Fleurieu

Monday 17 February 2025
KATHLEEN SAUERBIER AND DORA CHAPMAN: Artists Who Recorded South Australia’s Past
Presented by Mark Staniforth
Venue & Time: The Gospel Centre, 2 George Main Road, Victor Harbor. 10:30 am

Kathleen Sauerbier and Dora Chapman were important artists who lived and painted in the Willunga area. Both painted with a sense of the past and a sense of place and so contributed to recording our past in beautiful works of art.

Professor Staniforth’s academic career was at Flinders University. Since retiring he has taken on the role of manager of the National Trust’s Waverley Park Homestead at Willunga.

Monday 24 March 2025
GEORGE STUBBS (1724-1806): The English Leonardo
Presented by Christopher Garibaldi 
Venue & Time: The Gospel Centre, 2 George Main Road, Victor Harbor. 10:30 am

Many art historians and critics have compared the work of George Stubbs to Leonardo da Vinci due to his intense scientific method and investigation that lay behind the production of his world-famous Anatomy of the Horse published in 1766 – a work which revolutionised the understanding and depiction of equine subjects. This lecture looks at the life and work of England’s greatest animal painter, putting Stubbs in the context of British sporting artists of the eighteenth century more generally. It focusses on his depiction of equestrian subjects and also, looks at the broader themes he addressed.

Christopher Garibaldi is an independent researcher. He has held the positions of Director of Palace House, Newmarket National Horseracing Museum, Co-Director of the Attingham Summer School – Study of Historic Houses and Collections, and Senior Curator & Assistant Keeper of Art (Decorative Art) at Norwich Castle Museum. Christopher has catalogued the silver in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and other royal residences.

Monday 26 May 2025
GILBERT AND SULLIVAN, THEIR TOPSY-TURVY WORLD
Presented by Jamie Hayes
Venue & Time: The Gospel Centre, 2 George Main Road, Victor Harbor. 10:30 am

The story of two remarkable Victorians and the birth of English comic opera. Their quarter of a century long partnership began in 1871, when the pair were brought together by the remarkably entrepreneurial theatre manager Richard D’Oyly Carte, with whom they collaborated on fourteen unique comic operas.  Perhaps best known for The Mikado, H.M.S Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and Iolanthe, their satirical brilliance can still inspire and impress today. Enjoy the bouquets and brickbats as well as their extraordinary popularity and fame. Their success was unprecedented in the history of music theatre and their creativity inspired the likes of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Their legacy not only inspired amateur companies to flourish but also left London with three great theatres and three world famous hotels. 

After training at RADA, Jamie Hayes graduated as a Stage Manager and worked for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Bristol Old Vic and the BBC. He became an Assistant Director with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Kent Opera and English National Opera. He has directed productions in all the major UK conservatoires and was Director of Productions for British Youth Opera, a company devoted to promoting the talents of the finest young opera singers in the UK. 

Monday 23 June 2025
MODERNIST ADELAIDE: An architectural Revolution
Presented by Stuart Symons
Venue & Time: The Gospel Centre, 2 George Main Road, Victor Harbor. 10:30 am

Stuart will discuss the rapid transformation of our culture and communities in post war Adelaide. Through a stunning presentation of Adelaide’s modernist heritage, Stuart will share his favourite buildings and introduce those who designed and built them, exploring what they can tell us about ourselves today.

Stuart Symons is the author of Modernist Adelaide: 100 buildings 1940s -1970s. He has hosted award winning architectural tours and events. Stuart is a member of the Society of Architectural Historians and Docomomo Australia.

