Alice Ayres Artist

Alice Mary Ayres was born in Sale on January 14, 1928 to Maurice and Eileen Coleman of Grandview Homestead Glenmaggie, a pioneering family who settled from Ireland in the early to mid 1800s.

Alice lived and worked on the family farm at Grandview Glenmaggie and Licola, riding her horse five miles each day to attend the Glenmaggie school.

Grandview at that time employed many men as the farm was a highly productive holding, milking over 100 cows, breeding and fattening pigs, breeding Angus cattle and running them in the high plains along with Merino sheep. In addition the farm produced many different crops as well as growing and drying tobacco on a commercial level.

Alice lived a wonderful life along with her five brothers and two sisters and formed an appreciation and love for the bush and her rural surroundings in the valley of the Glens. With her skilful hands and eye for detail she learned the traditional Irish ways of cooking, sewing, knitting, crocheting and tending to the needs of her family and employees where her artistic abilities grew.

Alice served in the Second World War as a Royal Australian air force volunteer, becoming an air observer, manning spotting stations throughout that time and reporting sightings of any aeroplanes and strange objects in the sky to the Sale Air Force Base.

In 1932 she met her childhood sweetheart, Jim Ayres of Hickeys Creek, Licola at a dance in the Glenmaggie hall. Eight years later they were married at St John’s Catholic Church in Glenmaggie.

Throughout their wonderful years of marriage Alice gave birth to 11 healthy children, raising them all in the most loving and caring way, helping them and their offspring to the end of her days.

Alice’s love for her garden and growing flowers, especially her roses, led her to win many prizes over the years in local Country fairs and shows. She was a talented cook and honed her skills in making the finest specialised engagement and wedding cakes for decades.

After rearing her family Alice decided to take up her passion for art and attended several lessons with a former local artist and teacher, Dennis Butcher.

She was soon on her way to producing her own oil paintings, water colours, pencil drawings, charcoals, china painting and porcelain doll making. Her love for her country surroundings where she grew up and passion for the beautiful roses she grew were reflected in her works.

Alice was gifted with a wonderful caring nature, giving all to those especially in need. She decided to share the pleasures of being creative with others by conducting lessons twice a week in oil painting, china painting and china doll making for more than 25 years. She not only shared her talents but also her love and kindness, forging lifetime friendships with all her students.

One of Alice’s greatest achievements, other than raising her 11 children, was publishing two very important history books on her family and local history. She was a self-taught author and writer who painstakingly gathered priceless information, photos and stories over many years. She compiled the information with endless hours of finger typing, writing letters and driving the countryside before the days of computers and the internet. Her books are a testament to her and her incredible capabilities of that time. 

These books have served to be a priceless and valuable resource to her extremely extensive family and historians both local and abroad. 

In the later part of her life Alice joined the Latrobe Valley orchestra, fulfilling her passion for music. She played her beloved flute at many concerts over the years in and around the Latrobe Valley

Alice was made a life member of many clubs, organisations and associations due to her compassion, dedication and overwhelming love for others. She has left such a huge legacy and has continued to touch the hearts, minds and souls of those who were blessed with her presence.

An exhibition of Alice Ayers’ work is being held at the Matchbox Gallery, Main Street, Yinnar until May 5,
(open Friday to Sunday 11 – 4)