“It is only a couple of days since intelligence reached us of the axeman having commenced his work of destruction, even in the beautiful Fern Tree Gully – one of the few really delightful bits of scenery we possess near the capital, and with which we are alone able to astonish the stranger who has beheld the scenic celebrities of Europe.”

– The Argus, 29 November 1861

Austrian-born artist Eugene von Guérard arrived in Australia in 1852 and created some of the most loved landscape scenes of the Australian environment. In 1857, von Guérard painted Ferntree Gully in the Dandenong Ranges. The painting, which conveys the cool, lush and untouched sanctuary of temperate rainforest, captured the attention of the public both in Melbourne and London where it was displayed, not just for its artistic beauty but also because it tapped into the Victorian era obsession with ferns known as ‘fern fever’. Visitors flocked to the area to see this beauty for themselves. Tourism also brought destruction, with loggers and vandals quickly descending on the area, taking tree ferns and felling trees for timber. Newspapers, spearheaded by Argus art critic James Smith, deplored this wanton destruction and lobbied the government to take action. The result of this outcry saw the creation of the Dandenong State Forest under the Land Act 1867 and the beginnings of the environmental and conservation movement in the area. 

IMAGE:

Eugene von Guérard

Ferntree Gully in the Dandenong Ranges, 1857

oil on canvas

92 x 138 cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Gift of Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE 1975