Grant to explore history of the Dell

BELLARINE sea glass artist Rebecca Campbell has received a City of Greater Geelong Clever and Creative Seed Grant to research the history of the former mineral springs and spa complex at Clifton Springs’ the Dell.

The $2,500 grant will fund Ms Campbell’s Clifton Mineral Springs: History Inspires Art project, highlighting sea glass and the connection to the local area.

In the 19th century, the Dell was home to a hotel, saltwater baths and bottling house where sulphur-rich water was sold. Bottle remnants are now found as sea-glass.

Throughout COVID lockdowns, Ms Campbell spent a lot of her time walking the beaches and finding the sea glass, sparking her interest in the line of research.

“As I collected the sea glass on these walks, I would think about where did they come from and I would wonder how old it was and I have all these stories going through my mind about the past,” she said.

“The idea for the research project is to kind of connect these stories and inspire a future exhibition that tells the story of the Dell in a visual way.”

The first part of project will focus on the research phase, with Ms Campbell hoping to speak with members from the community who have stories, photos or artefacts from that period of time.

She will then use the information to put together a presentation before applying for another grant to go through with an exhibition and the next stage.

“For me the ultimate goal is to get the research packaged and presented so that I can be inspired by it,” Ms Campbell said.

“Hopefully I can get a group of artists together to be inspired by the vision to put on an exhibition that portrays what life was like back then in the 1880s or a version of it.”

To share any stories or further information with Ms Campbell get in touch with her by emailing [email protected].

For more information on City of Greater Geelong grants, head to geelong.link/Grants