Lawrence Daws, Ian Fairweather at Daws’ home in Owl Creek, Christmas 1972. Gelatin silver photograph. © Lawrence Daws.
Above: Unknown photographer, Queensland newspapers, Ian Fairweather and Phil Balmer outside the new house, 1971. Gelatin silver photograph. Courtesy QAGOMA Research Library, Brisbane. Previous spread: Unknown photographer, Ian Fairweather’s house and studio and outhouse in a grove of Bribie pines, undated. Courtesy QAGOMA Research Library, Brisbane.
Letter (two pages), Ian Fairweather to Ian Alister Fairweather, [December 1973], written in red and purple Texta pen with doodle drawing on a stain of a fish on a plate. Fairweather collection. © Ian Fairweather / DACS. Copyright Agency, 2019. Letter 344.
1 FEBRUARY 1970 – FEBRUARY/MARCH 1974
IN AN ABC Television profile, Fairweather drew attention to the presence of rats caused, he said, by the council dump not far from his encampment on Bribie Island. This stray remark focused attention on his living situation and caused a furore. Amid the unwanted publicity, Fairweather collapsed and was found by his friend Alroy Fleming, the local taxi driver. Fairweather was hospitalised in Brisbane with dehydration. Increasingly frail, he refused to go into a convalescent home. A council inspection determined that his dwelling was substandard.
The threat of eviction prompted Macquarie Galleries and friends to have a modest home designed and built near the decrepit huts. After lengthy delays, water and electricity were connected. While the amenities were welcome, they came too late for the eighty-year-old artist. He was no longer able to paint. With the resolution of his tax problems, though, Fairweather found he had more money than he thought and was consoled by the prospect of a possible relocation from Bribie Island. In the year before his death he was presented with the International Cooperation Art Award, bestowed on him by fellow Australian artists, for which he was deeply appreciative.
His last letters are to nieces and nephews, to whom he confided that the path of an artist was a ‘terribly lonely way of life’. He had pursued that path with remarkable tenacity and single-mindedness. On 20 May 1974 Fairweather died of heart failure, having been admitted to the Royal Brisbane Hospital the day before. He was eighty-three.
302. To Rosemary Waters
Dear Rosy Mary– I was sure I had written you–but you say I didn’t–I do hope things are a bit better with you–I do wish I could give you some of the sun we have here–I could well do with the half of it–
It has been a broiling Xmas–Cyclone up north–destroyed most of the tourist places on the islands–We didn’t get the wind–only the heat and the thunder–it was wilting!–Interested to hear of the young doctor from Melbourne you have met–I have heard a lot about the Art Centre there1–I was in town about Xmas time and our skyline is changing since I last saw it–skyscrapers going up–and what was once our town square–now dug out several storeys down–to make room for cars underground–New picture galleries–cinemas and Theosophical Society–Where I hear they have some interesting lectures, Krishna Murti2 and others–visitors–Alas it is harder than ever to get into town–Our busline has sold out to outsiders who give us small consideration–and of course the legs are not improving–However–Sing Hey Ho–we are entering the age of Saggitarius–Who knows?
Do you know the hour when you were born–Have seen a nice book on Astrology–(MacNiece) Tells how to make horoscope3 When and if I get it I will tell you yours–
Yrs Ian–
1 The Victorian Arts Centre, designed by Roy Grounds.
2 The Brisbane Theosophical Society at 355 Wickham Terrace. Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-born speaker and writer on philosophical and spiritual subjects, visited Australia on six occasions, including in 1970.
3 Frederick MacNeice, Astrology (1964).
303. To Treania Bennett
Dear Mrs Bennett– One weekend at last–the first in more than a year when I have not been plagued by visitors–Who they are, why they should come and how they find this place I dont know–because it is now so overgrown that I have difficulty sometimes in finding the path–Someone, not a friend–must direct them–I am thankful to hear the paintings arrived and though crude–they are finished and had, I felt something in them–I would not have sent them otherwise–I left out titles and signatures–which in the past have been so often disregarded or changed–that I thought them a waste of time–I was thankful too for the cheque–The news has not been so good–
The Pole who stole my paintings–has returned I hear, to the island–from London–he is married again and now calls himself a doctor!–Also–Mrs Stuckey his associate who paid you a visit is back–looking for a house on the island–Excuse the writing I have had an accident with a lamp–burnt my arm of course this is not the doctors week So nothing can be done–Hoping for the best and glad to hear you are well again–Best regards
Yrs Ian Fairweather
304. To Treania Bennett
Dear Mrs Bennett– Thank you for writing–re studio–I fear I put you to much trouble–Please excuse–
Very cold here and very tempted to move–
But somebody else’s studio?–Could I make a mess in it?–and if I didn’t would I not be very uncomfortable–? Also, I have intimations–of possibilities–I have hope!–at the moment–and feel it is not the time to walk out on it–
With water and electricity so near–it is exasperating to have neither–I rather feel that I am being discriminated against–because of my sub-standard dwelling–But it suits me the way it is–However–getting old–and it is really a very cold winter–Must do something about it–
I had a welcome visit from a friend of yours–a Mr Reynolds–raised the temperature around here–Quite a bit–Manna from heaven–
Well it is so cold–no time to write–in blankets
May I send you–and to Mr Bennett and the Cat–my best regards–Sincerely.
Yrs Ian Fairweather
305. To Rosemary Waters
Dear Rosymary– The worst cold here for many years and perhaps the brightest–if not the warmest, sun–so trying to adopt a new way of life to suit the times–Have bought some chairs and try to sit out under the trees–I have found an old table on the dump–So added that–just recently as our annual fair is approaching (Aug 10) A judge of wine has been here and gave me a case of one of our best–McWilliams Cavernet Sauvignon–really the Goods!! So I have a bottle of his wine on the table–& chair to sit in–in the sun and I only wish you were here to get quietly drunk beneath the Bribie pines–with me–!!1
Because the night soon comes and is vile–I have been having some games of chess–at long last but rather depressing as I always get beaten–and I used to rather fancy myself–at least I get a lot of enjoyment out of it–
The sun gets higher every day–Hope for tomorrow–I hope at least I will be able to get some work done–This winter has brought me to a halt–Even writing everything a labour–So please excuse–
Yrs Ian
1 Rudy Komon. The visit may have related to Komon’s purchase of Monastery (1961) from Wallace Thornton. Monastery was included in ‘The Private Collection of Mr & Mrs Rudy Komon’, Georges Gallery, Melbourne, August 1971.
306. To Mary Turner
Bribie 4507 Qld [25 August 1970]
Dear Mrs Turner–
Things have been in a mess–I got back from hospital yesterday and trying to get things straightened out1–but a slow job–I am very grateful for the guard you put on my place while I was away 2–There was a large hole made in one wall–but as far as I can see nothing of value taken–Also I am glad they arrived in time to prevent a visit by one of the local pests–who came nosing around–All this publicity has brought a constant stream of visitors–and letters–which I hope will end soon–It could well make life unbearable
I was much obliged for the cheque–and sorry I could not write before–Left in a hurry before I could make any arrangements–Miss Olley has been most kind and come to visit me several times in hospital bringing books etc and good cheer–Am hoping to get back to work but finding it very difficult–
Just bone lazy–Just to catch the post–
With best wishes Yrs sincerely
Ian Fairweather–
1 On 11 August the taxi driver Alroy Fleming found Fairweather in a serious condition and took him to the island’s ambulance station and thence to the Royal Brisbane Hospital, where he was treated for dehydration.
2 Following an attempted break-in, Macquarie Galleries had arranged security for Fairweather’s home. ‘Art Gets 24 Hour Guard’, Herald, 17 August 1970.
