The windows at Saint Augustine’s Anglican Church in Shepparton are an example of the beautiful stained glass in our backyards.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Beautiful, biblical or simply decorative?
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For Australia’s leading stained-glass historian, Bronwyn Hughes, the windows that illuminate churches, homes and memorials across the Goulburn Valley are also windows into the region’s history and identity.
Dr Hughes will explore these themes in her talk Hidden in Plain Sight: Stained Glass in the Goulburn Valley, at the sixth biennial Bruce Wilson Memorial Heritage Lecture, to be held at Riverlinks Eastbank, Shepparton, on Wednesday, June 17.
“Stained glass windows are documents of history,” Dr Hughes said.
“People look at them as decorative, beautiful or biblical, yet they can tell us so much.
“Stained glass is a luxury item after all, it tells us about the economy, architectural history and social history.”
Dr Hughes discovered Shepparton’s stained-glass heritage while travelling across Victoria researching her first book.
“I based myself in Shepparton at one stage … there are some fascinating windows in Shepparton,” she said.
The lecture will feature examples ranging from historic windows at Dhurringile Mansion to modernist church works, including those at Saint Mel’s Parish Catholic Church by artist John Ferguson.
Stained glass at Saint Mel’s Parish Catholic Church, Shepparton is a more modernist example of glasswork.
“His work is delightful, he uses the normal subject matter and iconography of the church, of course, but he brought it to a new era,” Dr Hughes said.
She will also examine how glass has been incorporated into public landscapes, pointing to the Mooroopna war memorial as a contemporary example.
However, Dr Hughes said the best examples could sometimes be found in unexpected places.
“People tend to love grand windows, but sometimes the smallest windows can tell the best stories,” she said.
That fascination led Dr Hughes to become one of Australia’s foremost stained-glass experts.
“Glass was what grabbed me,” she said.
“I was getting towards the end of my degree … and I started going into churches and there was nothing about the history of those windows, who’d done them, even what they’re about.
“It got me thinking about how on earth do we learn about what’s out there. There was a real gap.”
The memorial at the Mooroopna Cenotaph is an example of glass being used in the landscape.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
The question ultimately led her to complete a master’s degree and PhD on the subject.
She has now spent over 40 years researching and educating people about stained-glass and was awarded an OAM in 2019 for service to the fine arts.
“It's been a labour of love,” she said.
Dr Hughes believes public awareness is one of the best ways to preserve stained-glass heritage.
“One way to help with conservation is to make people aware of what they have,” she said.
She said the lecture will be a chance for the public to learn about “what’s in your backyard”.
Two free sessions will be held at Riverlinks Eastbank, Shepparton, on Wednesday, June 17 at 1pm and 6pm.
The event is open to all members of the community. For more information, phone council on 5832 9730 or email council@shepparton.vic.gov.au
Dhurringile Mansion contains stained glass from the 1870s.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The windows at Saint Mel’s Parish Catholic Church Shepparton show how stained glass was brought into a new era.
Stained glass at Saint Augustine’s Anglican Church on Maude St.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
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