WANGI Wangi’s most famous resident, the artist Sir William Dobell, was not always the brooding, deep and temperamental artist type that some have assumed he was.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For one thing, he insisted locals call him Bill, and suspected locals who called him Sir William were taking the mickey.
And he was once visited at his home by Sir Roden and Lady Cutler who happened to arrive while he was enjoying boiled eggs for lunch.
The former NSW Governor and his wife insisted on dining in with him, so he boiled a couple more eggs and, discovering he had no more egg cups, served them to his VIP guests in makeshift egg cups fashioned by slicing the ends off an empty toilet paper roll.
They’re just a couple of the amusing anecdotes that John Sheehan has told to many visitors to the artist’s former home and studio, now known as Dobell House.
Mr Sheehan is president of the Sir William Dobell Memorial Committee Inc, the charitable organisation that owns and maintains Dobell House as a museum.
Mr Sheehan and his wife, Juanita, host tours of the home where they talk about the man and his work.
“Bill was quite a character. He had a real sense of humour and he didn’t mind catching people out,” Mr Sheehan said.
“He died 46 years ago, but there are still stories and anecdotes coming out about him.”
Just the other day, Mr Sheehan realised that a volunteer helper at Dobell House had hit the wrong digit on the telephone keypad while setting up calls to be diverted from the Dobell House line to Mr Sheehan’s number after hours.
The error meant that calls intended for Dobell House were instead being diverted to an unsuspecting resident in the town.
When Mr Sheehan discovered the error, he phoned the unfortunate resident, a woman, to apologise and explain why bus tour companies had been ringing her at all hours.
“The woman was very nice about it. She just said ‘Don’t worry about it, love. Bill Dobell taught me how to square dance 50 years ago’,” he said.
Dobell House has received a new lick of paint, inside and out, just in time for the Wangi Wangi Centenary Festival this Sunday.
The work was made possible by a donation from Wangi Workers Club and a grant from the federal government's Stronger Communities Program.
Mr Sheehan expects it will be a busy weekend for tours of the house. On Sunday, the property will be a focal point of the festival when a time capsule is buried in the grounds.
Dobell House is on the Register of the National Estate, and is being considered for inclusion on the NSW Heritage list.
