Visit to Duldig Studio 

On a very warm Tuesday morning sixteen members or our Club met for a tour of Duldig Studio in East Malvern. All of us were totally charmed and amazed at how interesting and informative this lovely house and garden turned out to be.

It was really a piece of Vienna set in the middle of Melbourne with numerous sketches, statues and artefacts in every single room. Karl Duldig (1902-1986), a Polish born Jewish refugee from Austria, set out with his wife Slawa and baby Eva and ended up in in internment camp in Australia (merely because they travelled on a German passport!). They eventually purchased the house in East Malvern and, having brought with them many of their possessions from Vienna, replicated the original lounge room, curtains, furniture and all – a little taste of their beloved

Austrian home. We were very fortunate to have the young daughter, Eva, now in her late eighties, tell of some of their very interesting life and also to remind us of the horror that was Nazi Germany, Eva having lost many of her relatives during the Second World War. Eva was also an accomplished tennis player and casually mentioned that she had played alongside Margaret Court and at Wimbledon!

We were taken on a tour of this enchanting house, garden and studio, and we marvelled at the sheer number of sculptures, large and small, and made from

bronze, clay and a variety of other materials. The garden contained many clay statues as well as seating for resting on the hot day. Truly a lifetime’s work which spanned influences from Asia, Europe, Africa and even a few Australian Aboriginal inspired pieces. I should also mention that on arrival we were treated to a slice of delicious plum cake and a coffee and, being our normal selves, of course we had lunch afterwards at a pleasant little café called “Coffee and Soul” just down the road.

It was certainly a day to remember – thank you Joyce for organising this excellent trip.

Jane Johnson