Monday 28 July 2025
REMBRANDT’S VISION: Dutch History Painting in the 17th Century
Presented by Sophie Oosterwijk
Venue & Time: The Gospel Centre, 2 George Main Road, Victor Harbor. 10:30 am

‘History painting’ was a special genre for a distinct clientele in the Dutch Republic. It depicted stories from especially the Bible and Antiquity with the aim of moving the viewer. However, it could also provide an excuse for depicting the female nude. Trained in history painting by Pieter Lastman, Rembrandt gradually developed his own interpretations of such stories as Bathsheba and David or Susanna and the Elders with greater emphasis on inner conflict and personal drama. His visions can still move or disturb us in ways quite different from depictions of the same stories by his contemporaries. 

Born in Gouda (Netherlands), Sophie Oisterwijk has an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden), an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester). She has taught at the universities of St Andrews, Leicester and Manchester, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, National Trust, V&A, U3A, WEA and other organisations, and organised many study days, tours and visits. Sophie is also a regular lecturer for Cambridge University and various travel companies, and is Vice President of the Church Monuments Society. In addition, Sophie has published three books and numerous articles. 

Image: Rembrandt van Rijn, Susanna 1636 detail, Mauritshuis, NL 

Monday 25 August 2025
THE GOLDEN ROAD TO SAMARKAND: The Architecture, Art and Textiles of Uzbekistan
Presented by Chris Aslan
Venue & Time: The Gospel Centre, 2 George Main Road, Victor Harbor. 10:30 am

Uzbekistan in the heart of Central Asia boasts glittering mosques, madrassahs and minarets in the Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. These contrast wonderfully with the brutalist Soviet buildings of Tashkent, Urgench and Nukus. This lecture is an overview of the country. We explore the Savitsky Museum in Nukus, with the second largest collection of Russian Avante Garde Art, collected at a time when these artistic styles were banned by the state. We explore the revival of Islamic miniature painting and the resurgence of handicrafts all over the country that ceased during the 1930s and the Soviet drive to make everything factory-based.

Chris Aslan was born in Turkey spent his childhood there and in war-torn Beirut. After school, Chris spent two years at sea before studying Media and journalism at Leicester University. He then moved to Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan, establishing a UNESCO workshop reviving fifteenth century carpet designs and embroideries, and becoming the largest non-government employer in town.

Monday 29 September 2025
THE MISTRESS OF MENACE AND THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE
Presented by John Francis
Venue & Time: The Gospel Centre, 2 George Main Road, Victor Harbor. 10:30 am

Daphne Du Maurier and Alfred Hitchcock had much in common. Du Maurier is sometimes described as a romantic novelist but this is completely misleading. Like Hitchcock, she dealt with themes of loneliness, gender, fear, suspense and gothic imagery. In their work they built compelling and complex emotional landscapes for their characters. Although they never met, the pair produced three key cultural landmarks of the 20th century in Jamaica Inn, Rebecca and The Birds. In this lecture we will explore Hitchcock’s, The Birds (1963). We will closely unpack some of the essential scenes in the film and look at the masterful techniques.

John Francis has delivered lecturers and workshops internationally. Initially trained as a painter, John was awarded the Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship in painting in Brooklyn, New York and went on to be artist in residence for the state of Texas. John has produced and directed several short films and animations.

Monday 27 October 2025
INFLUENTIAL QUEENS OF EGYPT
Presented by Eileen Goulding
Venue & Time: The Gospel Centre, 2 George Main Road, Victor Harbor. 10:30 am

Throughout the ancient history of Egypt, its queens made a difference to the lives and fortunes of the country and its kings. For us, looking back down the millennia, they remain quite mysterious figures, always walking in the shadow of their husband, the pharaoh. This lecture identifies the women who were a real influence on society, the real powers behind the throne, the queen who was portrayed as a man, and the most beautiful and best loved of all the queens. It also examines the turbulent life and loves of Cleopatra, the last Queen of Egypt. 

Eileen Goulding has an MA from the Department of Archaeology at the University of London, is a published author and an authority on the ancient cultures of the world. She specialises in the History and Culture of the ancient worlds of the Mediterranean, South America and Australasia and spends her time doing further research and giving lectures.