Sharing the National Collection at Willunga
National art treasures are gracing the walls of Waverley Park Homestead, putting it on the map for art lovers just two short years after becoming the National Trust of South Australia’s first dedicated gallery, explains Mark Staniforth.
The parliamentary act that established the National Trust of South Australia in 1955 specifically addressed the issue of paintings when it talked about the objectives of organisation including the ‘preservation of furniture and pictures and chattels of national, historic, artistic, or scientific interest’. The National Trust and some of its branches have paintings in their collections, however, unlike other states, South Australia has never had a dedicated National Trust art gallery, until very recently.
In 2022, the Willunga Branch began negotiations with the City of Onkaparinga to lease the vacant heritage-listed Waverley Park Homestead. This resulted in a one-year agreement and now a three-year lease, until 2027. It was decided to use the building for two purposes. Firstly, the branch would collect and display locally-relevant art, primarily depicting heritage buildings and local landscapes. The homestead would also become a community centre where small community groups could hold meetings and activities.
The Willunga Branch was working towards this vision in early 2023, when the Australian Government announced a new Sharing the National Collection initiative so small outer suburban and regional galleries could borrow from the National Gallery of Australia collection of 155,000 artworks held in Canberra. After carefully examining the eligibility criteria, the branch expressed interest in July 2023.
Over the next twelve months negotiations included a visit from curator Leanne Santoro, and identifying issues relating to keeping loaned artworks safe. Where possible, temperature and relative humidity control was rectified and the council (as owners of the building) assisted with improved security. A formal partnership agreement between the National Trust of South Australia and the National Gallery of Australia was finally signed in May 2024.
During negotiations, the branch expressed particular interest in artworks depicting local places, by famous artists who were resident in the area. The first of four oil paintings to arrive on a two-year loan was Kathleen Sauerbier’s Jetty ramp and Howe’s fishing lookout (c. 1935), which was included in the Know My Name: Willunga temporary exhibition when it opened in July 2024. Three more oil paintings arrived in early 2025 – James Cant’s Dry grasses (1959), and Horace Trennery’s Pines, Port Willunga (c.1945) and Road, Aldinga Hill (c.1940).
Like other ‘dangerously modern’ women artists, Sauerbier studied art in London and Europe in the late 1920s. On her return, she fell in love with painting at Port Willunga. In the mid 1930s, she held artist summer camps while staying at the former Seaview Hotel and she encouraged Trenerry to move to Port Willunga in 1934. Trenerry lived in the district for nearly two decades, painting many local landscapes including a series capturing the row of memorial Aleppo pine trees on Port Road, of which Pines, Port Willunga is a particularly fine example.
James Cant and his wife, fellow artist Dora Chapman, regularly visited the Willunga district before purchasing Heysed’s Cottage (Somerset) in 1965 and making it their second home. The sunny and dry landscape of the district inspired Cant to paint close-up views of grasses and bush, resulting in his famous series of ‘grass-scapes’.
Negotiating to be part of the Sharing the National Collection initiative and preparing the gallery involved substantial work by members and volunteers, but it has brought positive results. Visitation to Waverley Park Homestead has significantly increased, including visits and events organised by special interest societies and groups such as ArtsNational Adelaide, ArtsNational Fleurieu, the Victor Harbor Art Society and volunteers from Carrick Hill. Serious lovers of South Australian art have been impressed that a small outer suburban gallery has nationally significant artworks such as these on display and they are making special trips to Willunga to see them. Having important artworks like this has also encouraged some new volunteers, enabling the art gallery to open three afternoons a week.
All four artworks will remain on display for the duration of their loan and the branch has recently applied for an extension so that National Trust members and visitors to the gallery can continue to enjoy them for some time to come.
Plan a visit
Waverley Park Homestead is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, from 1pm to 4pm. For more information email willungaheritageart@gmail.com or visit willungantsa.au/museums/ or follow the branch on Facebook for the latest information about exhibitions and events – facebook.com/WillungaMuseums
Members of the Victor Harbor Art Group visiting the gallery in 2024.
Jetty Ramp and Howe’s fishing lookout, c.1935, oil on canvas by Kathleen Sauerbier (courtesy of the National Gallery of Australia).
Road, Aldinga Hill, c.1940, oil on board by Horace Trennery (courtesy of the National Gallery of Australia)
At the opening of the Sharing the National Collection exhibition at Willunga in February, from left, Waverley Park Homestead manager Mark Staniforth, Tracey Cooper-Lavery from the National Gallery of Australia who heads the initiative, and the Member for Mayor, Rebekha Sharkie (photo by Paddy O’Toole).
