Macleay Valley Autumn

Description

Original artwork by John Bradley.

The MacLeay river and it’s valley have long been one of my favourite sources of inspiration for painting and I think I’ve probably painted it in every season.

The autumn colours in the painting are not exaggerated but include some introduced species of foliage in the foreground which I felt enhanced the overall effect of the colourful autumn. Some distant farm buildings with a small wisp of smoke rising give us a point of interest and no doubt will help some to identify with the painting.

Formed by the confluence of the Gara river, Salisberry Waters and Bakers Creek, the Macleay river rises below Blue knobby Mount and, East of Uralla within the Great Dividing Range. The river flows in a meandering course generally East by South passing through a number of spectacular gorges and waterfalls in Cunawarra National Park and Oxley Wild Rivers National Park before reaching its mouth at the Tasman sea near South West Rocks. The river descends 460 metres over its 298 kilometres course and eventually flows through the town of Kempsey.

John Oxley failed to realise the potential of this river in 1820 as he did not navigate far enough up river to see the magnificent stands of timber and the fertile land. It wasn’t until 1827 that a party of convicts were sent to the upper reaches to cut the red cedar trees. More cedar camps were established on the Macleay in the 1830s and the area was also a haven for escaped convicts.

Variously known as the Wright river, Trail river, New and Mcleay rivers, it was eventually named the Macleay river in honour of Alexander Macleay, Scottish born scientist and Colonial Secretary of NSW.