Last night I went to the opening of the Albury Delightfully Deco exhibition showing at two sites, the Art Gallery and the Library/Museum, in the NSW city of Albury.
The curator, Tracey Judd Iva, has done a fantastic job to bring together so many diverse Art Deco objects. Radios from a private collection in Sydney, clothes and jewellery from a private collection in Melbourne, cameras and all manner of items from local Albury collections including the AlburyCity Collection.
The highlight is undoubtedly the 1936 Cord (pictured above). I don't recall how few Cords were built or what the miniscule number that reached Australia is but the answer is not very many. The ABC filmed the car driving into the museum for this exhibition.
The exhibition also includes 4 motorbikes, all from local collections. A 1922 Hercules, 1922 GCS Super Sports, 1931 Raleigh and a 1927 Indian Scout.
A dedicated section of the museum deals with the incredible story of the KLM plane, the Uiver, and its link with Albury during the 1934, Macpherson Robinson funded, London to Melbourne air race. Rare KLM tickets and other mememorabilia relating to the Uiver was recently donated to the AlburyCity Collection by the Domenie Family descendants of Roelof Jan Domenie one of the passengers on that Uiver flight.
I especialy liked the works by women modernist artists including Theo Proctor, Ethel Spowers and Eveline Syme. There are also photographs by Max Dupain, travel posters by James Northfield and bookplates by Napier & Christian Waller.
The exhibition is free and runs until Sunday 9th October with a full program of supporting workshops and events including the lighting of several significant Albury deco buildings like the T & G Building pictured below.
This accommodation block in Laverton dates from 1935.
It is the centre block of three and it has more elaborate entrance than the other two.
Reference:
Victorian Heritage Database
This fabulous Art Deco house is in Ararat.
It is a wonderful arrangement of coloured bricks and cream rendered sections topped off with a stunning deco porch. The low wall is simple and stylish and allows the beautiful house to been seen by passing foot and car traffic. A strip of garden outside the wall beside the footpath gives passers-by another reason to linger and enjoy this lovely property.
I think I caught this place at a wonderful time of year with the Autumn colours of the specimen tree in the front garden contrasting against the tall native Australian trees behind the house.
RAAF Memorial, unveiled by the Govenor General of Australia, 30th October 1938.
I really like the amazing series of cantilevered canopies on this Firestone Service Station in Miami. Funtionally, only one is required I think all four look sensational.
The residential areas of Asmara has many buildings like this one. Modernist boxes reaching to various heights with little or no decoration. A thin line around the roof line and a single shade eyebrow encircling the entire building above the upper storey windows.
MELBOURNE ART DECO
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