BINZER, WILLIAM (1835-1912)

"Evening On The Mitchell, Gippsland" (c.1870) 
oil on board
30 x 41cm
signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Binzer is a forgotten German Colonial Painter & Chemist. Very little is known about the background of Binzer, but he arrived in the Australian colony in 1857, listed as a chemist. By 1865, he arrived in Invercargill, NZ, exhibiting at the NZ Exhibition in Dunedin. Specializing in landscape vistas, Binzer travelled extensively around NZ, & became well regarded for his renderings of the Pink & White Terraces, near Rotorua. Te Otukapuarangi were natural wonders of NZ; large, cascading deposits of silica attached to stunning hot springs, which were a major attraction not only for visitors, but a popular, recurrent subject for colonial painters. The Terraces were destroyed in the eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886, so Binzer's depictions of the area are historically important, & have been in high demand ever since. It is (incorrectly) believed that Binzer returned permanently to Europe in the 1870s, however, I have discovered that he returned to Australia, & based himself first in the Gippsland region where he completed a series of pastoral landscapes, & then headed west to the Werribee Gorge, & arrived in Ballarat as early as 1873 where he remained until his death in 1912. He was a registered Dr. of Philosophy & Chemist (at 64 Main Street), but continued to paint & exhibit his work throughout Victoria. He contributed significantly to the Ballarat community, including working as a set designer & scenic artist for the Sebastopol Star Dramatic Club by the late 1880s. The Ballarat Star described his work in 1887; "Mr Binzer... executed the painting of the scenes in such a manner as to earn the plaudits & commendation of the numerous patrons". In 1888, "The scenic effects by our local artist, Mr W. Binzer, have literally transformed the stage into a thing of beauty, the street scene especially displaying the undeniable ability of the artist, whose efforts, moreover, are rendered gratuitously'. He is represented at Te Papa, NZ, & the Beechworth Burke Museum!!