Everything about The Convent Gallery totally explained
The
Convent Gallery is located in the
Spa region of
Daylesford, in Central
Victoria,
Australia.
The Convent Gallery's origins date back to the
1860s gold rush, home to the Gold Commissioner, and then known as 'Blarney Castle'. The
Catholic Church purchased the building in the
1880s for its
presbytery, where it was home to the
priest for ten years.
In
1891 Archbishop Thomas Joseph Carr of
Melbourne envisioned a "source of light and edification" for the Central Victorian community of
Daylesford, Victoria. In
1892,the building was deemed appropriate for
nuns and boarders and the Holy Cross
Convent and
boarding school for girls was opened. It was the first
Victorian establishment outside of Melbourne by the
Presentation Sisters. In
1904 the new
chapel was completed and in
1927 the parlor, dormitory and music rooms were added.
The convent lacked adequate heating and required a large amount of upkeep, inside and out. In the
1970s it was decided that more suitable accommodation should be found for the nuns. The school was closed and at the suggestion of the head nun Sister Mary Agatha Murphy, the building was presented to the community of Daylesford in
1975 for its use as a
Community Center for arts and education under the direction of a Committee of Management. By the end of
1977, 28 local groups were using it every week with an average weekly attendance of 250 people. It was sold in
1988, needing a great deal of repair and restoration. It was sold to Tina Banitska, a well-known local
artist and
ceramicist.
The building retains many of its Victorian architectural features, and is located on the slope of Wombat Hill overlooking the Central Highlands twin towns of
Daylesford and
Hepburn Springs.
The Convent now houses eight individual galleries, featuring new local and international artists every 8 weeks, the original restored chapel, a museum with the history of the building set up by the nuns themselves, retail selling one-off clothing and jewelery pieces, pottery, local wines and produce, a Mediterranean style cafe`, New York style penthouse apartment, two glass fronted architecturally designed function rooms, Daylesford's first world class wine bar, breathtaking views and six acres of picturesque gardens.
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