307. To Helga Macnamara
Bribie Island 4507 Qld– [c. 25 August 1970]
Dear Pippa– Sorry if I have not written for some time–Have not been feeling too well–in fact just out of hospital–
The old humpy is still here and there are hopes of getting some improvements–electric light and water1–If that should happen–I hope to get some more work done–Am deluged with correspondence from all sorts of kind people and answering it is a labour–So please excuse this very short note–
When things straighten out a bit–if they ever do–will write again–
With best wishes– Yrs– Ian–
1 At the instigation of Macquarie Galleries, the local builder and councillor Phil Balmer had been asked to prepare accommodation to replace Fairweather’s dilapidated encampment.
308. To Helga Macnamara
Bribie Is–4507– Qld– [late August 1970]
Dear Pippa
Some friends of yours the Pollards have paid a visit–They live not far away on the mainland at the north end of the island1–
Well I hope they report all well–The writing you will notice is a bit shakey and the legs are not much better–but I did at least get a good bath while in hospital–Not much to report since I came back–am very anxious to finish some more work I am in the middle of but things go terribly slow–
About these improvements they talk of–The weather now being warm–I feel no need of them till next winter–and so am in no hurry, as they will cost a lot–
Am hoping to postpone them as long as poss–
There seem to be quite a few Anglo Indians around here because of the climate–Pollard told me of one almost on my doorstep–as distance is reckoned in this age of the motor car–Not being able to drive is exasperating I never thought it worthwhile to learn as long as I had legs–and now too late–Please discredit this brouhaha in the press–it stinks 2–
Yrs Ian
1 Arthur (Rod) Pollard (1906–74), an agent for City Mutual Insurance, lived in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast. Formerly a lieutenant-colonel in the Indian army, he had been asked by Pippa to help sort out Fairweather’s affairs. He later assisted Rosemary Waters to make arrangements following Fairweather’s death.
2 Newspaper articles had appeared nationally with headlines such as ‘Artist Faces Eviction Order: Rats Upset the Council’, Sunday Truth (Brisbane), 9 August 1970; ‘Millionaire Artist Faces Eviction: Rats Upset the Council’, Sunday Times (Perth), 16 August 1970.
309. To Mary Turner
Dear Mrs Turner–
Things don’t seem to be getting any better
The press continues to be insulting–In the latest Sunday Mail I read that Balmer the builder who is also a councillor–is awaiting instructions from you1–He has sent me no estimate and the longer he delays–the less anxious I feel to spend money on improvements which I may have to leave very shortly–The situation is getting beyond bearing–and I dont feel like bearing any more of it–Except that I am anxious to finish the paintings I have here–though I am well aware they will never see the light of day–as I painted them–I would at least have the satisfaction of having done what I could–as far as I am able–
But removed from here with no legs to walk on and no one to believe that art requires an effort or is worth an effort, or credits me with having made an effort at all–There is no open road that leads anywhere The last illusion–
Thanks for the cheque, it puts off the showdown a little longer, I hope–Yrs Sincerely
Ian Fairweather
1 Sunday Mail, 22 August 1970.
310. To Mary Turner
Bribie 4507. Qld. Sept 26– [1970]
Dear Mrs Turner–
Thank you for cheque–I just hope it will not upset the Tax people–
Dr Gerber has visited–and is concerned with what the Tax people may make of it all–He has the worst forebodings–Suggests an accountant!
But it seems to me very simple–no need to introduce an accountant to complicate what is already self-evident. The Council I hear, now suggests a steel prefab–for $2000–To what purpose?
I am only interested in finishing some paintings–which I can do I believe–If I may remain undisturbed–which seems rational to me–but nothing makes much sense Anymore–Yrs sincerely
Ian Fairweather
311. To Andrew Massie
Thank you Andrew– Very pleased and very surprised to hear from you–And thank you especially for the books1–I think I am going to enjoy them–When I can find the time to read them–For instance last night I had no light. Somehow–metho had got into my lamps instead of kero–So almost had a conflagration–and no light at all all night–a great waste of time–
But I hear Katies Gift Shop has some special candles–very fat–so they dont drop but burn down in the middle–This sounds good–So hopes of an improvement–
Regards and thanks to Pa and to Ma and hope we will have another game of chess Sometime–till then– Yrs etc
Ian Fairweather
Andrew Clark Massie (b. 1960). Graphic designer and photographer, the first child of Clark and Valmai Massie, friends of Fairweather on Bribie Island. Memories of Bribie Island holidays during Andrew’s formative years include exploring the bush on the bicycle gifted to him by Fairweather and games of chess where the painter could be ruthless to a beginner.
_____________
1 Perhaps a return gift on Fairweather’s birthday, 29 September, for the books Fairweather gave to Clark Massie for Andrew when he turned ten.
312. To Mary Turner
Bribie–4507. Qld.[postmarked 3 November 1970]
Dear Mrs Turner–
I am sorry for not writing before but there is still no answer from the Tax people
The trouble it seems is a fixed deposit which I made about 10 years ago–and have rather lost sight of–It is never included in the bank’s returns–so I may have missed it–Anyway they now have all the information they asked for–
So await the result.
Thank you a lot for the cheque–Miss Olley tells me she much liked the exhibition she saw–which is encouraging1
The question of water is being considered–by the council but no decision as yet
Glad to hear Mrs Bennett is returned.
Please give her my regards–
Sincerely Yrs. Ian Fairweather
1 ‘Recent Paintings by Ian Fairweather’, Macquarie Galleries, 28 October – 9 November 1970, included twenty works from 1969–70 and was the last exhibition there during his lifetime.
313. To Rosemary Waters
Bribie–4507 Qld [early November 1970]
Dear Rosy Mary– I suppose you have heard of it the Raft o nauts from Ecuador who have just landed here–only a few (20) miles away at the north end of this island1–You may remember the name Mooloolaba–So we have some excitement–would much like to go and see them–but failing that enclose–their photos–which probably you have also in the English papers–There was another report of my show in Sydney–stating astronomical prices 2–which has brought me a terrible mail–Every kind of soft touch artist–One 50 pages about flying saucers–I am a nut–they think. So they let down their hair to me–It has been a strange experience–I had no idea there were so many nuts–outside of Luny Bins–Think of it! 50 pages of flying saucers, and what is one to reply–I think most of them dont want a reply–they just want to get it off their chest–But it is strange to realise so many of us near the borderline of sanity–and why we should flatter ourselves that we are on this side–and they on that side. Who knows–You must have fazes–The human psyche is common to us all–You have an opportunity to see it–unclothed–And what there is, is not all sex–despite [the views] of Freud. etc There is something if you could discover it that overrides it all–So long Yrs Ian Fairweather–
1 On 5 November the Las Balsa raft led by the Spaniard Vital Alsar Ramírez reached the Sunshine Coast after a five-month drift across the Pacific from Ecuador. The raft was met off Double Island Point and towed to Mooloolaba, north of Brisbane.
2 The exhibition was a critical and financial success. See ‘The Work of a Master’, Sun, 28 October 1970, and ‘The Inverted Salesmanship of Ian Fairweather’, Financial Review, 29 October 1970.
314. To Rosemary Waters
Bribie– Dec 1 [postmarked 1970]
Dear Rosemary– I have some water at last!–They had to make a hole in the main and then bring it under the road and then about 50 yds to my trees–To one of which they fixed a shower and tap–So it has got somewhere! I am trying to recreate the conditions I had in Shanghai–
Of course impossible in this world down–under!–!?–But I had there a hot water tank (electric) and I was never cold or dirty–But then of course, that was civilised–or if you prefer uncivilised China–whereas this is The Bush!!
Still I have hopes! How to create a Civilisation–down under?
Without help–?–?–
I had all the luck in the world in Shanghai–I lived over a curio shop in the hub and centre of the town–
I only had to walk across the road to the cinemas–Which at that time were exciting–and avant-garde, and I hadn’t even to walk!–There was always a rickshaw waiting–and though heavens knows I had little enough yet I could afford the ride–I had no feeling that I was exploiting the underprivileged–I was so very nearly on the same level (financially) as they were–But money seemed to have a different meaning then, or I should say a different value–!!
