Great Southern Landscapes: Aug 30

This week on Great Southern Landscapes, Rachel Griffiths embarks on a journey to Tower Hill in country Victoria to find the exact spot where Eugene Von Guerard painted his legacy painting of 1855.

Rachel’s travels begin by train to Ballarat, Von Guerard’s first port of call as a recently arrived Austrian migrant. Like many of his era, the artist came for the gold, but unlike others, he stayed for the landscapes. His artwork of the goldfields captured an historic moment in time.

Next stop is farmer Nick Cole whose ancestor commissioned the Tower Hill painting in an attempt to document this volcanic landscape before it was destroyed by mining and deforestation.

Armed with a magnifying glass, Rachel finally arrives in Warrnambool, the home of the original painting, to see the highly detailed landscape in the flesh.

Before Rachel reaches X-marks the spot, she meets Brett Clark, songman and elder of the Gunditjmara clan, to better understand this part of country.

Rachel is awed by the magnificent scene of Tower Hill and she is grateful this painting existed so that this beautiful place could be restored to its original state.

8pm Tuesday on ABC.