In the 1930s William Ricketts bought a four-acre bush block on Mount Dandenong and called it Potter's Sanctuary

William Ricketts produced, over a period of sixty years, a variety of life-like and haunting clay statues of Aboriginal people. The faces and bodies of his indigenous subjects are placed strategically throughout this small part of the rainforest , giving his work the ultimate frame.

Despite being outdoors, the uniqueness of this setting means that the weather does not prevent its beauty from being appreciated - it could be cold and drizzly, or shining with bright sunlight - the huge green ferns and thousand year old eucalyptus block out most of the light, creating an atmosphere of melancholy introspection. 

Word spread about the extraordinary sculptures that began to adorn the property

In time, the Victorian Government heard about his work

 and, in the early 1960s, the land and adjoining blocks were bought for the people

There is an occasional placement of the artist himself in his work

Kangaroo, possum and man

Though they are different forms, the essence is one

William Ricketts lived on into his nineties at the Sanctuary

 and continued to create his sculptures until his death in 1993

Child groups, their smiles captured perfectly

while the rest of their bodies merge seamlessly into the hillside.

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Aborigines