The artworks that created the vision for Canberra came close to being lost forever, says conservator Ian Batterham from the National Archives of Australia.

‘I believe it was the beauty of Marion Mahony Griffin’s drawings, combined with Walter Burley Griffin’s vision, that saw their entry win the Federal Capital design competition in 1912’, he said.

But early officials didn’t see the value of the artwork, lithographed onto cotton and hand-painted with delicate water colours.

‘In 1957 the drawings were found in a Department of Works shed in Kingston where they had probably been sitting since 1925’, said Mr Batterham.

‘Walter clashed with officials. He was a visionary and eventually he got sick of bureaucratic battles and left’.

Custodianship of the drawings was passed to National Archives when it was established in 1961 as the Commonwealth Archives Office. Unfortunately, when the Archives received them, the works had not only been neglected, but had also previosly undergone a poor attempt at conservation.

When Ian Batterham became aware of the drawings and their historical and artistic significance, he made a commitment to stop their degradation and preserve them for posterity.

‘I was struck by how beautiful Marion’s work was’, he said. ‘I love her line, the way she put things together. But I thought it was so sad to see how they had been mistreated causing damage, losses and staining’.

Over the past 25 years, Ian Batterham has become well known as an expert on the Griffins and their Canberra submission.

‘Every conservation job is unique but this was very challenging’, he said, ‘We’ve conserved them but all we can do is halt the deterioration. There’s no way you can bring back watercolour when it’s faded’.

Because the drawings are so vulnerable to light they are rarely on display. But the National Archives has decided to display selected works on an annual basis. This year they have chosen to display two of the works on Sunday afternoon 30 September. They will be on view in conjunction with a public talk at 2pm by Ian Batterham: How do we Preserve the Griffin Vision?

Entry is free but bookings are essential on events@naa.gov.au or 6212 3956.