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'The Interpreted Landscape' – online exhibition

The landscape within Kew, Boroondara and Victoria has evolved through natural progress and human intervention. This transformation has been documented from European settlement, exploration and occupation.

'The Interpreted Landscape' explores the history of Kew through the eyes of cartographers, artists and photographers, working between 1830 and 1950. These representations of the local landscape have since been used and interpreted for various purposes. This exhibition features works from the Kew Historical Society Collection, including rare and historically significant maps, original oil paintings, watercolours and pastels, and a series of silver albumen photographs.

The Kew Historical Society is one of Melbourne's oldest suburb-based historical societies. Formed in 1958, the Society works with organisations in Kew and Boroondara to profile and generate interest in our local history and heritage.

Image credit: W Nicholls Anderson, detail from ‘Adeney Avenue’, 1906, framed oil on canvas, 30 x 22cm, image courtesy of Kew Historical Society. Photography by Christian Capurro. 
Framed artwork of a landscape with trees and hills
George Bouchier Richardson, ‘Old Creek and Watering Stage on the Yarra, East Collingwood’, 1854, sepia wash and ink on artists paper, 18 x 23cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society. Photography by Christian Capurro.
Framed painting of a river with trees on either side
Herbert James Woodhouse, ‘River Yarra Near Dight's Falls’, c.1891, oil on board, 60 x 44cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society. Photography by Christian Capurro.
Painting of a landscape with a path surrounded by bushes and greenery
Caroline Ethel B Bell, 'Entrance to the Boroondara Cemetery’, c.1892, pastel on artist’s paper, 26 x 34cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Framed painting of a landscape showing a house overlooking fields and trees
Anonymous, ‘Panoramic view from Park Street’, c.1896, oil on canvas, 26.5 x 37cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society. Photography by Christian Capurro.
Framed painting of a landscape with houses surrounded by fields and trees
W Nicholls Anderson, ‘Adeney Avenue’, 1913, oil on canvas, 30 x 22cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society. Photography by Christian Capurro.
Framed painting of a green landscape of fields which borders on the start of a city
V. Maloney, ‘Abbotsford and Studley Park from the garden of Rockingham’, 1952, oil on board, 28 x 47.5cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society. Photography by Christian Capurro.
Map showing the Melbourne area before it was founded in 1837 with open area alongside the river other than a few yellow squares showing buildings or huts
Robert Russell, ‘Map Shewing the Site of Melbourne and the Position of the Huts & Buildings Previous to the Foundation of the Township by Sir Richard Bourke in 1837’, c.1837, lithograph with later watercolour on paper, 47.5 x 64.5cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society. Photography by Christian Capurro.
Map showing Kew in 1875 with the river bordering the suburb and main roads marked
Jesse Dannock, ‘Back to Kew 1875’, c.1931, coloured wash and ink with later additions, 63 x 99cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Map showing Kew in 1910 with the river bordering the suburb, main roads, and residential areas
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, ‘Town of Kew: Scale 400 feet to 1 inch’, c.1910, ink on paper with linen backing, 83 x 122cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Map of Heidelberg and Kew showing the Yarra River between the two suburbs which were unpopulated areas
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, ‘Plan No.117 Heidelberg and Kew: Scale 160 feet to 1 inch’, 1907, ink on paper with linen backing, 78 x 132cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Map showing Kew and Collingwood areas alongside the Yarra River in 1925 with road and unoccupied areas marked
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, ‘River Yarra Beautification Schemes: Scale 10 chains to an inch’, 1925, ink on paper, 77 x 101cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Map of Kew in 1904 showing an area with 4 main roads and large buildings marked
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, ‘Borough of Kew Detail Plan No.1582: Scale 40 feet to an inch’, 1904, watercolour and ink on paper with linen backing, 77 x 127cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo of a flowing river with overhanging trees
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Yarra River at Kew’, 1925, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 34cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo of a landscape with some open fields alongside a populated area with buildings
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Kew Asylum’, c.1927, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 26cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo of a still river framed by trees and a building on a hill in the background
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Raheen’, c.1925, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 34cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Old and worn photo of pipes bridged across a river
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Pipe Bridge’, c.1926, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 34cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo of a river with a low waterfall spanning the width and trees surrounding
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Dight's Falls’, c.1924, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 34cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo of a bridge spanning a wide river
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Yarra River at the Zig-Zag Bridge’, 1924, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 36cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo of a broken wooden bridge high over a river
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Destruction of the Zig-Zag Bridge’, 1929, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 34cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo looking down on a river and landscape from a hill industrial buildings on the skyline
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Yarra River at Abbotsford’, c.1924, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 34cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo of a docking area on a river with a person rowing a boat and people sitting by the river
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Macaulay's Boat Sheds’, 1924, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 34cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.
Photo of two people in a canoe on water with people on the riverbank watching in the background
Henry Beater Christian, ‘Kew Canoe Carnival’, c.1928, gelatin silver positive, 20 x 35cm, courtesy of Kew Historical Society.

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