Dennis Leversha's drawing of the old mine brace in its heyday finds a fitting home in the
Rescue Station Arts Centre.
Rescue Station Arts Centre.
By Catherine Watson
AS IT slowly crumbles, Wonthaggi's No. 5 Mine Brace has intrigued and inspired photographers and artists for almost half a century.
One of them was Wonthaggi artist Dennis Leversha, who painted and photographed the historic structure countless times throughout his life.
Now a detailed pencil drawing he completed in the late 1970s has found a new home at the nearby Rescue Station Arts Centre, just a stone's throw from the old brace itself.
AS IT slowly crumbles, Wonthaggi's No. 5 Mine Brace has intrigued and inspired photographers and artists for almost half a century.
One of them was Wonthaggi artist Dennis Leversha, who painted and photographed the historic structure countless times throughout his life.
Now a detailed pencil drawing he completed in the late 1970s has found a new home at the nearby Rescue Station Arts Centre, just a stone's throw from the old brace itself.
The drawing had hung for many years in the ArtSpace office after being donated by Shirley and Maurice Poulton when they downsized.
Their daughter, Lynne Jansen, an ArtSpace volunteer, said Shirley’s grandfather had worked in the Wonthaggi mines in the early days, so there was a connection with the town's history.
“ArtSpace felt the drawing needed to be on public display. One of our artists suggested the Rescue Station would be the perfect home, right by the old brace building. I was delighted when they welcomed the idea."
Rescue Station Arts Centre committee president Wendy Crellin said members were thrilled to receive the work from an artist so closely associated with both the arts centre and the town's heritage.
The drawing is already hanging on the wall and plans are underway for a plaque explaining its history and provenance.
Leversha completed the work at a time when the brace had already been closed for more than a decade and was beginning its slow decline. Yet he chose to depict it as a bustling workplace, complete with wagons and coal carts.
His wife, Bev Leversha, believes he completed the drawing in the late 1970s. A full-time teacher, Dennis could pursue his art only on evenings and weekends, and the intricate drawing would have taken many hours to complete.
Bev, herself an artist, said the couple visited the old brace regularly over the decades that followed. "Dennis was always photographing and painting it," she said. "We were both fascinated by the building and the history of the place."
The drawing brings together two of Dennis's enduring passions: art and local history. He helped to get the arts centre up and running and later worked with Parks Victoria to reopen the No. 5 Brace reserve as a visitor area.
The brace itself opened in 1910 during the first year of the State Coal Mine and operated continuously until September 1968 when the West Area closed.
It was the oldest continuously operating brace building on the coalfield, kept functioning through the ingenuity of mine engineers and carpenters who, at one stage, famously jacked up the structure so it sloped from west to east.
In No. 5 Brace, published in the Post in 2023, historian Carolyn Landon observed that generations of artists had been drawn to the brace's "tragic grandeur" as it slowly deteriorated after mining ceased.
“It seemed to represent all that Wonthaggi stood for: the pride in the extraordinary work that went on here starting in 1909, the camaraderie of workers from many nations, the belief in the power of the Miners Union to protect the workers and their families, the cherishing of community and equality, the right of every citizen to have a voice and the need for all to care for one another.”
Their daughter, Lynne Jansen, an ArtSpace volunteer, said Shirley’s grandfather had worked in the Wonthaggi mines in the early days, so there was a connection with the town's history.
“ArtSpace felt the drawing needed to be on public display. One of our artists suggested the Rescue Station would be the perfect home, right by the old brace building. I was delighted when they welcomed the idea."
Rescue Station Arts Centre committee president Wendy Crellin said members were thrilled to receive the work from an artist so closely associated with both the arts centre and the town's heritage.
The drawing is already hanging on the wall and plans are underway for a plaque explaining its history and provenance.
Leversha completed the work at a time when the brace had already been closed for more than a decade and was beginning its slow decline. Yet he chose to depict it as a bustling workplace, complete with wagons and coal carts.
His wife, Bev Leversha, believes he completed the drawing in the late 1970s. A full-time teacher, Dennis could pursue his art only on evenings and weekends, and the intricate drawing would have taken many hours to complete.
Bev, herself an artist, said the couple visited the old brace regularly over the decades that followed. "Dennis was always photographing and painting it," she said. "We were both fascinated by the building and the history of the place."
The drawing brings together two of Dennis's enduring passions: art and local history. He helped to get the arts centre up and running and later worked with Parks Victoria to reopen the No. 5 Brace reserve as a visitor area.
The brace itself opened in 1910 during the first year of the State Coal Mine and operated continuously until September 1968 when the West Area closed.
It was the oldest continuously operating brace building on the coalfield, kept functioning through the ingenuity of mine engineers and carpenters who, at one stage, famously jacked up the structure so it sloped from west to east.
In No. 5 Brace, published in the Post in 2023, historian Carolyn Landon observed that generations of artists had been drawn to the brace's "tragic grandeur" as it slowly deteriorated after mining ceased.
“It seemed to represent all that Wonthaggi stood for: the pride in the extraordinary work that went on here starting in 1909, the camaraderie of workers from many nations, the belief in the power of the Miners Union to protect the workers and their families, the cherishing of community and equality, the right of every citizen to have a voice and the need for all to care for one another.”
The beautiful wreck: No. 5 Mine Brace by Dennis Leversha