Design and Art Australia Online

Peter Power, potential Eureka Stockade survivor, father to Harold Septimus Power and colonial painter, was likely born on 1 May 1830, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, to his Irish parents Peter Power and Ann Sexton. Power arrived in Melbourne, Australia via the ship “Albatross” on 7 April 1853 with “hatter” as his occupation. Marriage certificate records indicate that he married Jane Amers at Scots Church in Melbourne in 1862, with both listed as living in Ballarat at the time. Power and wife Jane moved to Dunedin, New Zealand in 1862, not long after being married to start a family. They remained in New Zealand until approximately 1894. At that time, Power and at least part of the family moved back to Australia to live in Brunswick, Victoria, before moving to Hampton until he died on 4 August 1920. Power and wife Jane were the parents of one daughter and seven sons, including the highly successful artist Harold Septimus Power (1877-1951). Records indicate Power was hesitant for Harold to follow the artist path, before a conversation with the well-known artist Walter Withers convinced him that his son had special artistic qualities.

Several existing records indicate that Power was a self-taught artist. However, an interview with Power for the Melbourne Herald in 1918 states that “…he studied under Reed, an Academy painter of note.” The article also states that Power initially moved to Geelong in Victoria, before eventually following the Victorian gold rush (located Ballarat / Central Victoria), which is consistent with the overview of Power in book “The art of H.Septimus Power” by Max Middleton. Very significant to the overall story of Power is that the article states “He was with the miners at the Eureka Stockade rising, but, getting away safely, he went to New Zealand, before returning, married at Geelong (noting this should read Melbourne), and took his wife to New Zealand, where the family…were reared.” It is a very significant statement with potential historical implications, in that it indicates that a survivor of Australia’s most famous rebellion, the 1854 Eureka Stockade, became a well-regarded artist and also the father of Harold Septimus Power. Available records do indicate that Power was in Ballarat during the later 1850s / early 1860s, with one record noting he was part owner in a Ballarat hat manufacturing company (which dissolved in 1858). His marriage certificate from 1862 also lists Ballarat as his address as well as “hatter” as occupation.

Power specialised in romantic colonial style landscapes, with his paintings first attracting the attention of fellow passenger, Mr W. Watson Boyes, aboard their 1852 / 1853 journey on the Albatross to Australia. His first exhibited painting was listed in a newspaper article from 1860, with the painting placed as part of the 1860 Ballarat Mechanic’s Bazaar. His first New Zealand painting is dated 1862 (part of the Otago Settlers Museum Collection), the same year he arrived with his wife. His first recorded New Zealand exhibition was in 1865 and he was listed as a Dunedin artist in 1866-67 in Stevens & Bartholomew Directory; in 1875-78 and 1883-84 Wise’s. Power exhibited frequently as an artist, including with the Auckland Society of Arts, the Canterbury Society of Arts and the Otago Art Society. He received a second-place award at the Dunedin Industrial Exhibition of 1881. The Otago Art Society noted in 1884 that “…his (Power’s) View on the Sideland Flagstaff (No.2) exhibits evidence of very careful work, the hillside with its native scrub and the digger’s tents being nicely painted. “Twilight Diggers Camp” (No 53) is also a good picture.” The Society also noted in 1887 that “Mr Peter Power, an old member and constant contributor to the Gallery, is to the fore with quite a number of pictures, all executed in his well-known style.” Perhaps Power’s most significant exhibitions were the two international exhibitions held in Australia over 1879 and 1880, where some of the best artists across the world also exhibited. Power exhibited his signature Dunedin landscape paintings at these two international exhibitions. The Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London 1886 was also a significant exhibition where Power exhibited three paintings. Power also travelled back to Australia in 1888 to exhibit and sell three large paintings of New Zealand scenery in the Australian market. Another aim of the trip was to establish agencies in Australia for New Zealand art. When living back in Australia, Power exhibited two paintings at the 1901 Victorian Gold Jubilee Exhibition in Bendigo – these being “In the mushroom season” and “Spring morning on Merri Creek.”

As well as an artist, a newspaper advertisement from 1880 shows that he was also an art teacher, providing afternoon and evening lessons in drawing and painting. Power also likely continued as a hatter for a discrete stage of his life in New Zealand, owning a hat manufacturer and / or working for the hat manufacturer McLenahan and McCuaig. When Power moved back to Australia, he continued to paint but also teach in Brunswick, Victoria.

On a personal front, Power was a friend of J.E Moultray, a well-known Dunedin artist. To give an insight into Power’s character, the well-known New Zealand artist Alfred Henry O’Keeffe wrote of Power as “a jolly old Irishman, who, if he sold a picture, gave a party,” which gives insight into Power’s character. The 1918 Herald article quotes Power “…and I don’t think about time. The days pass and I paint. I live a delightful dual existence, working today in the reconstruction of the past, I have an unusually good memory for beautiful scenery, and many of my pictures are of views captured and stored away years ago. Outside of my family I have few visitors…but those interested in art are interesting to me, and I am glad to see them.”

Power has paintings in the Geelong Gallery, Victoria, Australia, the Hocken Gallery, New Zealand and the Otago Settlers Museum, New Zealand.

Writers:

Staff Writer
CBann

Date written:

1996

Last updated:

2023