Welcome to the Waverley Arts Society

The Waverley Arts Society, a community of over 200 members, have been meeting to share their ideas, enthusium and inspiration for more then 30 years. We meet on a regular basis, to run work shops and hold exhibitions of works in the Monash region of Melbourne, Australia.

Come along - we offer a range of friendly working groups that you are sure to find engaging and stimulating. The Waverley Arts Society is a very inclusive organisation always ready to welcome new members.

If you are interested in joining, fill out a Waverley Arts Society New Membership Appplication . You will then be contacted by one of the Membership Committee who will be happy to answer all your questions.

The Australian War Memorial in Canberra manages some 1,839 paintings, 4,418 drawings, 358 sketch books, and 68 sculptural works. The number of items on display is significantly less however it is still an impressive sight.

Official war artists have recorded events in all conflicts since Federation and in recent times commissions have been awarded for Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2002 Wendy Sharpe and Rick Amor were commissioned to portray events in the War on Terrorism in the Persian Gulf.

Some notable artists were active for the two World Wars. For the 1914-1918 conflict these included Arthur Streeton, H.Septimus Power, George Lambert, George Bell, and Louis McCubbin. One Streeton landscape depicts The Somme valley near Corbie. It is a substantial work 2.4m (8 feet) wide. H. Septimus Power's work particular suited military action.

The second World War official artists included William Dobell, Donald Friend, Sali Herman, Nora Heysen, William Dargie and the Memorial collection includes notable works by Russell Drysdale. "Soldier" by Drysdale was painted in 1942 in Albury where he was living and depicts a lone soldier waiting at the station for the train to take him to his next posting. William Dargie painted the VC winner Corporal Jim Gordon, a work that gained one of the eight Archibald prizes that Dargie won.

The Anzac Memorial Drive leading the Australian War Memorial is a very special place that rewards a visit in the quiet of first light. Each memorial is quite unique and but they all demonstrate an impressive combination of artistic creativity, architecture, and craftsmanship. Many incorporate unique memorabilia including a Turkish sculpture, rocks from a Korean battlefield, and a memorial stone from Tobruk. The Korean and Vietnam memorials are ones that I particularly seek out with the former depicting three life size figures surrounded by vertical steel bars depicting the fallen.

The Australian War Memorial itself has a sculpture garden of smaller scale works with a recent edition being a bronze statue of Weary Dunlop. It joins the Gallipoli hero Simpson and his donkey Duffy whose nose has been polished by the hands of a myriad of visiting children.

While the Australian National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery are reasons enough to visit Canberra the Australian War Memorial and Anzac Memorial Drive are equally significant. For more details and a wealth of additional interest visit http://www.awm.gov.au/

Paul Brooker