The former home of Arthur Boyd – now a haven for artists in the Shoalhaven region – has been acknowledged for its significance to the nation with a place on the Commonwealth Heritage List.
The property’s inclusion on the list was announced today during a visit by Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, and Federal Member for Gilmore, Ann Sudmalis.
The Commonwealth Heritage List recognises places that have played an important role in Australia’s development as a nation, and are often tourist attractions that support the local economy and jobs.
Known as ‘Bundanon’, the property became the home of internationally renowned
Australian artist Arthur Boyd and his wife Yvonne (nee Lennie) in the 1970s. The couple gifted the property to the nation in 1993.
Today the property’s natural beauty not only inspires artists but also the thousands of
others who visit the property each year.
“As a Minister, I have often enjoyed looking at the Great Hall Tapestry in Parliament House. Not everyone knows that the tapestry was designed by Arthur Boyd and depicts the Shoalhaven landscape,” Minister Hunt said.
“I can now say with pride that the Turnbull Government has formally recognised the
significant part played by the Shoalhaven region in Australia’s cultural heritage.”
“I also take some local pride in knowing that Arthur Boyd spent some of his formative years learning from his artistic grandfather at Rosebud on the Mornington Peninsula, in my own electorate,” he said.
Mrs Sudmalis said she was delighted that Bundanon had been recognised for its
contribution to the nation’s artistic heritage.
“Bundanon became a key inspiration for Arthur Boyd in the later periods of his work when his paintings depicted a distinctly Australian landscape,” she said.
“The Bundanon Trust has done a fantastic job of preserving the cultural, artistic and natural values of this extraordinary property.”
Mrs Sudmalis said she was extremely pleased that Bundanon had also been able to benefit from the Australian Government’s Green Army programme.
“Bundanon has already hosted two Green Army teams and is due to host two more in the coming months. They have made a huge difference to the site by carrying out reforestation and targeted revegetation of key native plant species,” she said.
Today Mr Hunt announced that a re-elected Turnbull Government would deliver a fifth
Green Army project to the region which will:
Protect and renew Seven Mile Beach and Comerong Island National Park’s Littoral
Rainforest, Shoalhaven River and areas near Bundanon Trust Riversdale
Work to protect local threatened species including Australasian Bitterns, Green and
Golden Bell Frog, Greater Gliders, and the Swift Parrot
Restore natural habitat areas through the removal of environmental weeds and invasive species and replacing with native species
“This project will further enhance Bundanon’s beautiful landscape, as well as securing
habitat for some of our key threatened species,” Mr Hunt said.
Arthur Boyd is recognised nationally and internationally as a master painter, potter and
graphic artist and was part of the Antipodeans artistic movement that also included his
future brother-in-law Sidney Nolan.
He was born in 1920 into a Melbourne artistic dynasty. Having worked across Victoria,
Central Australia and Britain, Boyd returned to Australia in the late 1970s and settled at
Bundanon.
Boyd represented Australia several times at the Venice Biennale and was the 1995
Australian of the Year. Boyd died in 1999 in Melbourne at the age of 78.
Bundanon, located on the lands of the Wodi Wodi of the Yuin Nation, also includes the
award-winning Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre designed by internationally
acclaimed Australian architect Glenn Murcutt.
The centre is one of Murcutt’s few public buildings and exemplifies his philosophical
approach to architectural design.