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23 Aug 2025Canines can channel their inner artist with dog paw painting and sit in a photo booth dressed like an artist. There will be a stick and ball library and many other dog-related activities including displays from Springwood Dog Training club. There will also be a Dogs Day Out Talent competitionmoreBook now
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6 May 2025Hear an informative talk and join an interesting guided tour of the recently refurbished home of Australian-born explorer, Hamilton Hume. Hear firsthand the ‘Unearthed’ facts relating to previous occupants of Cooma Cottage, how they lived, and how this influenced the new interpretation of many areas of the Cottage. Many artifacts notmoreBook Now
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5 Apr 2025 - 27 Apr 2025Enjoy seeing beautiful stylised print images of Australian native plants and birds by local artist Lorraine Brownlee, with the opportunity to purchase a print. From her initial pencil sketches, her images transform into beautiful patterns and shapes inspired by natural form. All works will be for sale and support themore
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3 Aug 2025Sited on one of the most interesting geological and indigenous areas in the Hunter, Largs was home to Wonnarua family groups thousands of years before Europeans, initially cedar getters, arrived. It straddles the boundaries of three of the most important settler Estates in the Hunter (Dunmore, Phoenix Park and Bolwarra).moreBook now
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13 Jul 2025Step back in time and see historic Grossmann House dressed for a Victorian Christmas suitable for a merchant’s family. Snap a picture in front of the Christmas Tree and join a guided tour, running on the hour. Take a leisurely stroll through the garden before sitting down to a deliciousmoreBook now
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19 Oct 2025Find that something special as you browse a wide variety of local market stalls dotted throughout the beautiful gardens that wrap around this Victorian-era bungalow. Pack a picnic and relax in Miss Traill’s beautiful garden. Enjoy morning and afternoon tea and a sausage sizzle for brunch or lunch. Visitors aremore
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24 Aug 2025In celebration James Fairfax’s adoration of his dogs, we invite you and your furry friends to join the festivities at historic Retford Park. Activities include free gardens tours for dogs and their humans, competitions, an agility course and demonstrations. Browse a range of stalls selling a variety of dog-related goodiesmoreBook now
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11 Sep 2025 - 12 Oct 2025Working in pen and ink, Desmond’s pictures include an incredible level of intricate detail. Of particular interest to him are shadows and reflections on glass; sometimes unexpected in tortured planes and weird fragments of what they are reflecting, sometimes half-revealing what is inside. Desmond studied art and design at themore
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13 Sep 2025Step into a world of inspiration at the iconic Norman Lindsay Garden, where the beauty of nature and art seamlessly come together. In this immersive two-day Plein Air painting workshop, artist Corinne Loxton will lead you in capturing the breathtaking sculptures by Norman Lindsay, set against the backdrop of vibrantmoreBook now
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21 Sep 2025You are cordially invited to join us at an enchanting Regency Day Out this spring. Delight in captivating Regency fashion talks by Dress Historian, Dr Lorinda Cramer and Old Government House’s Assistant Curator, Anna Ridley. Step inside Old Government House for a special viewing of the delicate and rarely seenmore
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24 Jun 2025 - 25 Jun 2025Fuel up with morning tea at Centennial Homestead before you commence a fascinating, leisurely 90-minute tour visiting many of the landmarks of one of the world’s largest urban parks. You will learn interesting historical facts, visit some secret spots, meet some native inhabitants and enjoy the stunning scenery of thismoreBook now
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9 Sep 2025 - 16 Sep 2025Meet local historian and Manly enthusiast, Terry Gatward, outside the Manly Town Hall, conveniently located opposite the ferry terminal, for an introduction to the earliest colonial days of Manly. Manly’s Eastern Hill was once a suburb of choice for Sydney’s gentry and businessmen. It still shows signs of some ofmoreBook now
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27 Mar 2025 - 4 May 2025The exhibition title ‘34 Degrees South’ reflects the artists’ latitudinal placement on the Earth’s hemisphere, their bandwidth south of the equator. Bowral and Retford Park are located at 34.8802 degrees South Longitude and the nine exhibiting artists live in Southern Highlands towns, villages and adjoining bushlands. Their various travels andmore
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20 Mar 2025 - 21 Jul 2025This captivating exhibition delves into the full range of Norman Lindsay’s etching techniques, covering a pivotal period from 1915 to 1930, widely regarded as the golden age of Lindsay’s pen drawing and printmaking. The show highlights the complexity and precision of his artistic evolution, focusing on his exploration of desiremore
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27 Jul 2025 - 16 Nov 2025The concept of ghosts and the afterlife appears in almost every culture. House of Ghosts explores the intersection of the real and the imagined – the seen and unseen, Imagined figures, spirits, ghosts, memories of people, or some kind of hallucination. Over 60,000 Australian soldiers were killed during the firstmoreBook now
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19 Sep 2025 - 31 Oct 2025First awarded in 1965, the Portia Geach Memorial Award was established by Florence Kate Geach in memory of her sister, artist Portia Geach. As per the direction of the will, the Award is annually presented to an Australian female artist for the best portrait painted from life of a manmore
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1 Jun 2025Heritage used to signify a civic appreciation and responsibility to recognise and protect the aesthetic, cultural and social history of people and places that make up the cumulative narrative of cities. Today ‘heritage’ has a justifiably broad orbit, but in Sydney, architectural heritage has a diminished status and politicised criticisms.moreBook now
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21 Jun 2025The annual Bric-a-Brac Bazaar returns to historic Lindesay, a stunning 1834 mansion overlooking Sydney Harbour. Browse a delightful array of curios and surprise knick-knacks and collectibles. Make a day of it as you explore this special spot and enjoy a morning or afternoon tea under the enormous old plane trees.more
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12 Jun 2025 - 6 Jul 2025A collaboration between CanAssist, the Botanical Art Society of Australia and Retford Park, featuring an annual juried prize and exhibition of competition entries. Described as a liaison between the disciplines of art and science, botanical art aims to capture the essence of the plant; its form, texture and growth habits,more
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14 Aug 2025 - 4 Sep 2025Katherine C Rooney is a contemporary landscape and still life artist based in Sydney. Inspired by the Australian landscape, her artworks are colourful and textured, capturing the changing light and mood of the sky and land with lush layers of acrylic paint. Be it a fleeting colour of the sky,more
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10 Jul 2025 - 7 Aug 2025Martial is unequivocally, jauntily French – even after almost four decades of living in Australia. His work exhibits all the mores attributed to the French in a dynamic, engaging, wondrous swirl of life well lived. His canvases jump out at you – full of exuberance and literally joie de vivre.more
