‘Rare as the Mona Lisa’: The little-known masterpiece in an outback hall

A theatre’s hand-painted stage curtain, “as rare as the Mona Lisa”, has become the unlikely star of a venue that once hosted performances by Nellie Melba, Eileen Joyce, Joan Sutherland and even AC/DC.

Originally intended to conceal activity on stage during scene changes, the century-old Goatcher Curtain is the main attraction during tours of Boulder Town Hall, in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, 600 kilometres east of Perth.

Measuring 6.25 metres high by 8.44 metres wide, the trompe l’oeil (to deceive the eye) painting on canvas skilfully depicts partly opened red velvet curtains and white satin drapery contained by an immense gold frame. The painted curtains “reveal” a vivid depiction of Italy’s Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

The artwork is named after its creator, Philip Goatcher, a London-born artist, decorator and scene painter who had worked in theatres in America, Britain and New Zealand before arriving in Australia in 1890. He is said to have been the highest-paid scene painter in the world at the time.

In 1908, buoyed by gold rush prosperity, Boulder Council commissioned Goatcher to create the work, which is now a highlight of an hour-long guided tour of Boulder Town Hall conducted by local historian Timothy Moore. “The Goatcher Curtain is as rare as the Mona Lisa,” Moore suggests, as he ushers our small group to the front of the theatre.

However, unlike visiting the Louvre to see a sliver of one of the world’s most famous paintings, we have the hall to ourselves. And unlike the tiny portrait of a woman with that ambiguous smile, Goatcher’s scene-stealing curtain engulfs the whole room.

Built in 1908, the Boulder Town Hall is an excellent example of Federation Free Classical architecture and embodies the riches of the gold rush era. A landmark along heritage precinct Burt Street, the two-storey red brick and stone building features two facades and a four-faced clock tower. Its interior is just as spectacular. The hall’s pressed-metal ceilings are well-preserved in their original pastel colour palette; its dress-circle wrought-iron balustrades exude splendour. But it’s the curtain taking centre stage that impresses most.

Moore instructs us to stand back and observe the curtain’s 3-D illusion of the Italian seaside, a scene that starkly contrasts with the harsh realities of its red-dirt location. The image of the Bay of Naples, featuring fishing boats anchored at shore with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background, is thought to be a nod to Italian immigrants working in the goldfields. “The curtain is part of the fabric of the community, and people identify this as a part of Boulder,” Moore says.

The tour heads backstage to see the original stage machinery, which is still operational. To help preserve the artwork, the curtain is raised each night and whenever the weather is deemed too windy, which potentially puts Goatcher’s brushwork at risk. The work is thought to be one of only two remaining scenic set design curtains painted by the artist, nicknamed “Satin and Velvet” Goatcher for the textile illusions he created.

Other Goatcher artworks are on display throughout Western Australia: an oil-on-canvas altar mural in the heritage-listed All Saints Anglican Church in Collie depicts First Nations peoples, coal miners, local dignitaries and religious figures alongside the Virgin and Child; an oil painting of the Annunciation is in St John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Fremantle and a mural inside the chapel of St Gertrude’s School for Girls in New Norcia.

And while Boulder Town Hall is no longer the epicentre of local business and entertainment it once was – a council chamber, municipal office, theatre and library – it is now home to another place of interest: the Goldfields War Museum, which showcases the involvement of Kalgoorlie-Boulder residents in conflicts from the Boer War to the present day.

Joining the hall as one of the city’s top tourist attractions are other historic sites in a league of their own: one of Australia’s largest gold mines, “the Super Pit”, and Australia’s oldest working brothel, Questa Casa.

Paintings, pits and prostitution: life really is unusual out here.

THE DETAILS

Fly

Qantas and Virgin Australia fly to Kalgoorlie, via Perth from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. See qantas.com.au; virginaustralia.com.au

Stay

Rooms at Discovery Parks, Kalgoorlie Goldfields, from $150 a night. Camping is also available. See discoveryholidayparks.com.au

Tour

The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder offers historic tours in Kalgoorlie and Boulder from $8. See kalgoorlietourism.com

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