To change the subject I have been reading Michêle Rays Walkabout in Vietnam1–A French girl journalist. You wouldn’t know from the papers how much the French influence still counted in Vietnam–
And of course she is a beautiful girl–‘Michêle Ray’–!!–!!!!–and that counts!!–Today or any other day–anywhere–!! and I hope it ever will–But in the end and all–what does it matter–Who chooses the Beauty Queens? I tremble to think–But believe we all go forwards Somehow–Somewhere–
Unknowing–and to Hell with knowing–anything at all–
Yrs in the Bush–
Ian Fairweather–
1 Michèle Ray, The Two Shores of Hell (1968), a photojournalistic account from both sides of the war in Vietnam.
315. To Treania Bennett
Dear Mrs Bennett–I forget if I told you the water has arrived–They made a hole in the main and then passed a pipe under the road and down to my fence where it is fixed to a tree–with a shower. A big improvement–
I am going to leave it that way till I can find out more about this tax trouble
A Tax investigator came down yesterday and went through every scrap of paper with figures on it–He took away Mrs Turner’s letter which I was on the point of returning and also the butt ends of several cheque books–which I feel he had no good reason or right to–But in a world of figures I feel quite lost–He says there are discrepancies in my accounts and that probably I shall incur a penalty–which makes me very angry–for I hate figures and have kept as few of them as may be–so I have no records with which to confute him–and he can more or less say what he likes and get away with it I am certainly not conscious of any evasion–and so feel very insulted–He was pleasant & civilised so I couldn’t very well throw him out–
Must now just await the results.
Patrick White’s book has come–for which many thanks, it will pass many an hour–I hope pleasantly.
Have just been reading ‘Three Cheers for the Paraclete’ by Thomas Keneally (Australian) I found surprisingly nice1–But they are all men–priests at that so might not amuse you–
Best
Happy Xmas.
[Macquarie Galleries note: Signature removed, certified & sent to C.B.A Martin Place.]
1 Three Cheers for the Paraclete (1968), Keneally’s fourth novel and second Miles Franklin Literary Award winner.
316. To Mary Turner
Bribie 4507 Qld– [December 1970]
Dear Mrs Turner–
Thank you very much for the cigarettes and cheque–
I am afraid this tax business is still unfinished–The Tman has been down again–spent the best part of two days tracing my income figures back for 6 or 7 years–made out a most imposing document Says, in a months time he will return and tell me what it is all about–What I cant understand–is with all these cars flashing by–they should trouble about so small an income as mine–Even supposing I have made mistakes in my returns–they must be very small–And I am not aware of having made any–So feel rather suspicious of the whole thing–However hope to know more at the end of Jan–
Wishing you all the best for the New Year–
Yrs sincerely
Ian Fairweather
317. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Dear Ian. I have just discovered your address–which is rather a miracle–I have been wanting to thank you for writing–It is a very old address but I hope it may still find you–and that you are well–Our family is getting rather small–Only one sister–Ethel now 90–and brother Harold–who is in France. I am wondering if your mother’s sister Helen is still alive and if you ever hear from her?
I am thankful to say my troubles with the councillors here are for the moment at rest–I have not been evicted.1 Last week my connection with the water was completed–and I now have a tap on the property–!
A great improvement
Of course I want also electricity–as the line runs quite near here–and there are so many amenities that go with it–a fridge–a radiator in winter–etc etc.
But it was over the electric connection all the trouble started–so for the moment I feel it is wise to let sleeping dogs lie.
I still feel I belong in London–Though my last two attempts to go there should have choked me off–All the part round Chelsea is getting pulled down–and new apartments going up–all the old streets and little shops–are gone–I just could not find a corner to fit in anywhere–and now I fear I will never go back for I am no longer mobile–my legs have given out–not arthritis thank God just weak and wobbly–So have to take a taxi to go shopping–etc2–Getting on now to Xmas–So wish you the best–
Yrs Ian Fairweather
1 Health inspector W. M. Shea submitted a report to the Caboolture Shire Council on 27 August 1970 giving the artist six months to improve the premises to an acceptable standard. ‘Decision on Artist’s Hut’, Daily Telegraph, 27 August 1970.
2 Each week Alroy Fleming drove Fairweather into Bribie township.
318. To Rosemary Waters
Dear Rosy Mary– When I first came here /50 or /51–Sailing through the sunset–and after a night of purgatory–eaten by mosquitoes and sandflies–anchored off shore of this island–The first sight of it in daylight–The birds!–The melodious Butcher birds–singing a welcome. The Roos, the bucks–standing and growling at me–an intruder–The emus–in bands–of tossing feathers–making for the shelter of the trees–Some horses that came galloping to meet me–as a friend–That was Bribie that was–in the /50s–I dont want to go on with this–
It is all utterly changed–the glory is departed This is the morning after!–I’d better leave this to another day The turnover–is too drastic to the Bribie of today–But it has to be done I suppose–If you can switch your mind from then to now–and cross the Bloody Bridge With all the shining cars–and come to Bribie–as is!!–today–However to go on–and on and on–I just dont belong any more to the Bribie of today or anywhere except to old London which I love-hate–and I feel must hate me–I have tried so often and so long–to call some place a home–So many places–The Bribie Kangaroos–The Emus–That was the home I found–But it just doesn’t belong in the world of today–and I find I have the chance–enough money to see me through–it is not quite settled yet, but owing to this tax enquiry into my affairs I find I have more money than I thought–I can leave here–I feel I ought–Unless of course if I could induce you and Ian in New Zealand–to join forces and buy a small dalcha [dacha] here–where we could watch the sunset of an evening–over the water and the Glasshouse mountains–as I have done so often–and can recommend as a good life–But alone–I don’t think!! One wants something more than a sunset–Since one is still on earth–one does want other people–
and best of all relations–I will write Ian. He is buying a place on an island near Auckland. Much better–I feel for him and for us if he should come here–Let me know how you feel about it–Yrs Ian Fairweather
319. To Helga Macnamara
Bribie 4507. Qld– [c. 11 April 1971]
Dear Pippa– I hear Col Pollard has arrived in England at last–I am hoping–you may meet him–Give you some news perhaps of this part of the world–He is a nice old bird–but he recommended to me his accountant and I fear I have accepted him1–on Col Pollards recomendation–much too readily–
He (the accountant) has sent me a bill–for this year’s income tax of $4000 odd
For why? I have had no income–
I cant paint any more. But I cant dispute the income tax2–The word of God!–
But I feel it is most unjust and at this rate–I will soon be in the poor house.
And I dont think they have such a thing here If one cant pay, one goes into the clink–!! So I am not very happy about Col. Pollard–I feel they are making a fool of him–as well as of me–Well it is Easter time–I wish a Roo would lay me a big Easter Egg–Otherwise I’m sunk
Yrs Ian Fairweather–
1 In March, J. G. Butler of Buderim had advised Macquarie Galleries that Fairweather had appointed him as his accountant.
2 In February, Treania Bennett had advised Fairweather that Tax Office staff had checked Macquarie Galleries’ financial records and determined that the regular stipend they had been sending Fairweather did not reflect his actual income from paintings sold each year, and that tax was payable on the large amount of money held for him in credit.
