The Cedars in Hahndorf: The ancestral home of Sir Hans Heysen

Originally published in Australian Country Magazine January 2022

The ancestral home of Sir Hans Heysen is an art and nature lover’s pilgrimage, lovingly preserved by the great painter’s family.

The word ‘iconic’ gets bandied about endlessly in the new vocabulary of inane hyperbole. But I think we can safely say, Sir Hans Heysen rates as the real deal when it comes to the cream of Australian landscape artists.

Again, the phrase ‘humble beginnings’ is all-too-often attributed to anyone who rose from modest means to some degree of notoriety. Here again, Heysen fits the bill. In fact, I’m told Hans, his parents and siblings became adept at changing addresses at two in the morning in order to evade their back rent.

Heysen, perhaps as a result of his parents’ necessary frugality, learned to paint for both pleasure and profit to the point where his successful 1912 solo exhibition in Melbourne netted sales in excess of £1500. After the failure of his Adelaide exhibitions, this welcome windfall enabled him and his wife Sallie to return to South Australia and purchase The Cedars, a 36-acre property near Hahndorf in the verdant Adelaide Hills, about 30 kilometres from the CBD.

It is here on a splendid Spring afternoon that I meet with Dr Peter Heysen, a sharp and spritely octogenarian and the eldest grandson of the famous painter. We stroll around what he refers to as a “rambling cottage garden” planted mainly with exotic species, most notably the massive Himalayan cedars that give the property its name.

“The garden certainly reflects grandfather’s love of both nature and art,” Peter reminds me, “and he would enjoy working the soil himself. The stonework paths, walls, steps and borders of quartz and sandstone you see were all his own work.”

While the famous Souvenir de la Malmaison and fragrant bourbon roses are yet to bud, we can see lilacs, iris and old-fashioned perennials in abundance. Roses feature prominently throughout Heysen’s work as well as that of his gifted daughter Nora, the fourth of nine children who also grew up here and became a celebrated painter in her own right, becoming the first woman to win the Archibald Prize in 1938 with her portrait of Mme Elink Schuurman.

We huff and puff slightly as we make our way up to the freestanding studio, built from local bluestone by Heysen soon after purchasing The Cedars. A small mob of Eastern Grey Kangaroos munch contentedly on the lush grass barely paying us heed.

The first thing one notices, whether consciously or not, is the superb light bathing every corner of the purpose-built studio. Enormous panes of European etched glass filter the sunlight through giant south-facing windows, producing an even, subtle glow ideal for visual arts.

The centrepiece of the studio is Heysen’s original easel, standing exactly as it has done for more than a century. On the easel is an unfinished landscape with its own story. Peter sits comfortably on his grandfather’s stool exactly as the patriarch would have done.

“Grandfather, as everyone knows, was a great admirer and an advocate of the area’s magnificent eucalypts and when starting a painting he would first sketch the tree and often use it as a ‘model’ for other paintings,” explains Peter, “this particular one was about to be cut down for fences and unfortunately before grandfather could negotiate to buy the tree so as to leave it standing, it was cut down and made the 400 posts the landowner so badly needed.

“Of course, grandfather was bitterly disappointed at the outcome and refused to finish the painting, leaving this unfinished oil painting as both a protest and a memorial to the great old gum tree.”

Arranged around the central easel are numerous other works, mostly from his early period (1908 - 1920s) comprising a range of media including pencil, chalk, conte, watercolour and oil as well as his favoured medium, charcoal. Many personal effects and correspondence are contained in the cabinets and desk, capturing a snapshot of his life just as it was in the early 20th century.

We proceed back across the pasture to the house itself which has been preserved almost as if the inhabitants might just emerge from behind a door and take a seat at the perfectly set table. While the house itself dates to the 1860s, the Heysens made substantial changes to accommodate their large - and growing - family. The interiors with furniture and decorations as well as the facade are described as the most intact example of domestic Federation Arts and Crafts style in Australia and are much as it was in the 1920s.

On the wall overlooking the entire room is a most impressive painting of roses hanging above the fireplace. As it caught my eye, it also caught the eye of someone quite famous who was used to getting her way.

“The Heysens were great entertainers and it was quite common for them to host celebrities and dignitaries,” Peter says glancing at the painting. I can tell there is a story coming.

“One evening a particularly well known prima donna was the special guest and she declared most emphatically she wanted that painting and to reinforce her sincerity, she produced a cheque book and wrote grandfather a blank cheque despite his insisting it wasn’t for sale. He once told me he kept the paintings he loved and sold the rest to pay the bills. This was one he loved.

“In an attempt to appease his honoured guest, he offered to paint one just like it and he sent it to her in Europe some time later. To everyone’s surprise, she returned it. That was Dame Nellie Melba.”

We exit the house but before we head to the gift shop and Nora’s studio we swing by the former coach house, where Peter delights in showing me his grandfather’s Model A Ford and custom-built ‘pop-up’ camper trailer, both restored to pristine condition. These were used extensively by Heysen in the 1930s during his many trips to the Flinders Ranges.

“When we found the camper, it was being used as a bird aviary, so was in something of a poor state,” says Peter wryly, “we had it completely restored in the 1980s”

Officially, for those who revel in such detail, it’s an Eicke & Provis ‘Folding Fly-Proof Caravan’ built by the company at their Parkside factory on Greenhill Road.

Before thanking Peter for his time and insight, we inspect the rear of the gift shop where Nora Heysen once had her studio. While Nora matched her father’s talent for still life and nature, she also excelled in portraiture, attested to by the many superb pieces adorning the walls of the studio.

“Do you recognise this face?” Peter enquires of me with a hint of mischief.

I inspect the infant child's cherubic face closely. Dazzling blue eyes are framed by a flawless blond pageboy cut.

“No,” I reply meekly, “is it someone famous?”

“Not really,” says Peter with a smirk,, “it’s me!”



Visiting The Cedars

The Cedars are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 4.30pm. Guided tours run at 11am and 2pm.

To book please email contactus@hansheysen.org.au or call (08) 83887277

Website: www.hansheysen.com.au


The Walk

Hikers can take any of the Artist’s Walks, which feature vistas painted by the artist himself and favoured locations.

One spot is ‘The Lone Gum’ and you can see a pastel depiction in the house. The Shady Pond is another. This serene location is where the cattle once drank and is surrounded by candle bark gums.

The New Gallery

A third iteration of plans have been revealed for a new cultural precinct in Adelaide Hills, now awaiting approval from Planning SA.

Read more


The Rose

Lovers of these beautiful blooms should visit in November to enjoy the full spectacle of the garden in full colour.

“There are more than 100 roses in the garden, many collected by Hans himself in the 1920s from cuttings he found at the Hahndorf cemetery,” says curator Allan Campbell candidly, “Some of the roses are over 100 years old.”

“The old-fashioned roses were his favourites. The bourbon rose ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’ were often painted by Nora and Hans. Now it’s called the ‘Heysen Rose’ “

All material (c) Copyright Traveloscopy.com unless noted otherwise.