An exhibition of the noted painter of flowers and botanical illustrator , the late Vera Scarth-Johnson, is showing at the Cairns Regional Art Gallery until February 18. It includes her rarely seen floral arrangement paintings, private sketchbooks, early drawings , personal photographs and correspondence with leading botanists and herbariums , including Kew Gardens , London . Her work brings back memories of artist Ellis Rowan (1848-1922), painter of wildflowers, birds and butterflies in their native habitat , from trips in North Australia, New Guinea and the Torres Strait , who contributed to the grand l886 Picturesque Atlas of Australasia , a framed print from which , recued from Cyclone Tracy, hangs near my bed .
Born 1912 at Morley, near Leeds, Yorkshire , Vera , above ,spent some time in Paris, studied art at the Leeds College of Art and St. Albans College of Art . Keen to go on the land, she worked as a model to raise funds for her own farm . Her rich grandfather gave her 2000 pounds to start a piggery and a market garden .
Life took a dramatic turn when she moved to Australia in 1947 , grew tobacco and vegetables near Bundaberg , Queensland, and then sugarcane, said to be the second woman to have a sugar assignment.
Continuing her interest in botany, she drew and sketched Australian wildflowers, often rescuing them from areas about to be levelled by bulldozers and tractors. In l972, aged 60, she moved to Cooktown and spent decades capturing the beauty of the flora of the Endeavour River region , adjoining country , and Pacific islands .
With two friends of the Guugu-Yimithirr tribe, she made trips into the upper reaches of the Endeavour river , locating new species, recording Aboriginal names and uses for the plants.
She donated 140 of her botanical illustrations to the people of Cooktown which resulted in the launch of the Vera Scarth-Johnson Foundation on World Environment Day 1989 with the aim of starting a gallery and interpretative centre to encompass the wonders of the wet tropics and the Great Barrier Reef. Suffering from Parkinson's disease, she died in 1999.
Continuing her interest in botany, she drew and sketched Australian wildflowers, often rescuing them from areas about to be levelled by bulldozers and tractors. In l972, aged 60, she moved to Cooktown and spent decades capturing the beauty of the flora of the Endeavour River region , adjoining country , and Pacific islands .
With two friends of the Guugu-Yimithirr tribe, she made trips into the upper reaches of the Endeavour river , locating new species, recording Aboriginal names and uses for the plants.
She donated 140 of her botanical illustrations to the people of Cooktown which resulted in the launch of the Vera Scarth-Johnson Foundation on World Environment Day 1989 with the aim of starting a gallery and interpretative centre to encompass the wonders of the wet tropics and the Great Barrier Reef. Suffering from Parkinson's disease, she died in 1999.
One report said Vera , who received the Order of Australia for her work , was known for her lively wit , her sense of humour and her uncompromising honesty. Vera would call a spade a spade and was well known for her enjoyment of a "glass of red and a good argument." Photographs by Abra .
