Ninette Clarice Florence Dutton (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Trott) OAM (1923–2007) was an Australian artist, broadcaster and author.

Early life and education

Ninette Trott was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in 1923, the granddaughter of English portrait and landscape painter George A. J. Webb. Her father's family operated a dental practice, and her mother was a matron. She had two younger sisters. Trott attended Creveen Girls School, North Adelaide, and Woodlands before studying social science at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. In the 1950s, she studied at the

Ruskin School of Art The Ruskin School of Art is the Department of Fine Art at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin School of Art grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later ...

Career

Trott began her career driving in the

Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve, as well as by the Chief of the Air Staff, who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service ov ...

. In the late 1940s, Dutton set up an art studio in Adelaide Hills, primarily focusing on "firing painted designs on tiles". During the 1950s, she worked in the Botany Library at Oxford. While living briefly in Kansas, Dutton began enamelling on copper. Over the following four decades, her enamel works were widely collected, and she wrote ''Beautiful Art of Enamelling'' in 1966. Her works feature in collections across

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, including the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

, the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, and the Orange Regional Gallery. Over the 1970s, 80s and 90s she published books and delivered radio programmes on cooking, flowers, gardening and the seasons, and for some years she wrote a column titled 'The Passionate Gardener' in the ''

Advertiser Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically used ...

'', Adelaide. Dutton was awarded a Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(OAM) in 1994.

Personal life

Trott married Australian writer and historian

Geoffrey Dutton Geoffrey 'Geppie' Piers Henry Dutton Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (2 August 192217 September 1998) was an Australian author and historian. Early life and education Dutton was born at Anlaby Station near Kapunda, South Australia on 2 Au ...

in 1944. The couple lived in Melbourne, where they associated with ''

Angry Penguins ''Angry Penguins'' was an art and literary magazine established in 1940 by surrealist poet Max Harris. Originally based in Adelaide, the magazine moved to Melbourne in 1942 once Harris joined the Heide Circle, a group of modernist painters and w ...

'' members, including

Arthur Boyd Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of the leading Australian artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of media, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

, Max Harris. In 1946, the couple moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, where Geoffrey studied English at

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

, after which they purchased

Ford Pilot The Ford Pilot (''Model E71A'') is a medium-sized car that was built by Ford UK from August 1947 to 1951. It was effectively replaced in 1951 with the launch of Ford UK's Zephyr Six and Consul models, though V8 Pilots were still offered for sal ...

and drove back to Australia. They settled in

Adelaide Hills The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...

, with Geoffrey teaching at the

and Ninette focusing on her artwork. The following decade, the couple travelled extensively and adventurously through Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. By 1962, the Duttons had two children and briefly lived in Kansas. However, following the death of Geoffrey's mother-in-law, Emily Dutton, in 1962, the Dutton family lived at

Anlaby Station Anlaby or Anlaby Station is a historic heritage tourism destination located about 12 kilometres (7 miles) southeast of Marrabel and 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of Kapunda in South Australia. The property was originally established in 1839 b ...

, the Duttons' family property near

Kapunda Kapunda is a town on the Light River near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance to th ...

. In early 1968, she saved the life of

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was an Australian novelist and playwright who explored themes of religious experience, personal identity and the conflict between visionary individuals and a materialistic, co ...

, a friend, by holding on to his arm when he fell into a blowhole on

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

. Anlaby Station sold in 1977, after which the Duttons moved to Eden Valley, where Ninette built a studio and served on boards in the local community, including the Arts Grants Advisory Committee and as a Trustee of the Board of

Carrick Hill Carrick Hill is a publicly accessible historic property at the foot of the Adelaide Hills, in the suburb of Springfield, South Australia, Springfield, in South Australia. It was the Adelaide home of Edward Hayward, Sir Edward "Bill" Hayward an ...

. Following her divorce from Geoffrey Dutton, she moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

in 1997 and to

Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...

in 2002. She died in 2007.

Family

George Webb married Christina Elizabeth "Crissie" Lake ( – 19 January 1930), daughter of John and Jane Ann Lake and step-daughter of George Rolfe (ca. 1837 – 10 September 1919) on 4 October 1892. Their children were: * Clarice, married Leonard W. Trott DDS in April 1920, lived at "Deepdene", 23 Fitzroy Terrace, North Adelaide, then from 1936 "Carawatha", 3 Edwin Terrace,

Gilberton, South Australia Gilberton (formerly Gilbert Town) is an inner northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia on the northern bank of the River Torrens. It is a short distance from Adelaide's city centre. It is bounded by the river, Park Terrace, Stephen Terrace a ...

:* Ninette Clarice Florence Trott (24 July 1923 – 2007) married

(2 August 1922 – 17 September 1998) on 31 July 1944. They had three children :** Francis Dutton :** Sam Dutton :** Tisi Dutton :* Elizabeth "Helen" Trott (3 October 1926 – ) married Theodore "Bill" Bruce (1923–2002) on 1 October 1949. Bill, son of a prominent Adelaide auctioneer, was a champion athlete who competed in the 1948 (London) Olympic Games. :* Janet Myra Trott (3 October 1926 – ) married Geoffrey Richard Villiers (9 December 1924 – ) on 23 October 1948. * George Rolfe Webb (ca. March 1893 – ) was a corporal in the Australian Army and served for a time in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, France, returning to Australia in 1918. He married and farmed at "Bonnington", Boorcan, Victoria (between

Terang Terang is a town in the Shire of Corangamite, Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Princes Highway and is south west of the state's capital, Melbourne. At the , Terang had a population of 2,254. History The semi-nomadic Kirrae W ...

and Camperdown). :* Mary Florence ( – ) married Dr. Peter D. Graeme Fox R.A.N.R. of

Nedlands, Western Australia Nedlands is a western suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. It is a part of the local government areas of the City of Nedlands and the City of Perth. It is about from the Perth CBD via either Thomas Street or Mounts Bay R ...

on 6 February 1946

Written Works

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Ninette 1923 births 2007 deaths Alumni of the Ruskin School of Art Australian women writers Australian broadcasters Australian women artists People from Adelaide Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia