Wednesday, 13 November 2024

McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery

Paul MERCURIO (Hastings) (19:16): (928) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Housing in the other place. The action I seek is for the minister to come down to my electorate to meet with Lisa Byrne, the CEO of the fabulous McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery in Langwarrin. The gallery opened in 1971 and features the first bespoke modernist gallery designed by architects Munro and Sargent, to be built in what was then considered to be regional Victoria. However, McClelland’s natural bushland and park setting is the legacy of talented and artistic brother and sister Harry and Annie May McClelland, whose family settled in the Frankston district in 1912.

The McClelland family became the centre for a Bohemian brood of creative personalities drawn from all strata of Victoria’s social life, including Sir Daryl Lindsay, Percy Leason and WB McInnes. Harry was an artist and philanthropist, and his sister Annie May, a poet and entrepreneur who hosted the first children’s radio program on the ABC. The land on which McClelland is situated was originally the site of Harry’s painting studio and was known as Studio Park. Annie May bequeathed the land and the holdings of her estate to honour her brother’s memory by establishing the Harry McClelland Art Gallery and cultural hall. Harry’s studio is still to be found on the grounds.

It is an absolutely wonderful space to visit, walk around the gardens and look at the amazing sculptures scattered around the place, and of course go inside to the different in-house exhibitions or have a great coffee or meal at Harry’s Cafe. It is a truly unique gallery based in the heart of Langwarrin. They have some terrific plans for building a sustainable future for art and culture in my electorate, which I would like to share with the minister. I look forward to the minister’s visit.