Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to my friend the internationally renowned artist Merton Chambers, who passed away on 27 July 2025. Merton was born in Canada in 1929, and after graduating from art college he won a travelling scholarship to the UK and Europe, honing his artistic skills and developing his unique style. He returned to Canada and was a significant influence in the arts and crafts movement of the 1960s and 1970s and in the 20th century architectural arts movement. He moved to Australia in the 1980s and continued to cement his artistic reputation, particularly in Queensland. After retiring, he moved to the Brisbane Valley in Blair, where he met and married his best friend, my friend Beryce Nelson, who was instrumental in founding The Condensery art gallery in Toogoolawah. As Merton's eyesight failed, his later works became more vivid and striking. A few years ago I had the joy of opening what would become his final exhibition at The Condensery, focusing on issues important to him: industrialisation, capitalism, neoliberalism and their impact on food production and the environment. Before that, he did a wonderful series of stylised paintings capturing distinctive features of members of the Gillard government—including my big forehead, by the way. His friend the musician Mic Conway wrote a song that played at his memorial to pay tribute to Merton. Vale, Merton Chambers. Deepest condolences to Beryce, the family and his many friends.

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