Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Encyclopedia
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery is a public art gallery in the City Centre
Townsville City, Queensland
Townsville City is the name of a suburb of the city of Townsville, Queensland, and essentially represents the Central Business District. Townsville CBD is in close proximity to The Strand and Castle Hill-Description:...

 of Townsville
Townsville, Queensland
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...

, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Located on the eastern end of Flinders Mall, the Gallery has a collection of over 2 000 artworks and hosts touring national and international exhibits. The gallery focuses on artwork relevant to North Queensland
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and...

 and the Tropics
Tropical North Queensland
Tropical North Queensland is general term referring to varying regions of the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland. The generally accepted definition is an area from about the city of Mackay north to the tip of Cape York....

. The collection includes Contemporary Art of Tropical Queensland, Historical Art of Tropical Queensland, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Art, Contemporary Art from Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

, Popular Art and Ephemera. Perc Tucker has both Membership and Volunteer programs for supporters. Venue hire for functions is also available through Townsville City Council. Included in regular activities are art classes, exhibition tours, artists talks, lectures, workshops, and performances.

Strand Ephemera

Every second year the gallery presents Strand Ephemera
Ephemera
Ephemera are transitory written and printed matter not intended to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day. Some collectible ephemera are advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, bookmarks, catalogues, greeting cards, letters,...

 which is hosted for ten days in September on The Strand, Townsville
The Strand, Townsville
The Strand is a seaside foreshore located in Townsville, Australia. It is located in the suburb of North Ward. The Strand has a view of the Port of Townsville and Magnetic Island, as well as to Cape Cleveland...

. Sculpture artworks are exhibited over the two kilometre beachfront strip. Complimenting the exhibition are a range of related activities such as guided tours, performances, art workshops, artists' talks and a public art forum.

Collection of artwork and exhibitions

The Perc Tucker Regional Gallery has established an overall theme for the collection which is reflected also in the Gallery’s exhibitions, education and public relations programs. The theme is intended to give overall unity to the collection and to assist with the interpretation to the public.

The theme adopted - The Tropics
Tropical North Queensland
Tropical North Queensland is general term referring to varying regions of the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland. The generally accepted definition is an area from about the city of Mackay north to the tip of Cape York....

 - forms the central motif for the collection as a whole and relevance to this theme is the foremost criterion for the acquisition of works of art.

The Tropics, as a thematic umbrella for the entire collection, is interpreted broadly. Emphasis is placed on the construction of the tropics as an idea as well as on the tropics
Tropical North Queensland
Tropical North Queensland is general term referring to varying regions of the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland. The generally accepted definition is an area from about the city of Mackay north to the tip of Cape York....

 as a particular geographic location.

Emphasis is naturally placed on art made in the tropics which responds to the immediate environment, hence the priority given to the art of Tropical North Queensland
Tropical North Queensland
Tropical North Queensland is general term referring to varying regions of the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland. The generally accepted definition is an area from about the city of Mackay north to the tip of Cape York....

. The Gallery also collects art made elsewhere which is seen as being relevant to ideas of cultural construction, spatial history and the identification of place.

Works in all media are held in the collection.

History

The Building which is now host to Perc Tucker Regional Gallery was built by the Union Bank of Australia in 1885
1885 in Australia
See also:1884 in Australia,other events of 1885,1886 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.- Governors:Governors of the Australian colonies:*Governor of New South Wales - Lord Augustus Loftus then Charles Wynn-Carington, 3rd Baron Carrington...

 for their northern headquarters. Designed by colonial architect F.D. G. Stanley the building was single story until a second story was added in the early 30s. The Union Bank eventually became the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and in the building was its regional headquarters until 1980
1980 in Australia
-Incumbents:*Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II*Prime Minister – Malcolm Fraser*Governor General – Sir Zelman Cowen*Premier of New South Wales – Neville Wran*Premier of South Australia – David Tonkin*Premier of Queensland – Joh Bjelke-Petersen...

 when Townsville City Council purchased the heritage building as a venue for Townsville's first public art gallery. The Queensland Government subsidised the initial purchase, however the majority of funding both for the foundation and operating costs of the gallery have been funded by the Local Government Authority.

Perc Tucker Regional Gallery was opened by then Townsville Mayor Mike Reynolds
Mike Reynolds (politician)
Michael Reynolds is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1998 to 2009, representing the district of Townsville. He served as Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2009.- Biography :Reynolds has first elected to...

 in 1981
1981 in Australia
-Incumbents:*Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II*Governor General – Sir Zelman Cowen*Prime Minister – Malcolm Fraser*Premier of New South Wales – Neville Wran*Premier of South Australia – David Tonkin*Premier of Queensland – Joh Bjelke-Petersen...

 and named after former Mayor, Alderman Perc Tucker.

Perc Tucker

Tucker was a significant North Queensland politician; he was elected as the State Member for North Townsville 1960 and went on to become the Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 Opposition to the Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...

 Government in the Queensland Parliament. In 1974
1974 in Australia
-Incumbents:*Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II*Governor General – Sir Paul Hasluck , then Sir John Kerr*Prime Minister – Gough Whitlam*Premier of New South Wales – Sir Robert Askin*Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan...

 he lost his seat of North Townsville, but he moved into the role of Mayor of Townsville in 1976
1976 in Australia
-Incumbents:*Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II*Governor General – Sir John Kerr*Prime Minister – Malcom Fraser*Premier of New South Wales -Tom Lewis, then Sir Eric Willis, then Neville Wran*Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan...

. On top the usual Council responsibilities of roads, drains, sewerage and water-reticulation his administration's achievements included; second stage of the Ross River Dam
Ross River Dam
The Ross River Dam is located at the end of Riverway Drive in the city of Townsville, Australia, and is the major water supply for the region. It was constructed by Leighton Holdings in 1971 for the purposes of flood mitigation and water storage...

, the design and construction of the Townsville Civic Theatre, the development of Flinders Mall and the planning for the gallery which was to become commonly known as 'Perc Tucker' to future generations of Townsvillians. Tucker died in office on 20 August 1980.

External links

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