RESIDENTS GALLERY

Originally on this site there was a chook shed which was then converted into a schoolhouse in the 1940’s for the purpose of educating those children living at Montsalvat. In 1970 Sigmund Jörgensen gutted the building, redesigned and rebuilt the structure to house the writer Betty Roland. The fine lining boards that form the ceiling were rescued from a cool store in Vermont and the Johnson River parquetry blocks that form the floor came from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s bullion room in Collins Street, Melbourne. Betty Roland had spent some time overseas and Helen Skipper had asked Betty to return to Australia to write the story of Montsalvat and to decipher some of Mervyn Skipper’s notes. Betty wrote the book ‘The Eye of the Beholder’ at Montsalvat. After Justus Jörgensen died in 1975, Betty left Montsalvat and Helen Skipper lived in the building until the fire in 1996 when the building sustained considerable damage. The fire of 1996 destroyed the staircase leading to the mezzanine level and the wooden staircase has never been replaced. After refurbishment in 2000 the building became a small gallery for Montsalvat residents to exhibit their work.

COURTYARD Sculptures

Matcham Skipper designed and sculptured the images around the Residents Gallery courtyard.