Around two years ago I came across a beautiful book which is on this amazing lady called "Fanny Osborne" who did these wonderful detailed drawings of flowers which are found on Great Barrier Island . She lived on the island early 19 century and started off by drawing flowers in the sand then worked her way up to using paints with such detail . She did many paintings which is very impressive as she had 13 children!! She was mother, painter, teacher!
Today Fanny’s paintings and book are regarded as "collectors" items with her original paintings now on display in Auckland Museum. I have personally been so impressed with Fanny’s drawings that she has inspired me to create this new range "Island Flowers".
The flowers of particular interest are native
Pohutukawa:
This is a large tree which grows on the coastline around New Zealand .. Around December it bursts into flower which are a deep red ..Its often referred to as "New Zealand’s Xmas Tree" due to flowering at Christmas . It has a unique fragrance
Kowhai:
This tree has beautiful , long tube like yellow fragrant flowers which smell like honey suckle and vanilla. The native birds simply love these flowers along with the bees!
Hibiscus:
This particular type of Hibiscus is only found on Great Barrier Island . Its wide open petals with dark yellow stayman makes it a very attractive sub tropical flower.
Now we recognise that many people are not familiar with the names of our special native NZ flowers above. With this in mind we have "partnered" the above New Zealand flowers with other flowers & fruit from around the South Pacific creating a unique fragrant fusion.
- Pohutukawa & Paw Paw
- Kowhai & Vanilla
- Hibiscus & Lime
We have had a fabulous response to the fragrances which I am sure you will find are very refreshing and will appeal to the young at heart. Its all about "celebrating Great Barrier Islands flowers" which burst into colour each summer just as we hit the beaches. Our ad is certainly a reflection of this.
All products utilise pure active Manuka Honey , Olive oil and Macadamia Oil to nourish and sooth the skin.
Available : 1st October
Proudly Made in New Zealand
Great Barrier island ….Beekeeping since 1839
Fanny Osborne – Botanical Artist – Great Barrier Island (1852 -1934)
Fanny Malcolm was born at Auckland, New Zealand, on 29 January 1852, the second of 13 children of Emilie Monson Wilton and her husband, Neill Malcolm, a barrister. When Fanny was six years old the family moved to Great Barrier Island, 56 miles north-east of Auckland, where Neill Malcolm began cattle farming and bee keeping at Rosalie Bay. It was here that Fanny spent her childhood and early adulthood. The property her father acquired was extremely run down and life there was hard and isolated.
The Malcolm children were educated by their mother in reading, writing and arithmetic. After lessons they were taken to the beach for recreational activity, which included drawing. Fanny's creative talents were first nurtured by drawing pictures in the sand. Emilie Malcolm recognised the talent in her children and gave it scope by providing proper art materials purchased from Auckland. Apart from these early sketching activities Fanny was given no training in art.
In 1874 Fanny married Alfred Joe Osborne, whose family farmed at Tryphena, about seven miles from Rosalie Bay; the ceremony was performed by Bishop William Cowie at Bishopscourt, Parnell, on 15 January. Both sets of parents had disapproved of the match., forcing the lovers to keep their affection a close secret. After their marriage Fanny and Alfred returned to the island to settle on the Osborne farm at Tryphena, where they raised 13 children: eight sons and five daughters.
It is not possible to ascertain when Fanny Osborne began to produce her exquisite watercolours of the Great Barrier Island flora, for she did not usually date her paintings. Her husband was well educated and probably encouraged her in her choice of subject matter with his extensive knowledge of the local plant life. By the 1920s her work had become quite well known and she was selling sets of paintings and single works from her home at Tryphena. Her most creative period was probably after her children had grown and her family responsibilities had lessened.
From both scientific and artistic points of view, Fanny Osborne's paintings of the flowers of the indigenous trees, shrubs, vines and herbs of Great Barrier are exceptional and superbly crafted examples of botanical illustration. They are accurate in every detail, and yet simultaneously communicate the beauty and delicacy of the specimen. They also provide valuable historical documentation of the plant life of the island. One of the species depicted, Elytranthe adamsii (New Zealand mistletoe), is now extinct. The largest collection of her work is held by the botany department of the Auckland Institute and Museum. Fanny lived on to the age of 82 on passed away on the 12th March 1934 .Fortunately five of Fanny daughters inherited her talents and carried on the family tradition .
Today we honour Fanny as it is her unique drawings which inspired me to create our “Island Flowers “ range . We are probably both very fortunate to have a place like Great Barrier Island which is blessed with such unique fragrant flowers that inspired us both in the beginning.
