As part of Our Lady’s Centenary celebrations in 2027, we are planning to restore the Stations of the Cross in the Church.

The Stations of the Cross were created by respected Australian artist Alan Sumner, whose works are exhibited in the Australian National Gallery in Canberra and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.

The Stations of the Cross were commissioned in 1948 and funded by the parishioners of Our Lady’s.

They are painted on glass, creating a stained-glass effect. Over the years they have suffered the effects of time and some of the paintwork has become severely discoloured.

Given the importance of these works of art, they need to be restored professionally to be brought back to their original condition. For this purpose, Grimwade Conservation, Melbourne University will be employed to carry out this sensitive work.

If you would like to contribute to the cost of this project, please choose from the following options:

Option 1

Click on Donate on the top of the page. On the drop down, choose Restoration of the Stations of the Cross. Fill in the other required information, choose your payment option and just follow the prompts.

Option 2

Complete the form on flyers you can find in the church place in an envelope, or simply place donation in an envelope. Please make sure you write capital works/Restoration of the Stations of the Cross, so we know that it is separate from the Thanksgiving Donations. Drop your donations at the parish office or in any of the collections during Sunday mass.

Option 3

Bank Transfer:

BSB 083 347

Account Number 6909 17739

Account Name Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church

Reference: capital works / Restoration of the Stations of the Cross

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Alan Robert Melbourne Sumner MBE (1911 – 1994) was an Australian artist; a painter, printmaker, teacher, stained glass designer and WW2 Royal Australian Air Force veteran.

He studied at the Melbourne National Gallery Art School, Melbourne Technical College, George Bell School, the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris and the Courtauld Institute, London.

Sumner was apprenticed as a stained-glass designer for the firm of Brooks Robinson, Melbourne then for fifteen years at E.L. Yencken and Co where he was mentored by fellow artist William Frater, becoming head designer. He painted in a post-impressionist style influenced by George Bell, which he applied in his work as a stained glass artist; he was commissioned for around 100 stained glass works, most important of which are the windows for the Services Memorial and the memorial window for Charles Joseph La Trobe in Chapelle de l'Ermitage, Neuchatel, Switzerland.