320. To Helga Macnamara
Dear Pippa– The house–the studio–is at last taking shape–This is the 6th habitation The other 5 I have all built myself1–
The first was just before the War–It was the most beautiful–but as I was still on the reserve–I had to leave it–and go to Hong Kong to join up–The only people there I could find were the Scots Greys–They didn’t want a nobody from nowhere–I remember they gave me some tea and bread and butter and sent me on my way–to Singapore–Well I have built five what I hoped would be studios–since then–and now the sixth–which is being built for me–is taking shape It is amongst a clump of these Bribie pines–which are really eucalypts–a small clump of them remains–after all these yearly bushfires–and my new house is in the middle of what remains of them–and it is taking shape–I can hardly believe it–after so long–What time have I got to live in it–much less paint in it? However here it is at last–With electric light, water–even a hot water system and a bath–and it really looks nice among the pines–But it is empty–all but one picture, still unfinished–So I will be starting from scratch–I can only pray and hope that this arthritis will not get worse–I am getting some Chinese food now–which always makes me feel better So some hope–? Too bad that at last I have all these amenities when it is too late to make any use of them I think my only remaining work of art (if they will leave it intact)–will be the house and studio what troubles me is that I only have what they call an informal lease of the land, for this is a forest reserve–I shouldnt be here at all–but had built a hut and lived here some 15 years–thereby acquiring squatters rights, before the authorities got to know I was here–So now they charge me a ridiculous $2150 rent which can be terminated–at any time they please2–I have really no rights at all–Yet they insist I build this new house for $4000 or else!!
I cannot sell it or ever give it to someone else–a ridiculous position–! and now to make it more fantastic–though all is completed–a habitation that might well appear in the Ladies Home Journal–or some such–The electric light still delays to make the connection–They have been from the start the most recalcitrant–a sort of De Gaule to veto my entry into the Common market3 All the decencies await next door–With the turn of a switch–But they and I continue to wait–and hope
Hope you find the ‘Women of Peasanhall’ in your library–I enjoyed reading it.
Yrs Ian
1 In an earlier letter to Queenie, Fairweather had described the six houses he had built himself, making this his seventh dwelling. See letter 114.
2 According to the lease either party could terminate the tenancy agreement with ninety days’ notice.
3 French President Charles de Gaulle had twice vetoed Britain’s application to join the European Common Market.
321. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie 4507 Qld– [early June 1971]
Dear Ian– All day yesterday being photographed with a Hasselblad camera1–I was most impressed–I think it is the largeness of the lenses–they look most imposing–and one good thing about it is–it is not Japanese–but Swedish–
I hope I will get one a photo to send you of the new house–but it is unlikely–All he wanted to take was the old bark hut which is in the last stages of falling down–it has had a surprisingly long life of 20 years–
I still have not moved into the new house–The electric light still unconnected and so of course no hot water–So the beautiful bath remains empty–The dream I have cherished for more than 20 years–of a warm bath–is still a dream–I hope you will have less trouble with your new house–But tell me does it have drains–water–electric light–etc–and are there councillors to veto its dimensions and very existence–if it so pleases them–as there are here
But I started this letter about the Hasselblad camera–It has been haunting me ever since–These press photographers seem to have a swell time–all their equipment is supplied them–I once owned a Leica camera–in my days of affluence in Sh’ai–Really it was not affluence–I had far less money then than I have now–but there was so much more I could do with it–I had a projector which I used as an enlarger–I used to wander round the crowded markets and outlying villages–I got some wonderful shots–of crowds–and then blew up part of them with the projector–I didn’t know then that I had the makings of a job in my hands–I went broke, and sold it all to a Japanese in Hong Kong–and went north on the proceeds to Peking and Nirvana–It was a way of life–for which I think I was suited–but I missed the turning–There weren’t the signposts there are today–to tell me the way–
What I am getting at–Art in all its forms is a terrible lonely way of life–unconnected with the everyday world around one–I fear that on an island–it will get you–So I am giving advice, which of course you will reject–We are a generation apart–So to you it will be meaningless–
But I feel that with a Hasselblad–you could and I might have–if I had realised it–Belong to the world of today; I belong to the world of yesterday–which has ceased to exist–So I’d better shut up–
I dont know nothing–and yet–
Yours Ian–
P S. A visitor has now come with a Leica Flex My old camera–brought up to date–I am trying to resist it–
1 See ‘To Fairweather, a House Is Not a Hut’, Sunday Mail, 6 June 1971.
322. To Helga Macnamara
Dear Pippa– I have a house. Yes–I hope you liked the look of it–I do–But so do various drunks–When I feel I might do paintings–they drop in–with a bottle–or two–I have to provide the two–And how boring they can be!!!–This is publicity–a social curse–One cannot be by oneself. Or maybe that is the way of the world–one has to swallow the curse–to survive–I dont feel I can–I’m very depressed–
An unwelcome visitor–can derail me for a day–I have all the damn mod cons–which just mean nothing as far as painting goes, so I sit in a beautiful studio–What I dreamed of for years tramping around–Chelsea–and what can I do in it–?? What I might do if I was alone!!–But I am never allowed to be alone–Is that just happenstance??–
I cant believe it–The crowd doesnt care–Some person–hates my guts–
Otherwise I feel it all makes no sense–I love books–Even when they are bad–if I have the patience they can take me out of this world–But sometimes, like now, I cant find one I can endure–Now is the moment to find peace and hope in painting–But all this publicity–The Recluse they call me–!!–
There is no such animal in Australia–
Not since the bridge was built and the Roos and the Emus have gone–Only the trees and miraculously the Goanna–He must be the fifth or sixth-generation and how he has escaped being run over by the cars is a Miracle He comes back to mate in the Spring which is now–when I can give him a meal which he enjoys–I feel good to be some good to somebody–
Ian A in New Zealand suggests getting a tape recorder–to communicate–We could exchange tapes–? Might be amusing–He says he has some tapes of his mother–Also, now I have electricity–in sun lamps for a trial for arthritis also therapeutic–the ultraviolet rays They require only a few seconds a day
P S. I have a theory which I haven’t tried out yet–But I have some oatmeal–
You make a paste of it with water and left it to stand over night to swell up Then spread it thin and put it under the grill–Would it make oatcakes?–I wonder–
If only I could get barley flour. I am sure in that way I could make barley flour–scones–that–my–soul loveth–The bread here is uneatable–I must learn how to make use of their electrical gadgets–
And with these new flash lights–I could take my interior at night and such paintings as I have on the walls–
‘And I was thinking of a plan–
To dye my whiskers green
and always wear so large a fan
That they could not be seen’
and how nice that would be
Seriously–Ian–
323. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie–4507 Qld [late September 1971]
Dear Ian– A woman writer has started writing a sort of biography about myself–unfortunately!1–She has sent me for correction as to facts–part of the MSS–It is unspeakably terrible and the facts are all wrong–But she likes to write and has actually published one book (White Girl brown skin) which I haven’t read–and wont2–She would like photos Family photos!–Well it has given me an idea–You may remember we had some paintings at Forest Hill in Jersey There was for instance the Duc de Bouillon whom my father referred to [as] Bully Stew But there was actually such a person There was a novel written I think by Hall Cain about his connection with the family.3 The picture was sold to the Marrat family of La Haule Manor Jersey4–who had no real claim to it but said they had
one I am particularly anxious to trace–is a portrait of my mother as a young girl painted by Miss Lomax, who lived and died on Little Serk–As the eldest son some of these old family portraits should have come down to your father–
Or can you suggest another avenue of research à la research des temps perdu5–I fear that most have found their way to my aunt Ethel at Stravithy–being at the time the Grand dame of our matriarchal family6–Perhaps the friend you mentioned–a relation of George Beasley7–might have some ideas–
By the way, have you seen a copy of The Drunken Buddha–If not I would try to send you one–though I hear they are getting scarce–all helps to keep it alive–Cheers–
Yrs Ian.
P.S. I have a copy of a book about the Chinese game of ‘wei chi’8–a relic of Chapei before it was bombed flat by the Japs9–
I want to find a home for it
I may not be here much longer Just gone 80
1 Nourma Abbott-Smith (1903–95), born Nourma Morrison, was a writer based in Margate, north-east of Brisbane. She also wrote as Nourma Abbotsmith and Nourma Handford.
