[Tanunda]

'Proposed Club House at Tanunda - for the Club Committee' [an original large hand-coloured architectural drawing]

Adelaide, English & Soward, Architects, Cowra Chambers, Grenfell Street, 1907.

A series of 13 architectural drawings (11 of them hand-coloured) and several rough pencilled sketches (overall visible image size 540 × 975 mm), matted and behind glass in a later wooden frame (external dimensions 755 × 1190 mm).

The thick cartridge paper has a short (28 mm) closed tear to the left-hand edge, a semi-circular onlay of opaque drafting cloth over a large chip to the top edge (covering most of the word 'Committee'), and a few pinholes top and bottom; trifling signs of handing; overall, a very attractive item in excellent condition.

The main drawings, in black ink and up to six different watercolours, comprise the Front Elevation (West), South Elevation, Ground Plan, Back Elevation, and Cellar; there are also four sections and a number of minor details. It has been signed by the contractor, A.E. Kauffmann, and dated (8 July 1907) and witnessed by Adelaide architect George Klewitz Soward (who has also added elsewhere 'English & Soward, Architects, Cowra Chambers, Grenfell Street, Adelaide'). The fine building still stands in Tanunda today, serving the same purpose for which it was constructed. The Tanunda Club dates back to the last months of 1891, when 'there was a move to initiate discussion on how the local townspeople could best achieve convivial society as well as promote the products of the region.... From its very beginning, the club was a social centre for people from all walks of life, where its members could relax, partake of refreshments and enjoy discussions in the company of others.... By May 1906, the Club's finances were in a very healthy state. It was perhaps with a sense of pride in the Club's achievements that Mr Adolph Schulz addressed a general meeting and mentioned that "according to the financial standing of the Club we might build a substantial front and prop[osed] that a general meeting be called to test the feeling of the members". There was a spirit of prediction in Schulz's words.... By October, rough sketches for the proposed edifice had been prepared and were quickly approved - the grand new Clubhouse was underway! In January, 1907 tenders for the proposed building were accepted after Mr Juncken had explained every detail of the work, from the materials to be used to the dimension of the rooms.... By December, 1907, new furnishings for the rooms were being purchased.... The building itself was to be a credit not only to the Club, but to the whole town of Tanunda. It was of fairly simple, rectangular design, topped by a roof with Dutch gables. The MacDonnell Street facade was plain, yet superb. A steeply pitched verandah ran the entire length. It had turned wooden posts, beautiful lacework at the timber joins, and an impressive low fence and magnificently worked wrought-iron gateway. Above this verandah, running like a ribbon down the facade, was a rendered parapet. It had gables at either end and a central, rounded feature with the words CLUBHOUSE inserted in large gold letters. The building's substantial size, prominent position and fine construction made it one of Tanunda's outstanding features. It could be looked upon as an enormous asset. In one sense, it changed the face of both the Club and its importance in the community' (Rob Linn: 'The Tanunda Club - a Centenary History', 1991).

Item #122957

Price (AUD): $1,100.00
other currencies