely affect the heritage values of the site, the applicant may be exempted from the requirement to obtain a heritage permit. If an applicant is uncertain whether a heritage permit is required, it is recommended that the permits co-ordinator be contacted.

    Permit Exemption Policy

    SOUTHERNWOOD - Permit Exemption Policy

    The purpose of the Permit Policy is to assist when considering or making decisions regarding works to the place. It is recommended that any proposed works be discussed with an officer of Heritage Victoria prior to a permit application. Discussing any proposed works will assist in answering any questions the owner may have and aid any decisions regarding works to the place. It is recommended that a Conservation Management Plan is undertaken to assist with the future management of the cultural significance of the place.

    The extent of registration protects the whole site. The addition of new buildings to the site may impact upon the cultural heritage significance of the place and requires a permit. The purpose of this requirement is not to prevent any further development on this site, but to enable control of possible adverse impacts on heritage significance during that process.

    The significance of the place lies in intactness as the home and studio of one of Australia's most important artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All of the registered building is integral to the significance of the place and any external or internal alterations that impact on its significance are subject to permit application. The former studio has been little altered, and this must be retained in its present form. The rear kitchen and living area and bathroom in the south-east corner of the house are recent additions, and could be altered with a permit.

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