2 White Girl, Brown Skin (1969).
3 Thomas Caine, English novelist and playwright, born on the Isle of Man.
4 Their manor house, La Haule overlooking St Aubin Bay, was one of the island’s principal fiefs.
5 Playful reference to Marcel Proust’s monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu (1913–27), first translated into English as Remembrance of Things Past (1922–31).
6 Ethel Florence Sprot (née Thorp, 1856–1930), the daughter of Deputy Surgeon-General Edward Thorp, married Colonel Alexander Sprot of Stravithie (1853–1929), who was created a baronet in 1918.
7 Son-in-law of Rosie Anderson (née Thorp) and identified by Fairweather as the grandfather of John Cooper.
8 An ancient Chinese board game, involving two players and requiring significant strategy for success.
9 Zhabei, a densely populated industrial suburb adjacent to the International Settlement of Shanghai where Fairweather lived. The Japanese army launched an attack on Shanghai on 28 January 1932. Zhabei, where Chinese troops were stationed, was the focus of heavy shelling and aerial bombing, killing many civilians.
324. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie.– 4507. Qld. [October 1971]
Dear Ian Thank you very much for the photos of Ma and Pa–I am ashamed to say I hadn’t a photo of either of them–The way things worked out–Ma and Pa went to India and left me–6 months old in Scotland–in the care of father’s spinster sisters–They left us all there, 9 of us–My aunts had to turn to and feed us–They were marvellous cooks–But how they had to work! There was no tinned stuff in those days–They worked like slaves–cooking and cooking–and why should they? They had had no fun in India–in the Shining East–Theirs was all work and no reward–I was the nearest thing to a child of their own–They spoilt me I suppose–laid the Seeds of Jealousy–When the parents returned from India Ten years later–I had nothing in common with them–My mother was just a fat woman, who began at once to disapprove of me. Called me a cur of a boy, because I didnt fall into line like all the others
I have forgotten exactly why I am saying all this–I am a little drunk–because unless I am–my arthritic hands wont make anything readable–What I am trying to say–we are a divided family–my Scotch aunts were more real to me than the Thorp connection–but they had nothing–they were dependants! My Aunt Mary who I think loved me most and was most passionate–fell out of her bedroom window in Jersey–and broke her neck presumably tight–It was hushed up–My Aunt Bella in the early morning somehow pulled her into the house–
My mother cynically brought me in to see her dead The aunt who had loved me–too much!–and whose barley flour scones I shall always feel are the food of the Gods–I am thankful that you are still around–a relation not dedicated to the Thorp attachment–and to whom I hope I may write–without predjudice
Yrs Ian.
P S– I still want the portrait of my mother painted by Miss Lomax of Sark–must find that.
325. To Rosemary Waters
Bribie. 4507. Qld– [December 1971]
Dear Rosy Mary–
Some days ago–A friend with four of the most beautiful children–all boys–I have ever seen–payed me a visit1–A day I am not likely to forget–!! He took me to visit some people–a religious sect–who have been granted a lease of land near here–
I forget the name–Something about Christ the King 2–They have been given some 200 acres–and have put up a few buildings–A large wooden hall which at present contains a collection of artifacts–mostly nestorian–they have collected in their wanderings in Asia–They have also built a little chapel–with coloured glass windows–salvaged from the remains of other windows destroyed–
Well! it was a revelation–A Glory to God!–I have never been so thrilled–!!and it is quite near here–
Somehow, I think this is very important Something is happening down here–The artistic community I have dreamed of is actually becoming a fact–They dont seem to be raising any crops–like everyone else around here–They are not raising–acres–of the Bloody Pineapple–They have some curious white turkeys–and what endears them to me, because my birthday is Michaelmas day day!–a large herd of Geese!!–My totem animal!!–What could be sweeter–??
So as you see–I am much impressed and hopeful!! Why not pay a visit to Australia House in the Strand–We still want English emigrants here–and pay a part of their fare–and find them jobs–They might give you ideas–This is the time of the Jackaranda down here, and the Melbourne Cup–and hopes–
Yrs down under
Ian Fairweather
P.S. Since writing this–I have your 2 letters and the woolen jersey–for which many thanks–Am sending a copy of painting–not a very good one but Happy Xmas–and all the best for 72
1 Likely the painter Roy Churcher and his sons Ben, Paul, Peter and Tim.
2 St Michael’s Abbey and Church of Christ the King holds a large collection of English and European stained glass from the Abbey Folk Park, London.
326. To Helga Macnamara
[Bribie Island late December 1971 to 16 January 1972]
Dear Pippa– Col. Pollard has been in hospital with heart trouble–He has been very kind to me and helpful–on your account–So please write him a nice letter to thank him–
He recommended an accountant who has taken over my affairs–which were in a terrible mess–Nevertheless I had to pay more than half my capital–in taxes–You cant argue with the Tax people–I just hope that next year they will not give me another drastic hair clipping I want to keep my beard–at least–
Audrey Miller (Arthur’s daughter) writes from Los Angeles in red ink and very large
I think she must be a nice–a very nice person–
Xmas Well, I have just had the best Xmas dinner I can ever remember–Perhaps it is the contrast to my usual tucker–out of tins anyway I shall long remember it–It was my taxi driver who brought it–He is blessed with a son and two granddaughters–and many friends–They brought me into their orbit for the occasion–a warm experience–
Of course the most important thing I would like to tell you about is painting–
but of course it is the most difficult to put into words–The idea of the model–is past!–A painting begins in action–The action painters in America I feel were on the right track–Then you must contemplate and ex[t]rapolate–I must admit that this part of the process I cant do without brandy–and in fact I never do!–but I hope I shall always try–for such is the future as I see it–I want to christen my house (I note you call it an erection) Faldouet!! I wrote the rector of St Brelade describing the place–and he gave me the name–but I am doubtful about it–It is a cromlick on the northwest Jersey coast–A perfect little Stonehenge–I feel I discovered it–and in a way own it, for if others knew of it it would be disgustingly famous–I am sure it would be known to Marrat of La Haule–but is there Still a Marrat of La Haule? Xmas is a holy day Tomorrow is ordinary–I am full of apprehension–
Dec 28. Well, the rains have started on time a real deluge–up north it is much more definite–From now on everything–is bad–mosquitoes–suddenly appear in clouds–The cyclone season begins–It is also the bushfire season–and I welcome the rain for otherwise everything would be tinder dry–Some visitors with portraits of myself–There must be now at least four of them–going around1–They are utterly hideous–I wonder will they survive–? I wonder why they ever painted them–? It is all nothing to do with me–The least desirable happening I could wish for–
Will it ever be the New Year–and will there ever be anything New about it–
16 Jan. Have been reading ‘Last Summer’ by Evan Hunter–with a beautiful nymphet on the cover 2–and cant quite get over it–or her–most disturbing–and in a sense horribly true–
All the best for
Seventy two–
Yrs Ian
1 Portraits of Fairweather had been created by artists including Maryke Degeus (two oil paintings, 1963); Lisa West (pen and ink sketch, 1966); Ray Crooke (oil painting, around 1966); and Mrs Stuckey.
2 Last Summer (1968), a coming-of-age novel about teenage sexuality.
327. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie–4507. Qld–[late December 1971]
Dear Ian– I hear that Loren Eisley has written another book–‘The night country’1 He is an insomniac like myself–I have only come across a very small bit of him–and have long tried to find more–I just mention him–in case you should come on his traces. I feel he is the sort of man who might throw some light on the mystery of the statues on Thursday [Easter] Island or of Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes–
Two places in my ‘night country’ that defy any logical explanation–
Heyerdahl of the Kon-Tiki–Though I much admire his efforts–I feel his conclusions are without any foundation at all2–
The statues on Easter Island–defy all explanation–that I have ever heard–
They just belong to the ‘Night Country’–
And yet they must have once, been a reality–Why does it matter–?
