The Centaur was an Australian hospital ship sunk by the Japanese off the coast of Queensland during WW2. A tragic event. But the window commemorating the lives lost is a beautiful and dramatic artwork. It is located in the front entry foyer of Concord Hospital in Sydney NSW.
The Centaur Window
Gum blossom
Sturt's desert pea
I've been writing up an Assessment Report for the stained glass of St Mary's Catholic Church Concord (damaged by fire) and needed to visit the Church once more. It happened that my good friend Dr Bronwyn Hughes, a stained glass historian from Melbourne, was visiting Sydney and expressed a desire to see the St Mary's windows on her way to visit the Centaur window. And so it came to pass... I became tour guide for Bronwyn and was able to show her not only the Centaur window but also the Armed Forces Memorial windows in the Concord Hospital Chapel: a bonus, since Bronwyn's current research subject is War Memorial stained glass windows.
Native hibiscus
Close-up of the ship
The ship goes down
This window is not only beautifully designed but exceptionally well painted. Its certainly a very traditional window for Martin van der Toorn, who sometimes works quite loosely, but its a fine piece of work and a fitting tribute to a horrific event.
Later I showed Bronwyn around Hibernian House, where my studio is located, as she is also quite interested in public art and 'street art', of which there are some excellent examples on the roof of my building. All in all a great day