Many of Australia’s early white settlers found it hard to appreciate the beauty of their new country. To them the bush was strange and harsh, and they longed for the lush, green countryside of England. The great painter Hans Heysen was also an immigrant, but he loved the Australian landscape. He was particularly taken with gum trees and spent years studying and painting them. He would stand for hours observing the mottled sunlight on trunks and foliage, the play of light and shadow along the branches, and the ribbons of loose bark rattling in the wind. Through his vision and his work, generations of Australians have grown to love gum trees just as he did.
History
Heysen was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1877, and arrived in South Australia six years later with his family. He started painting as a boy, and sold his first watercolour for ten shillings when he was fifteen. Years of painting, study overseas and teaching followed. In 1908 Heysen settled at Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, where he lived for the rest of his life. He received many prizes, honours and tributes, including a knighthood. He is represented in galleries throughout Australia, and in private collections all over the world.
The property
The Cedars was built in the1860s and originally stood on 14 hectares (35 acres). To save the trees Heysen bought out his neighbours and extended the property to 60 hectares (150 acres). He was an early conservationist, and paid the local landowners and the council not to cut down trees. The Heysen family protects and maintains the home in which Hans lived until his death in 1968. However, they still allow visitors to “take a step back in time” and hopefully gain an insight into the life of one of our most gifted artists. Visitors can stand in the places where Heysen painted some of his most famous works, and see the trees that he tried so hard to preserve. They can look through the family home and also the studio, which was built about 1913 and still remains just as Heysen left it.
Further information
The Cedars, Heysen Road, Hahndorf, SA. is open to visitors from 10am – 4pm Sundays to Fridays (closed Saturdays). Phone: (08) 8388 7277.
Entrance fees:
Guided tour of the garden and studio – adults $4, concessions $3
Guided tour of the house, garden and studio – adults $7, concessions $5
Children under 14 free.