Only because I am an insomniac–
and want to go to sleep–
So wishing you a happy Xmas–
and a happy landing in 72–
Yrs Ian.
1 Loren Eiseley, The Night Country: Reflections of a Bone-Hunting Man (1971).
2 Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer who won fame for his Kon-Tiki expedition (1947), an 8,000-kilometre crossing of the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft.
328. To Clark Massie
Bribie. 4507 Qld Beginning of 72–
Dear Massie– Christmas has gone and the New Year–and I have not seen or heard from you–What has happened?1
Are you still at the Gap–and have you severed all connection with Bribie–I hope not–Let me know about Easter–May I look forward to seeing you again about then? My regards and best wishes to yourself–Bronwyn–Andrew and Mrs Massey–
And my thanks–for the many good meals and happy evenings–spent in the old house by the sea–
Who is the bastard who is living there now? I dont really want to know–I should dislike him too much–
Well any way Happy Monday–and hope I will be seeing you Tuesday–Sometime–
Yrs–Ian–
1 The holiday home on Bribie Island used by the Massie family had been sold.
329. To Mary Turner
Bribie 4507 Qld– [postmarked 12 January 1972]
Dear Mrs Turner– The package arrived on Jan 1–I dont know how he found his way to my new house–in the sand.
They are putting in a sort of driveway for cars–from the main road–with clay–but it is far from complete–Anyway he brought the package–and I have now discovered who it was from–I am very delighted and surprised–and thank you and all at the Macquarie–
My new house is still very empty–but a few seeds begin to germinate on the walls. The empty walls–as yet!!–
But there are hopes–even beliefs for the future–on the walls–So all is well!! My thanks and best wishes and hopes for 1972–to go on with
Yrs very truly–
Ian Fairweather
330. To Florence Britnell
Bribie 4507 Qld [postmarked April 1972]
Dear Mrs Britnell–
Thanks for the remembrance–
But No!!–I have nothing I would care to sell or give away–
I am a burnt out case1–and I dont thank you for making me say so in so many words–
Yrs very truly Ian Fairweather
Florence Maud Britnell (née Braund, 1889–1978). English-born community worker and foundation member of the Bribie Island branch of the Australian Pensioners’ League. She was secretary at the time of the league’s fundraising raffle of Fairweather’s painting China Tea (1963).
_____________
1 Likely a reference to Graham Greene’s novel A Burnt-Out Case (1960).
331. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie. 4507. Qld– [February 1972]
Dear Ian– So I am going to have a roast This is something I had never hoped to have in this life–The electric stove–
Till now I have only had grilled sausages but becoming more ambitious–I had a leg of lamb and it wasn’t too bad–So now for the Roast–!! Can a Bachelor eat a Roast–?? Remains to be seen–Does he have any right–any invitation to the feast–I wouldn’t know, and I dont care–I just want to eat!–Of course
It can never Be what my old aunts made for me!!–they made barley flour scones–They made singed sheeps head–They were marvellous cooks–But still this is an occasion!! My first roast not out of a tin–since 1914–when the world blew up–I was in Londonderry–in Ireland at that time1–and things were just as much of a mix up as they are today–We got to Le Havre in France but the transport had got lost–we had nothing to eat but war rations–We marched and marched till we got near Mons on the Belgian border–and at once came into action–No time to dig trenches–We were on top of a hill–being shelled by high explosive and schrapnel–Hearing that those on my right had retired–There were none on my left–I sent my half platoon back to a sunken road for cover–When I got there myself–my half P[latoon] had gone. Everyone was milling about and soon I had no P. at all–I sat there twiddling my thumbs–The next thing I knew, someone had put up the white flag–and very shortly after that–the German field kitchens arrived and we all had hot soup–The first meal in days–Their transport had never got lost. Well that is how it began or you might say ended–Life goes on–and I am still alive–Unwounded–Undecorated–except for a letter from the Queen thanking me for attempts to escape from POW camps in Germany 2–and I suppose I have been trying to escape ever since–
and just why I am telling you all this I dont know either–I suppose it is the effect of the roast–
I have just heard that brother Harold has died in France3–I am wondering if you ever met him–or Minou his son–? also Geoff4–Nevils son who I hear has married a Swede–and is now somewhere in England–I get some charming letters from Audrey Miller–Arthurs daughter which surprises me, for A and I were far apart–The last I heard about Geoff he was connected in some way with the Butlin holiday camps–Cousin Ella writes me about you on top of wall during the blitz–removing an incendiary bomb–and about a girl friend she knew at the Slade School who has recently had an exhibition in London–Alas the Slade and all it meant in those days has vanished from the earth–In my last visit to London I wandered down–the Vale Chelsea and read the plaque on the Gate Post where Tonks used to live–That is all that remains Unless you come across ‘Conversations in Ebury St’ and so good night.5
Yrs Ian
1 Fairweather completed his officer training in Northern Ireland.
2 The War Office sent a certificate recording Fairweather’s gallant conduct in attempting to escape from captivity and conveying George V’s appreciation of his service.
3 Resident in France since 1918. An obituary was published in the the Sunday Telegraph, 23 January 1972.
4 Geoffrey Fairweather (1920–2013), the youngest child of Neville Fairweather, had married Karin Andersson in 1952.
5 George Moore, Conversations in Ebury Street (1924), an evocation of the intellectual circle of which Henry Tonks was a part.
332. To Rosemary Waters
Dear Rosemary– Another week and no news of Rosemary–Last news an address c/– a bank in Gloucester–Well what are you doing Rosy Mary?–I only hear of you secondhand–and it doesn’t sound too good–I wish I knew more about your friend–‘That woman’1, as Ella Griffith refers to her!–I only wish you were both here and life could be a little more simple and understandable–‘Ecrivez moi un mot’! 2–So that life will be less of a haggis3–‘Ecrivez moi un mot’ and I shall bless you!!–It is indeed an ‘exploding universe’ as they say–and what was nearby yesterday is tomorrow far apart–We try to keep tags around the globe by airmail–and bouncing off satellites–but it is getting awful thin–We are on the edge of outer space–The land that no man knows!–Where no wind blows–That God is there His shadow shows But no man knows4–Yrs Ian
1 Eileen Brotherton.
2 ‘Write me a word’.
3 A traditional Scottish dish.
4 An allusion to the nineteenth-century poem ‘Plaint’ by Ebenezer Elliott.
333. To Frank Thompson
Bribie Is–4507 Qld. [mid-November 1972]
Dear Sir–
I have been told–that you are considering publishing a biography of me written by a Mrs Abbott Smith1–
I could not believe that a responsible publisher would accept such stuff–so have done nothing to stop it
Now the news that you are intending to publish it I find most distressing–
I dont know what rights I have in the matter at the moment–But I wish you to know that it is without my consent or approval–and that it may be harmful to my best interests
Yrs truly
Ian Fairweather
Frank Walden Thompson (b. 1932). Californian-born book publisher who commenced his career at Michigan State University Press before migrating to Australia in 1958. In 1961 he was appointed manager of the University of Queensland Press (and bookshop), where he later published Ian Fairweather’s The Drunken Buddha. After Fairweather’s death in 1974, he published Nourma Abbott-Smith’s Ian Fairweather: Profile of a Painter (1978).
_____________
1 In response to this letter Abbott-Smith wrote to Fairweather: ‘During the past eighteen months I have called on you every few weeks and been most grateful for the information given so willingly about your life and travels, especially for the raft diary for which you sent to Britain and generously gave me for inclusion in the manuscript…I made no secret of the fact that I was a professional writer and that the book was for publication.’
