Regional Council of Goyder, Media Release, 28 April 2023
A strong connection to Burra, its community and the iconic Midnight Oil House has seen the creation and generous donation of a collectable jewellery masterpiece by Melbourne jeweller Glenn Bakker; to the Burra community, through the Regional Council of Goyder during this year’s Shannon’s Rally of the Heartland.
Glenn, a world respected Argyle Diamond Select Atelier and De Beers Supreme Award Winner, has been participating with the Rally over the past few years. This includes his involvement in the yearly visit to the Burra Early Learning Centre to distribute educational toys as part of the Rally’s engagement with the community. At the 2021 Rally, Glenn was touched by the community spirit in Burra, as well the beautiful architecture of the Midnight Oil house which is situated 3km out of Burra on the Barrier Highway. Inspired by Burra and the Rally, and his own family values of kindness and giving back to community, Glenn contacted Ivar Stanelis from Rally SA about his plans to create something special. He has since spent the last 12 months creating an exquisite piece of art which he has named the “Midnight Oil House-Burra”.
The one-of-a-kind sculpture of the famous Midnight Oil house and its landscape is hand crafted out of 18 and 22 carat yellow and rose gold, with a rare Australian Orange Diamond from North Western Australia that sits as the sunburst in the sky. The frame is handcrafted from ebony with gold decoration, as well as sterling silver and agate used within the piece. It is Australian designed, crafted and meticulously jewelled to reflect the house’s authenticity and architecture.
The “Midnight Oil House – Burra” was presented to Mayor Bill Gebhardt, Cr. Jane Hill and Cr. John Oates on Thursday the 27th of April initially at the Burra Council office, and subsequently from the front of the Midnight Oil House.
Ivar Stanelis from Rally SA further explains that “…each year, the event asks competitors to bring toys that we can distribute to the children from the Early Learning centre, as a gift from the event. We think community engagement is important, and this is one of the ways we employ to achieve that. From this beginning, Glenn Bakker decided to do something quite remarkable to cement that engagement, and create a lasting benefit for the region. It is simply amazing.”
David Stevenson, Chief Executive of the Regional Council of Goyder thanked Glenn for the artwork, and said ” …this incredibly generous gift was quite unexpected. It is a tremendous acknowledgement of the iconic nature of the race and how it has touched a family in such a way. I don’t doubt it will be equally surprising to those beneficiaries when the art is auctioned.”
Glenn is now working with Council through the auction process, with proceeds of the sale to go to a project(s) in Burra which will support children and young people in the community. Council, with Glenn and his family’s involvement, will engage with the Burra Early Learning Centre, Burra Community Area School; Goyder YAC, and the children and young people of Burra, to determine the best way to create a long-standing legacy for our youth from the sale.
