A large number of residents in the Southern Riverina trace their ancestry to German settlers. Attracted to the fertile lands of the Riverina, they travelled from South Australia on arduous wagon treks. From 1867 onwards they formed communities clustered around communally-built Protestant Churches in Gerogery, Jindera, Walla Walla, Edgehill, Burrumbuttock, Pleasant Hills and Walbundrie. While many of these settlements still exist, of others, such as Alma Park or Bethel, only churches and grave markers stand silent witness to the German past.

    The photographs in this exhibition are an exploration of early German architecture in the Southern Riverina (1860s to 1910s). The images are evocative of rural life in the Riverina over one hundred years ago. The photographer's eye was attracted to the notion of 'romantic ruins' and the symbolism that some architectural features convey, such as the many doors that stood ajar, inviting the viewer to enter a lost world