334. To Rosemary Waters
Bribie. 4507. Qld– [December 1972]
Dear Rosy Mary– How wonderful this country looks after the rain–I have been taken all round the hills–looking down into lush green pockets–filled with cattle–all around these strange glass house mountains–which are ancient volcanoes–The roads are all beautifully marked and run along the crests of the hills so one is always looking down, and what one sees–is where the milk comes from–In a way I hate it for I have had to milk cows that didnt want to be milked–with the bull looking over my shoulder and daring me to steal another drop–Not my kind of country, but how rich and how beautiful–And they are all Jersey cows–Of course I have no car and if I did–I doubt if I could find my way–There are no throughways–You have to go round and round–and stick to the ridges where ever they care to take you–till I get utterly lost–Well a great day–but the whizz whizz of passing cars at 60 mile an hour–is a new world to me–To which I feel I dont quite belong–On returning I found the enclosed–With apologies I send it to you–The thunderstorm about the Tax seems to be blowing over So maybe, and perhaps–a happy Xmas–and a bright New Year
Perhaps– Yrs Ian
I wish you anyway–
335. To John Cooper
Bribie Is. 4507 Qld– [early 1973]
Dear John Cooper– Thank you for writing–but I have lost your letter and had to write Ian in New Zealand–for your address–Now it has come but I find it mysterious! Q staff–? and though you had Xmas dinner together–he can say no more So please elaborate–
I knew and much liked your grandfather George Beasley–in Jersey–I am interested in your second name Millais I remember Grandmother Thorp1 speaking of some connection with Sir John Millais–the Pre Raphelite painter–who painted ‘Christ in the Carpenters Shop’ one of my most cherished memories 2
How long have you been in Sydney and how did you get there–? I know Manly–and liked what I saw of it–I know a few people there–in the Art world–in particular the Macquarie Gallery. But I suppose that is a long way from your world–I should like to keep in touch–if you would–and if you are not disclosing Classified information–?
I would much like to know more about yourself–
–Sincerely Yrs
Ian Fairweather
John Millais Cooper (dates unknown). A distant cousin of Fairweather on his mother’s side. Cooper came to Australia as an assisted migrant around 1965. He worked as a senior storekeeper in the Quartermaster Store in Manly, Sydney.
_____________
1 Sarah Meadows Thorp.
2 John Millais (1829–96), English painter and illustrator from a prominent Jersey family. His Christ in the House of his Parents (‘The Carpenter’s Shop’) (1849–50) has been in the Tate collection since 1921.
336. To Helga Macnamara
Bribie. 4507 Qld. [early 1973]
Dear Pippa. The battle is over–There are only bits and pieces to pick up–and try to fit in–But I am finding most of these pieces–are no longer what they were–when they left my hands–Some indeed–have never been in my hands–I have never had anything to do with them–But they now bear my name There is nothing I can do about it–I have tried–So the battle is over–I retire–I have been made a fool of in every possible way that matters–But I am still alive–Some distant voices–say that I was once a painter–But what is their opinion worth? Since they have only seen–the bits and pieces!–Still and all–I hope you get the Pelican Art of Australia1–About John Cooper about whom you warn me–The poor fellow came to Australia by an assisted passage 8 years ago–He has got himself a job in the Quarter Master’s Stores at Manly–and is now a Senior Store Keeper I dont think it is a bad record–if not a very glamorous one–So he didnt like his mother–I didnt like mine–I am not warned–but rather encouraged–Though there isn’t anything I can do about it–anyway!! Yrs Ian
1 Robert Hughes, The Art of Australia (1970), a revised version of the withdrawn 1966 edition. Hughes had visited Fairweather in 1962.
337. To Helga Macnamara
Dear Pippa– What a problem is cooking, It begins to fill my whole horizon–
I have discovered my stove can be turned down to almost nothing–and yet will continue to stew–all night–with wonderful results in the morning–So am launched on a voyage of discovery–I read cookery books till my head goes round–But in the end–branch out into the unknown–
I have had some success–With liver which I love–and mince with rice–and now trype–It ought to be easy–But I am sure before it is done–I will make it into something else–That is what I like about cooking–One never knows–
Are they trying to make you think ‘Metric’?
Here our stamps–advise by design–
The latest, calories are kilo something!–I never knew what calories were to start with1–
How does it go to calculate in pennies? Why have our shillings disappeared–? Who started this decimal idea–Our old money was not so bad–Yrs Ian Fairweather
1 Metrication in Australia had begun with introduction of decimal currency in 1966. In June 1970, the Australian Metric Conversion Act was passed into law. In March 1973 Australia Post issued a set of humorous stamps to raise public awareness of conversions of temperature, length, mass and volume.
338. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie. 4507 Qld. [March 1973]
Dear Ian A– I don’t suppose you are much troubled by possums–Do you ever have them at all? Beautiful creatures–But be warned–!! Give them any encouragement and they will pull you by the hair when you are in bed–they will overturn every container and bite into all that are not made of tin–You will never get a night’s sleep–again–I dont know how I got rid of them at last–but it seems I have!–Partly I think because of the new house which has a tin roof they cant burrow into–But one is never secure for long–Now it is the income tax weasels–They have just sent me a bill for $4000 odd for this years contribution–Impossible to contest their arithmetic–It is not the same as mine–No use to say one doesnt understand it–It is supposed to be the law–I am beginning to wonder what they will do with one–When there is no more money to be squeezed out of one–I am beginning to have nightmares–
What I am trying to say–Beware of the Tax People–!! They till not neither do they spin–Yet their Heavenly Father feedith them1–Which is to say you and I, since we know no better–
I am delighted that you got the Pelican ‘Art of Australia’ because it is a voice–although I understand he is an Australian–Yet a voice from outside this particular orbit–He writes in Time Magazine–about the Whitney Museum Biennial etc. which is surely international 2–and one can burst ones bonds–
So Heigh Ho–sing Heigh Ho–to the wild holley–A wretched plant–
whose only virtue is that it has red berries at Christmas!! Still–Heigh Ho!–Christmas will come again Sometime–even Down under–
I am getting a little bit tight–I wish you all the best and I sign off
Yrs Ian Fairweather
1 A biblical reference, Matthew 6:26.
2 Robert Hughes, ‘The Last Salon’, Time, 12 February 1973. Hughes was appointed art critic at Time magazine in 1970. In 1973 the annual exhibition of contemporary American art at the Whitney Museum became biennial.
339. To Edna Edgar
Bribie Is. 4507–Qld. [c. June–August 1973]
Dear Mrs Edgar–
Thank you for your letter about Art award1–I would have written before but have been in hospital with various ills.2
Very delighted to hear–
Yrs Sincerely
Ian Fairweather
Edna Edgar. Sydney-based Honorary Secretary of the International Cooperation Art Award (Australia), 1970–73.
_____________
1 The International Cooperation Art Award was an artist initiative to promote global disarmament and peace. The first award was made in 1965.
2 In May 1973 Fairweather was advised that the skin cancers on his ears required treatment.
340. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Dr Ian–I am sorry not to have written for so long–I enjoyed the British magazines you sent me–Perhaps I shall take in the Observer1–I feel I am seeing things too much from the American point of view–I take in Time every week–I remember I used to take in The Nation and Athenaeum 2–when Virginia Woolf wrote in it3–It brought me all the atmosphere of dear old Bloomsbury–
New York and the Bronx can never quite fill that gap–But the truth is–I have been in hospital–I am getting old! in body at least–and too lazy to do any writing So if you dont hear from me often I hope you will still write–I have a long letter from Minou–He seems bound to the soil–of Rastignac–It seems to me there is no escape from the wheel of Fate–unless by marriage–Witness all my brothers who never did a thing–but get themselves a wife–and a fortune–
Well–So I say to you get yourself a wife–
and God will bless you–
Yrs Ian Fairweather
1 British Sunday newspaper.
2 A political weekly published in London for a decade from 1921 following the merger of the Nation with the literary magazine the Athenaeum.
