The Mount Lofty Ranges

Distinguished and Famous people from The Mount Lofty Ranges

🌳 Hans Heysen

Hans Heysen made the Hahndorf countryside both his home and a major subject of his art. Successful exhibitions enabled him to purchase The Cedars in 1912, and he lived there for the rest of his life. His paintings recorded gum trees, rural work and the light of the Adelaide Hills, alongside still-life subjects. The studio and garden formed part of a busy family home, rather than a retreat entirely separate from everyday life. During the First World War, his German birth also exposed the family to suspicion despite his deep attachment to Australia.

🎨 Nora Heysen

Nora Heysen was born in Hahndorf in 1911 and grew up in an artistic household in the Adelaide Hills. She trained in Adelaide and established an early studio at The Cedars before further study overseas and a move to Sydney. In 1938 she became the first woman to win the Archibald Prize, with her portrait of Madame Elink Schuurman. In 1943 she became Australia’s first appointed female official war artist, recording the work of servicewomen and medical staff. Her achievements deserve their own entry alongside those of her father, Hans: a shared family landscape produced two distinct artistic careers.

🍎 Thomas Playford

Thomas Playford’s long political career began with roots in Norton Summit’s orchards. Born there in 1896, he attended the local school and left at fourteen to work in the family business. After service and serious wounds in the First World War, he returned to market gardening. He later became Premier of South Australia, holding office from 1938 to 1965 during a period of substantial industrial and economic change. His grandfather, also Thomas Playford, had been a premier too. The younger Playford’s local connection continued to the end of his life: after his death in 1981, he was buried at Norton Summit Cemetery.