DARWIN PLAQUE 3 FELLING TIMBER IN THE HILLS

Gerard Darwin worked as a commissioned artist to design ten plaques to be displayed at the Armadale Hospital. These are the original moulds used to cast the plaques. This plaque was made to acknowledge the important role the timber industry played in ensuring many British families who settled in the district in the mid to late 1800s were able to produce an income when things were tough on their farms. The cutting of timber also helped to open up the land for farming, vegetable gardens and orchards which were an important industry for much of the 20th Century. Since the early 2000's many of these agricultural properties have been replaced with residential developments. The image was inspired by a photograph of labourers loading timber at the Armadale station. This photograph can be found at the Birtwistle Local Studies Library.
Gerard 'Gerry' Darwin was an award winning and internationally known sculpture. Born in 1928 in Lancashire, Great Britain, Gerry entered the Mill Hill Seminary to train as a priest where he also developed his interest in art and sculpture. Before completing his studies he left the seminary, married Agnes and moved to Kenya, taking up a job as an arts and craft teacher at a teacher training college. He and Agnes spent seven years in Kenya where Gerry produced several sculptural works carved from stone. They briefly returned to Britain before immigrating to Perth and moving to Roleystone in 1977.
He soon established himself as a sculpture, completing numerous sculptures for individuals, religious sculptures for the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth as well as commissioned pieces across Australia and around the world. Prominent works include a bust of Queen Labotzebeni of Swaziland, Sir Norman Brearley (Perth Airport), Saint Mary MacKillop, and busts of Saint Pope John Paul II and Saint Mother Teresa, both located at St Mary's Cathedral in Perth. A copy of the Saint Mary MacKillop was also produced for the Vatican Collection where Gerry already had other works.
Failing eye sight in 2009 saw Gerry start to slow down. His last major project was a sculpture of the 14 stations of the cross for St Mary's Cathedral. Gerry died in December 2020. His funeral mass was held at St Mary's Cathedral. His daughter Camilla Loveridge and his grand-daughter Ruth are also artists, both award winning painters with Ruth winning the Black Swan Youth Portraiture Price and Angelico Art Award.