Kathleen Shillam in Plaka, Greece, 1961
Leonard and Kathleen Shillam were Australian sculptors, whose works are widely displayed in Queensland. [1] [2] [3]
Leonard and Kathleen Shillam were Australian sculptors, whose works are widely displayed in Queensland. [1] [2] [3]
Leonard George Shillam AM (born 15 August 1915 in Brisbane, Queensland - died 1 September 2005), was a founding member of both the Queensland Society of Sculptors and the Queensland Wildlife Artists Society. He attended Brisbane Grammar School (1928–30) and studied under Martyn Roberts at the Central Technical College, Brisbane (1931–33). He was awarded the Godfrey Rivers Medal in 1934. From 1934 to 1936 he was employed as a designer in a silk screen poster studio. [4] In 1938 he received a Carnegie Institute Grant, which enabled him to study life modelling at the Westminster School, London. With the declaration of war (in 1939) he returned to Brisbane. [5]
Kathleen Shillam (née O'Neill) AM (born 25 May 1916 in England - died 20 September 2002 in Australia). Kathleen was born at Paignton, Devon, arriving in Australia in 1927. She attended the Girls Grammar School, Brisbane (1930–31) and the Central Technical College, Brisbane (1932–33). She was awarded the Godfrey Rivers Medal in 1933. From 1934 to 1938 she was employed as a part-time commercial artist. [4] In 1938 she moved to Sydney and spent much time in 1939 drawing animals at Sydney's Taronga Park Zoo. She returned to Brisbane in December 1939. [5] [6]
Leonard Shillam and Kathleen O'Neill met at the Central Technical College, Brisbane, in 1932. They first exhibited at the First Annual Exhibition of work executed by art students of the Central Technical College in November of that year. [4] Along with Francis Lymburner and Will Smith, in 1935 they formed the nucleus of a small studio group to draw at the Victory Chambers, Adelaide Street, Brisbane. [7]
In 1939, they both returned to Brisbane, and from 1941 to 1950 they earned a livelihood as poultry farmers. [5]
They were married on 1 September 1942 at the Brisbane Registry Office. [8] [9]
In 1980, they set up a bronze casting foundry in their studio and until 1987 cast all their own smaller scaled works. [10] On 21 March 1987 they were involved in a serious car accident that permanently affected the health of both. [11]
In 1956 Len Shillam was commissioned to create a water fountain feature for the pool of Lennon's Hotel at Broadbeach (the first large hotel on the Gold Coast). He created a life-size sculpture of a seal with its pup ('Seal and Pup') in polished terrazzo which became a local icon. After the demolition of the hotel in 1987, the sculpture was relocated to the nearby Sakura Japanese Gardens restaurant. [12] It soon disappeared before being found at that bottom of a canal near the casino. After it was retrieved by Conrad Jupiters Casino and Bond University, it was restored and donated to the National Trust of Australia. In 2004, it was placed at the entrance of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, a short distance from the former Lennon's Hotel, where it remains today. Seal and Pup is listed on the Gold Coast Local Heritage Register. [13] [14]
In 1976, they were awarded life membership of the Society of Sculptors, Queensland. [15]
On 26 January 1986, they were appointed Members of the Order of Australia. [16] [17]
In December 2000, they were awarded Honorary Doctorates of Philosophy for services to the arts, notably sculpture, from the University of Queensland. [18] [19]
The Gold Coast, often referred to by its initials G.C., is the second-largest city of Queensland, Australia, after Brisbane. It is Australia's sixth-largest city, the most populous non-capital city, and the state's after Brisbane, with a population over 600,000. The Gold Coast is a coastal city and region located approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the centre of the state capital, Brisbane. The city's central business district is located roughly in the centre of the Gold Coast in the suburb of Southport. The urban area of the Gold Coast is concentrated along the coast, sprawling almost 60 kilometres, joining up with the Greater Brisbane metropolitan region to the north and to the state border with New South Wales to the south. Nicknames of the city include the ‘Glitter Strip’ and the ‘Goldy’. The demonym of a Gold Coast resident is Gold Coaster.
