Nora Burden (24 May 1908 – 25 December 1992) was a South Australian stained glass artist. Burden 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 ...

, the eldest daughter of engineer Frank Robert Burden (1877–1960) and Emily Rosa Burden, née Martin, (1875–1960) a daughter of vigneron Henry M. "Harry" Martin. The newly married couple first lived at "Poltalloch" the Bowman property near Meningie, where Frank was responsible for all the machinery. They then moved to suburban

Fullarton Fullarton is a small area in Irvine, North Ayrshire. It is situated close to Irvine Bay and is next to several industrial estates, large supermarkets and retail stores and the town centre itself. Stagecoach Western buses operate the local bus ...

, where their first four children Charles, Nora, Rosa and Hester were born. Frank served with the

First AIF The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

in France and by war's end had been promoted to captain. He was briefly chief engineer with Tarrants and Autocars vehicle builders in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

then in 1922 founded, with Sidney Crawford and L. M. Anderson, Adelaide Motors, South Australia's first

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

agency. He later acquired the South Australian agency for the

John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...

tractor company, Burden studied painting at the S.A. School of Arts and Crafts and began working as a stained glass artist for A. E. Clarkson Ltd., an old established Adelaide glass firm, which was then on

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becomes Ru ...

. She served as tutor and mentor to South Australian stained glass artist Vanessa Smith née Lambe (1917–2005), whose work adorns many Anglican churches in South Australia. She worked for a time in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and Melbourne before returning to Adelaide. She served as Art Mistress at

Annesley College Annesley Junior School, formerly known as Methodist Ladies' College and Annesley College, is an independent day school for girls and boys from two years old to year 6. It is located in Wayville, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It has a co-e ...

. Burden married Dimiter Petroff (25 March 1915 – 28 January 1997) on 30 April 1954; they had no children. She was an aunt of painter Helen "Penny" Dowie (born 3 August 1948).

Selected works

*A window in the porch, St. Ignatius Catholic Church, corner Queen and William Streets,

Norwood, South Australia Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, whose predecessor was the oldest South Australian local government municipality. The Parade, Adelaide, The Parad ...

commemorates their long-serving (1902–1929) organist Arthur Noyes. *A window, depicting the

Parable of the Good Samaritan The parable of the Good Samaritan is told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. It is about a traveler (implicitly understood to be Jewish) who is stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road. A Jewish priest and then a Levite ...

was installed in the

Adelaide Unitarian Christian Church The Unitarian Church of South Australia, Inc., is an independent and self-governed church affiliated with the worldwide Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist movement and an affiliate member of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It ...

Wakefield Street, Adelaide Wakefield Street is a main thoroughfare intersecting Adelaide city centre, the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide, from east to west at its midpoint. It crosses Victoria Square, Adelaide, Victoria Square in the centre of the city, ...

as a memorial to Symonds and Euphemia Clark. It was funded by a provision in the will of their son W. F. Darwin Clark (1892–1943), a Red Cross volunteer who died in sinking of hospital ship AHS ''Centaur''. It was transferred to the Unitarian Church's new building in Norwood in the early 1970s. *A window at Uniting Church,

Malvern, South Australia Malvern () is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Unley. It borders the suburbs of Unley and Parkside to the north, Highgate to the east, Kingswood to the south and Unley Park to the west. Many Malvern streets are planted with b ...

, "Christian Soldier" in memory of James Montrose Maughan and his wife Marjorie Wallac
Flickr photo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burden, Rosa 1908 births 1992 deaths Australian stained glass artists and manufacturers Australian women artists