Ralph Illidge Sanctuary Art Exhibition

My work has been exhibited from the 23rd to the 30th of January 2021 in a group wildlife show at the Ralph Illidge Sanctuary, Victoria, Australia. It is an exhibition to raise funds to keep the great work going that is happening at the sanctuary. Here is one of my prints in the show. It is a Powerful Owl. I also exhibited New Holland Honeyeaters, Rainbow Lorikeet, and a Wattlebird coloured linocut prints.

Powerful owl

Here is a 360 view of the exhibition.

This is a video of local artist Jenny Arms talking about the artwork.

Glen Watson Photography made all the videos. In this one Adam Merrick, Trust for Nature Wildlife Officer is talking about the Sanctuary.

Ralph Illidge, a photographer from Warrnambool, acquired the 40ha property, now named after him in 1958. In 1975, to make sure that the property remained in its natural state, he donated the property (Bimbimbi, which is Aboriginal for “place of many birds”) to the former Victorian Conservation Trust (now Trust for Nature).

Ralph Illidge passed away on 11 April 1975. It is the hope of the Trust that, through this Sanctuary, visitors will come to understand the foresight of the man who made it possible. Ralph Illidge Sanctuary contains, in addition to the native flora of the area, such rare wildlife species as the Long-nosed Potoroo, the Powerful Owl, the Rufous Bristlebird, and the White Goshawk. The Trust acquired a further 51 hectares (north of the Warrnambool-Cobden Road) in June 1987 which was added to the Sanctuary. The funds were raised by the Warrnambool Nature Reserves Society with contributions from foundations and the State Government.

The Illidge home was destroyed Ash Wednesday 1983. The Sanctuary was severely burnt during the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983. The fire demolished the original house and outbuildings and severely damaged the native bush and vegetation. As we see now, the forest regenerated and again became a sanctuary for wildlife.