** Fred and Mien Blom's Place **PO
Box 4072 Alice Springs |
Saving Panorama Guth
Panorama Guth is the largest circular painting in Australia and the only one of its kind in the world. It depicts the many beautiful nature spots in Central Australia. The magnificent, 60 metre landscape painting is one of the main tourist attraction in Alice Springs, a modern town with a population of 28,000 and around 150,000 visitors each year.
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Panorama Guth is located at 65 Hartley Street, Alice Springs
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In November 2002, when it became known that Panorama Guth was to close permanently, Mien Blom and June Noble organised a petition to lobby the NT Government to do whatever they could to save the painting and the sacred aboriginal artefacts which are permanently on display in its unique building. 3500 signatures were collected around Christmas 2002. However, it soon became clear that no help could be expected from the Northern Territory Government in the near future. Fortunately, on the 15th of April 2003, two Alice Springs businessmen, Mr Terry Leigh and Kevin King rescued Panorama Guth for our town and its many visitors to enjoy. Mr Guth died four months later. He was buried on the 26th of July at the corner of the road to Ormiston Gorge.
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One of the new
owners of Panorama Guth, Terry Leigh with
Jacqueline Guth and former propietor Henk Guth acknowledge
the change of ownership of the Alice Springs landmark. |
Supporters
of Panorma Guth Mien Blom and |
Before we left Holland in 1971, we had met Mr Jurrian Guth. He had visited his younger brother Henk in Alice Springs the previous year and asked us to give Henk his regards when we arrived in Alice Springs. Henk had just moved his successful Art Gallery Guth to bigger premises across the road where he planned to create a 'panoramic' painting. His dream was based on the famous Panorama Mesdag in the Hague in the Netherlands, but with the splendid gaps and gorges of Centeral Australia instead of a sea-scape. Meeting Mr Guth was an absolute blessing to our family as he provided Fred with a job as a picture-framer and handy-man. Fred was constantly involved with Henk's project and shared his enthusiasm of seeing Henk's dream Panorama come true in August 1975.
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