I managed a trip from home just before Victoria’s 6th lockdown.

I took myself for a drive the day before yesterday as I was sick of being stuck at home and needed a change of scenery.

I set off not really with any plan as to where I would go but ended up heading to Maffra which is a country town nearby, probably best known for its cheese.  I did a wander down the main street and visited a little bookshop there and did my bit for the local economy by buying a few books.  I will tell you about them in another post.

After visiting Maffra I then drove to Sale which used to be a bustling inland port in Victoria.  We have driven through Sale many times over the years and if we have stopped it is usually to visit a restaurant or cafe or on the occasional visit to the Optus shop where my husband does business regarding his phone or the house WIFI.

This time, because I was on my own, I decided I wanted to visit the art gallery and enjoy the serenity of such a place.

The exterior of the building is not really inviting but once inside it is a joy.

The first section I viewed was  the Wall of Fame by Annemieke Mein.

 ‘The Wall of Fame’ was commissioned by the former City of Sale in 1984 for the Sale Pedestrian Mall.

“The six bronzes each depict a realistic portrait of a notable Gippslander.  The subjects chosen were:

Mary Grant BRUCE (1878-1958)
Allan McLEAN (1840-1911)
Alfred William HOWITT (1830-1908)
Angus McMILLAN (1810-1865)
Nehemiah GUTHRIDGE (1808-1878)
Ada CROSSLEY (1871-1929)
Research into the individuals was done entirely by Annemieke with assistance from Peter Synan remaining family members of those portrayed the Grainger Museum Sale Historical Society the Port Albert Maritime Museum the Gippsland Times Sale Library and the Maffra Department of Agriculture.

Each design is a complete individual being specifically based on the person portrayed through their lifestyle, career, vocation, interests, ideas, achievements or inspiration.”

You can read about each of the subjects in the Wall of Fame link above.

There has been some controversy in recent years of the lauding of early explorers despite their ill treatment and killing of Aboriginal tribes and I found it interesting that this was mentioned back in 1984 when the bronze casts were made.

I then wandered through the rest of the gallery and found many exhibits I really liked.

A view of Metung.

I loved the way the forest floor was shown as fabric. (I was unable to eliminate the window reflection.)

This one I liked because of the craft skills involved in making each of the components in the picture.

I liked both of these Albert Tucker paintings.

Images by Albert Tucker I had seen previously many years ago in the War Memorial in Canberra and the subject matter was disturbing.

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My trip in the car had been enjoyable and I had appreciated the change of scenery and some brain stimulation.