3 English novelist, critic and publisher.
341. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie. Is 4507 Qld. [August 1973]1
Dear Ian–You must have passed on the road down here from Caboolture2–a place, recently given–to the Mission of Christ the King–They have built a little chapel with stained glass windows–and they have some white turkeys–and geese etc–also a large museum–a curious collection of bits and pieces from all over the world. I couldn’t see much reason for it–But have just read a book called ‘Inuk’–which means man, Esquinaux man3–I found it most interesting–the Mission of Christ the King have a branch it seems, in Alaska and the far north–The Esquinaux How strange to find them here almost o[n] my doorstep–I remember when I was broke in London and began to realise that my only chance was to emigrate–I went to see the Hudson Bay Co. and was quite pleasantly received I even sold them two paintings4–and had high hopes!–I spent a lot of time in the Chelsea public library reading up about northern Canada Airs:–All I got was an assisted passage As a farmer–in Saskatchewan–who fed me on ‘Hot cakes’, and though my stomach was crying out for more, I didnt dare to ask for a bellyfull–I got so thin my bones began to stick out–I didnt begin to live again–till after various chicken farms–I got a job on the Jordan River which supplied Victoria with its electric power They did us swell–Good food and good pay. I was able to save enough–to make a big Jump!–by a Japanese boat–to Shanghai–Where I feel my life–really began–again–
Your picture of Russel Sq, how well I remember it. Was it all drawn from memory?–?
The Bloomsbury–of Virginia Wolf–and the Nation and Athenaeum–Replaced now by the New Statesman–which I cant read5–Yes–I often think of those days–but I doubt if I could have drawn any of it from memory. I thought and still think that London is a pretty filthy place–Most adventures now on the cooking front–no knowing–what sort of mess will turn out–Keep a stew going and add to it every day–Wonderful results–
Best of all good things
Yrs Ian Fairweather
1 The letter is annotated by Ian Alister Fairweather: ‘Replied about 20th August /73. Long letter.’
2 This letter suggests that Ian Alister attempted to visit his uncle; but Fairweather was in hospital being treated for skin cancer.
3 Roger Bulliard, Inuk (1951).
4 It is reported that no works by Fairweather are held in the company’s extensive pictorial holdings, now in the Archives of Manitoba.
5 The New Statesman absorbed the Nation and Athenaeum in 1931.
342. To Helga Macnamara
Bribie 4507. Qld [26 September 1973]
Dear Pippa– Trying to think back–to Prospect Lodge in St Brelade–The old aunts had found a refuge there–and I used to visit them–
It belonged to Alexander–with a large grey beard–and he kept rabbits in a hutch–and there was a wife–who was never seen–She drew aside a curtain to peer at us
And there was Gale’s wife who had a split lip and two teeth on the end of her nose–Gale was the other fisherman in those days–St Croux–was the other one–He used to take me out to visit his lobster pots–I mean Gale did–and we also lived in his house for a while–
and it all seems so long ago–
But so real–Tomorrow I am expecting a visit from the Art Gallery here–to be presented with a medal–!! But it makes no sense at all–Old Alexander–‘Alexander the Great’–With his rabbits in a hutch was nearer the truth! The old St Brelade died with him–where I once lived and will never forget Yrs Ian Fairweather
343. To Helga Macnamara
Dear Pippa. Sept 26 1973–It has been quite a day–The Art award has arrived–With television, scriptwriters–etc1–and it really is very nice in itself–A bronze placque about 3in wide–mounted on a wooden block. With my name on it–Like an old Greaco-Bactrian coin–of the time of Alexander the Great Quite nice to look at–Just for itself–I dont know who the artist was who made it but he deserves my very sincere thanks2–It will be televised tonight–I wish I could see it–I wish much more that you could see it–
It is a surprising thing–that here ‘down under’ such a thing has happened–
And what am I to do–with the beautiful bronze medallion–I have no one to leave it to–you wouldn’t want it–Ian A in New Zealand wouldnt want it–I suppose the Butcher Birds who have been my friends for many years–and driven away all the other birds–whom I should so much prefer–like the Kookaburras–The Laughing Jackass The Spirit of Australia–
Can I leave it to the Butcher Birds–
They have been my only friends right along–The most unwelcome But perhaps the most sincere–I suppose I haven’t much choice–!!
Well anyway, out of it all! Comes a bronze medallion–on a big wood block–Who would want it–? What to do with it–?–and really it deserves something to be done about it–for its own sake–It is quite–Something!!–for its own sake. Bless A[rt]!
This began in Prospect Lodge–with old Alexander–his beard–and his rabbits–I haven’t any rabbits–alas–!!
But for all I know or care–this is Still Prospect Lodge–St Brelade Bay–Jersey–Channel Islands–I have brought the old aunts–some vegetables from Forest Hills–and what they have brought me is this medallion–
Yes–this is quite a day.
Yrs Ian
P.S. John Cooper has turned up3–He is one of those who speak in such a low tone–I cant hear what he says or maybe I am getting deaf–Anyway he makes me feel deaf and old–hang him–!
One of his sisters (he has 4) he says, is now living in Norfolk–perhaps you have met–He is one of the New Generation–I feel we have nothing in common–Alas
1 ‘Artist-Recluse Honoured’, Courier-Mail, 27 September 1973.
2 Designed by Paul Beadle (1917–92), English sculptor and medallist who arrived in Australia in 1944 and in 1961 moved to New Zealand as Chair of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.
3 A photograph of John Cooper and Fairweather accompanied the article ‘Honour for Artist’s 82nd birthday’, Bribie Star, 3 October 1974.
344. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie. Is 5407. Qld [December 1973]
Dear Ian A. Pardon the fish & chip but I seem to be short of paper
Well it seems that you are coming–like the comet–so I will not further try to dissuade you–
There is a Bribie Bus–that leaves from Ann St just behind the Town Hall–and will get you here after going all round the country–(Our old personal Bribie Bus is no more–) It will bring you to the pub on the surf side of the island–passing my door about halfway across the island. But I think your best bet is to get off the bus at the end of–the Bribie end–of the Bridge–
[Fairweather used the stain to draw a fish on a plate]
A little way up the road you will see on the left–the Bellara Motel–
from there you can walk up–but better ring for taxi as the entrance to my place is not very obvious–as I came as a squatter–and had no rights, till I had been here 12 years–Even now I still have none–so find it best not to draw attention to my front door–
Be seeing you and the Comet I hope1–
through my Bribie Pines
Wishing you all the best for 1974
Yrs Ian Fairweather
1 The Comet Kohoutek had been named by the Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek in March 1973. Early predictions indicated that it would be exceptionally bright in southern skies around 28 December.
345. To Ian Alister Fairweather
Bribie Is. 4507. Qld– [late February – early March 1974]
Dear Ian A1–I am beginning to forget your address–I doubt if this pen will see me to the end of this letter–but hoping–I’ve been expecting you!–but like Kahoutec you dont turn up2–I feel I may have offended you–
What I wanted to say–They have destroyed Bribie Is–
It is not worth coming to see!
It was famous for its wild flowers
They have planted it–with a quick growing pine–to make pulp for the insatiable paper mill–
has driven off all the vast shoals of mullet–all the black swans and Turtles that lived in the passage3–I meant there is nothing left to see–I didn’t mean–I didn’t want to see you–Yrs
Ian Fairweather
1 Ian A. Fairweather annotation: ‘Replied 6 March /74 (next day) Telling about poor old Ella Griffith’s tragic death’. On 27 February 1974 Isabella Griffith had been found by police stabbed to death in her Chelsea home. She had been murdered by an intruder.
2 Predictions of a bright Comet Kohoutek in late December did not eventuate.
3 The Australian Paper Mill at Petrie opened in 1957. The Queensland Government granted APM a lease of ‘waste land’ in the centre of Bribie Island for the planting of Slash Pine trees for the mill.