Gold Coast Airport is a domestic and international Australian airport located at the southern end of the Gold Coast and approximately 90 km (56 mi) south of Brisbane, within the South East Queensland agglomeration. The entrance to the airport is situated in the suburb of Bilinga near Coolangatta. The main runway itself cuts through the state borders of Queensland and New South Wales. During summer, these states are in two different time zones. The Gold Coast Airport operates on Queensland Time.
Susan O'Neill, is an Australian former competitive swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career.
Oodgeroo Noonuccal ( UUD-gə-roo NOO-nə-kəl; born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, later Kath Walker was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, artist and educator, who campaigned for Aboriginal rights. Noonuccal was best known for her poetry, and was the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse.
Broadbeach is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Broadbeach had a population of 6,786 people.
Salisbury railway station is located on the Beenleigh Line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Salisbury. The station opened in 1885 at the same time as the line.
The Pacific Motorway is a motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and Brunswick Heads, New South Wales, through the New South Wales–Queensland border at Tweed Heads.
The Queensland Museum Kurilpa is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist museums located in North Ipswich in Ipswich, East Toowoomba in Toowoomba, and in Townsville City in Townsville.
Old State Library Building is a heritage-listed former library building at 159 William Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the former Queensland Museum. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The Star Gold Coast is a casino and hotel located in the suburb of Broadbeach on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. The casino, which was Queensland's first, is situated next to the Nerang River and is operated by Star Entertainment Group. It opened in November 1985 as Conrad Jupiters. In 2017 it was rebranded as The Star, Gold Coast.
Bradley Meyers, also known by the nicknames of "Big Red", or "Two Step", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian national representative forward, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast Titans, and in the Super League for the Bradford Bulls, with whom he won 2005's Super League X Championship.
The South Coast railway line was a railway from Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia. The route via the South Coast to Tweed Heads on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. The line operated from 1889 to 1964. The Gold Coast railway line re-opened in 1996 along a modified alignment in the north and a new route south but does not extend as far south yet as the South Coast line.
Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the oldest secondary boys school in Brisbane. Some of the Brisbane Grammar School Buildings are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Hugh David Sawrey, was an Australian artist and the founder of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, Longreach. Sawrey was an artist whose prolific output of paintings, and drawings of the Australian landscape and its people contributed in a profound way to the preserving of the memory of times and places in Australian history that were in danger of being overlooked and lost to posterity. Throughout his long career, he experienced firsthand events that shaped Australian identity in the 20th century and documented through his work many of the characters that lived in this period.
Lilian Daphne Mayo was an Australian artist, most prominently known for her work in sculpture, particularly the tympanum of Brisbane City Hall and the Women's War Memorial in ANZAC Square.
The United Australia Party (UAP), formerly known as Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the Palmer United Party (PUP), is an Australian political party formed by mining magnate Clive Palmer in April 2013. The party was deregistered by the Australian Electoral Commission in 2017, revived and re-registered in 2018, and voluntarily deregistered in 2022. The party fielded candidates in all 150 House of Representatives seats at the 2013 federal election. Palmer, the party's leader, was elected to the Division of Fairfax and it reached a peak of three senators following the rerun of the Western Australian senate election in 2014. When the party was revived under its original name in 2018, it was represented by ex-One Nation senator Brian Burston in the federal parliament.
Kathleen Mary Smith was an Australian cricketer. Smith played six Test matches for the Australia national women's cricket team.
The Half Dozen Group of Artists is an art society based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Established in 1941, the group encourages the development of local artists and holds an annual exhibition in Brisbane.
The Star Entertainment Group Limited is an Australian gambling and entertainment company. The company was formerly known as Echo Entertainment.
Media related to Leonard and Kathleen Shillam at Wikimedia Commons