Order membership for arts leader – Australia Day Honours

A LIFE-ling dedication to the arts sector has led to Ballarat’s David Thomas being appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia.

Raised and educated in Ballarat, Mr Thomas’ first major role in the curation and preservation of the arts came in the mid-1960s as the keeper of pictorial collections at the National Library of Australia.

From there he went onto hold many and varied roles within the arts community, including the directorships of the Bendigo, Newcastle, and South Australian art galleries.

Also a prolific author, Mr Thomas published a range of books on Australian artist like Rupert Bunny, Andrew Sibley, Criss Canning and Frank and Margel Hinder, as well as artistic movements and institutions like the Bendigo Art Gallery.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s Mr Thomas was involved with the Adelaide Festival of the Arts, and he’s also served on a range of high-level arts bodies including the Australia Council’s fine arts board, Regional Galleries Association of NSW, Art Galleries Association Australia and the Australian Gallery Directors Council.