Bowral was the sixth ADFAS society to form
in 1988 after Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Armidale and Newcastle.
110 members attended the inaugural lecture given by Anna Clark
in March 1998. By 2002 numbers had grown to 300 and the decision
was taken to divide into two groups for morning and evening
lectures.
As well as many interesting lectures, study
days and tours which have been enthusiastically received over
the years, the
Society has been aware that the focus of spreading interest
in the decorative and fine arts is not the only objective
of ADFAS. Support for an individual or organisation who contributes
to our national artistic heritage is willingly given.
Over the years a number of gifts have been
made including: a weather vane to Christ Church, Bong Bong
(near Moss Vale),
antique mirrors for the National Trust property Harper's
Mansion at Berrima, and a bronze statue by Brooke Maurice
'Girl Reading'
to the Bowral Library. In 2008, as part of the Society’s
20th Anniversary commemoration, a painting by the well known
Southern Highlands artist, Reg Rowe, will be presented to the
Bowral hospital.
ADFAS Bowral is twinned with the NADFAS Branch
in Sheffield (UK). This allows for more interaction with the
parent body
from which ADFAS grew, and the source of many of our fine
lecturers.
