Daylesford Convent Gallery

It was a delight to visit Daylesford Convent Gallery for the first time in almost 20 years.  The nineteenth century convent and boarding school building - where my nan went to school - fell into ruin after the Presentation nuns moved out in 1981, after ninety years in the building.  It was bought by artist Tina Banitska who restored the convent building to reopen it as a gallery in 1991.  It is a beautiful example of giving new life to an historic building.  The Convent Gallery is now the pride of Daylesford and draws in many tourists to enjoy wonderful artworks in a magnificent Victorian mansion.  

It was a short walk uphill from our holiday accommodation in Camp Street to the the gallery on the top of Wombat Hill.  I was by myself while Sylvia had a sleep in. As I reached the entrance, I was welcomed by this wooden sculpture  of a man that might well have been the gardener but symbolised so much more about the seamless bringing together of the old and the new, of history and art, and of the gallery and the museum.

While the gallery celebrates the heritage of the nuns, this means both respecting their legacy and having some fun with being in an old convent.  Back when the nuns ran this house, the rules were strictly enforced.  This did not mean there was not space for jokes and laughter.

One of the first pictures I saw was this painting on fabric by Barbara Hauser.  The two elderly woman are brimming with joy and mischief.  So many old girls of the Holy Cross College at the convent might be like this today.  My mum was taught by Presentation nuns so I am well aware of how inspirational these teachers were in educating their students to go into the world with many talents and confidence.  

In fact these two women could well be my nan and  her sister who attended the convent boarding school here in Daylesford.  The picture looks like my picture of them from my youth when they could be seen together gossiping, laughing, smoking and looking their best!

The picture was in this room that used to be the parlour.  This was where the Mother Superior would interview new families and green visitors.  The current use of the room has no pretensions to be accurately present its history but it keeps the spirit of the parlour.  It is an impressive room to welcome guests early in the visit and is a place where groups gather around the table for high tea.

I would love to have a high tea at the Convent but they are pricey at $105 per person and need to be booked in advance.  We had enough to do on this trip but maybe another time.  They do the three tiered plates with savoury bites (there are a few vegetarian ones on the menu) and sweet bakes (I really want to taste the chocolate hazelnut babka) and of course scones and cream.  A mimosa on arrival and tea served in fancy fine bone china.  We saw a few people having high tea and it looked amazing!

I love all the heritage details that have been retained around the house.  For esample, this gorgeous stained glass on the door.  I assume that the door was here when it was a convent because the IHS monogram in the artwork means Jesus.  

My first stop is the museum down the stairs past the painting of Mother John Byrne.  She was the Mother Superior of the first congregation of Presentation nuns who arrived at the Convent in 1891.  

The museum is a small basement room filled with memorabilia and written history.  I was happy to be there alone and have time to read all the stories.  Items on display included an organ, a confessional, a model of the convent, pictures of saints, stories of individual nuns, letters from the nuns and students memories.  It was delightful to see the fondness of the past students for their time at the school.

Then I went upstairs to the galleries.  This room featured Brian Nash's paintings.  He is an artist living in Dayelsford and regularly exhibits at the Convent Gallery.  His painting of scenery and buildings around Victoria are recognisable to me.  Even if I don't know the exact place, it is a landscape I am familial with.

Some of Brian Nash's paintings are easy to instantly recognise.  This one of the convent with the garden archway in bloom was great to see.  This arch was just twigs when we visited but I could see the buds promising many blooms to come.
 

In the hallway is an exhibition by Cecilia Cabalquinto, a Geelong based alternative medium artist, who was born in the Philippines and moved to Australia in 2008.  Her series of ink and watercolour sketches of cafes in Melbourne and the West of Victoria include each cafes coffee in the painting.  The sepia tones reflect the browns of the hallway from the pale cream walls to the dark brown stained wooden bench and Persian rug.  It looks ecclesiastical: a waiting area to sit nervously before seeing Mother Superior.

This is a picture by Cecilia Cabalquinto of the Larder Daylesford.  When I saw it I was not to know that within hours I would be eating lunch in the Larder.  (It was great but I will write more about it in another post.)

Off the hallway was this room with Fionna Madigan artwork.  I really liked her works but was distracted by the view of the cafe over the balcony with the two story high arched windows and a bird's eye view of the people at the tables.

Next was a large room with small rooms off to the side.  More paintings and sculptures.

In one of the small rooms is an exhibition of the school girls: the uniform, class photos, trophies and more stories.

Looking at the photos made me wonder if any of these people knew my nan, or even less likely, if she was in any of the photos.  (I even texted my dad to check if one school class photo was from her year at school but I was about 7 years out!)

The next room was set up like a nun's cell.  I was struck by the simplicity of this tiny room that was more like a box room with a narrow bed, a wash basin and a prayer stand.  This was Sr Fabian's room who taught my mum.  These nuns cells were built in 1902 for nuns who looked after boarders in the junior dormitory.

The chapel, built 1904,  has been restored with original features such as the stained glass windows, the stations of the cross and the pews.  The peace and solemnity of the chapel demonstrates the respect of the Convents past.  

The altar and pews were decorated with flowers that suggested that a wedding was being held around that time.  I wonder how many former students returned here for their wedding.

Religious statues are dotted around the convent.  I like this one of Mary crushing the serpent underfoot.  It is the sort of statue we had in my parish church as a kid.

I continued walking along the building and came to a verandah with an impressive view of Daylesford.  The Catholic Church loves to build on a hill.  They make sure they are never out of your thoughts because every time you look up you see them.

I kept walking through the building through a reception room - set up for wedding - and down winding corridors, with artwork on all the walls.  The convent is a fairytale place for a wedding with the elegant chapel and so many photogenic places.

Finally I made my way up to the former infirmary where nuns who were very sick were nursed.  I had expected an infirmary to be bigger but it is quite narrow.  Surely not many beds would fit in there.  It is the one room that has not been fully restored.  A decision was made to keep it as it was with peeling paint.  It adds to the romance of the place.  Next door is the bell tower. 

I could have spent more time but I had already been there almost 2 hours, much longer than I had planned.  I headed back to our holiday home to meet up with Sylvia to head into town.  
 

The next morning we returned for scones and cream.  returned - no room in the cafe area I had remembered from earlier visits.  I must have eaten there last time because I remember the tall arched windows towering over the tables and chairs.  I'd expected to eat there but we were shown into another room.

The room where we ended up sitting was painted a striking deep blue with autumnal foliage hanging from the ceiling.  The chairs had lacy metal backs and the walls were hung with the cheerful artwork of Barbara Hauser.

We shared a plate of convent scones with jam and cream.  I was a bit disappointed that the cream was not whipped.  My mum always whips cream for scones.  Otherwise they were lovely.  I had a pot of mint tea and Sylvia had an apple juice.  

We had a quick look around the gallery.  Sylvia didn't want to linger but she was keen to head to the gift shop.  As we chatted to the lady at the counter we found out that Helen Goh was talking at the bar.  I wished that I had accidentally stumbled in there.  (Helen Goh and excellent chocolate cake are inextricably linked in my mind.)  But this was our last stop of the holiday and we needed to hit the road.

As we left,  I look at the outdoor tables and thought what a pleasant place it looks to eat.  Everything is presented so beautifully everywhere I look here.

Finally we walked down from the clouds and drove back to our day to day life at home.  I wonder what the nuns would think of this new life for their convent.  I hope they would love it as much I do.

Daylesford Convent Gallery
7 Daly Street Daylesford 3460
https://conventgallery.com.au/

More posts on our Daylesford holiday (more to come):

• Daylesford Accommodation 
• Daylesford Hotel: a grand country pub