Saturday, 8 August 2026
Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Thank you, Jane.^[1]

I, too, acknowledge the Borogegal and Cammeraigal people as the Traditional Custodians of the land we gather on today, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. 

Mayor of Mosman,^[2] members of Craft NSW, artists, friends, 

Being a lawyer, I have a tendency to ask questions, and in thinking about today’s wonderful celebration two questions came to mind: the first – ‘What is craft?’ – which seemed a little prosaic; and the other – ‘Is craft art?’

Looking around the gallery here, I could find the answer to both questions, but it was the second question which tickled my curiosity and, being the lawyer whose craft is words, I went searching for the meaning of both art and craft in the dictionary.  

Many of us would, I assume, identify Art with painting. However, the etymology of the word "Art" tells quite a different story, coming from the Latin word ars, meaning skill, craft, or practical work.^[3]

Ars traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *ar-, meaning "to fit together" or "to join." However, by the time the word entered Middle English in the 13th to 14th centuries, the meaning shifted more towards the creative and aesthetic.^[4] 

It seems that the word craft didn’t come into any lexicon until the Middle Ages, when it originally meant ‘power and physical strength.’^[5] But over time it too became connected to creativity and the making of things, having the sense of "skill, dexterity; art, science, talent (via a notion of 'mental power').” It is that sense which continues through to today, not only in terms of its dictionary meaning, but in terms of what we see in today’s exhibition.

Which brings me to what I see as a point of distinction between Art as we know it today and Craft – namely it is the mastery in the skill which is the defining aspect of craft, hence the fitting reference to the master craftsman.

So rather than being seen perhaps by some, as the poorer relative of Art, Craft is in fact the genesis of Art, and today maintains its position as a cradle of creativity where skill transforms an idea into an article of beauty. 

The History of Craft NSW has already been wonderfully related this afternoon by your President Jane Hinde, which provides me with the brief opportunity to refer to the Society’s Vice Regal connections which commenced in 1907, the year of your first Exhibition when Lady Northcote, wife of the Governor General, became Patron.^[6] That Vice Regal connection has continued through to today. 

I understand that the late Dame Marie Bashir attended your 110th anniversary, and I feel especially privileged to be following in her footsteps today as Patron.

Dame Marie had a wonderful gift for recognising the people and organisations that enrich the life of this State. For my part I believe that is what Vice-Regal patronage, at its best, can do. It offers continuity, in this case 119 years – but also encouragement; a way of saying that work done generously and passionately matters to the wider life of our community.

Today is a celebration not only of your longevity as Australian’s longest continuously running craft guild, but a 120-year celebration of works of skill and beauty gracing the homes and apparel of so many, bringing the beauty of Australia indoors and showcasing it outdoors, as symbolised in the Society’s waratah brooch. 

Happy 120th anniversary Craft NSW, and it is now my pleasure to open the craft fair and the Exhibition of Excellence.