Of Tragedy and Valor
The Peter Matthews Collection

Peter Harold Matthews

Peter Harold Matthews was born in Mannum but lived most of his life in and around Victor Harbor, South Australia. He left school at the age of sixteen and worked in the butchering business of his foster-family, the Fields, before joining the Royal Australian Navy in mid-1939.  He had an early interest in art, purchasing his first set of artist’s paints whilst serving overseas during World War II. This was  in 1941 while in Haifa, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine.

After the war Peter returned to Victor Harbor and married Margaret Leicester Smith in 1949. He embarked on an agricultural land development business involving scrub clearing, private road construction, fencing and dam building across the lower Fleurieu Peninsula. His years of experience in both farming and working the land led him to devise new systems of tracking on bulldozers. To develop his inventions, he and Margaret sold their 640 acre property at Willow Creek, west of Victor Harbor in 1960 and moved to England with their three children: Jane 9, Christopher 6, and Andrew 2.

After three years in England and with financial resources almost exhausted, they returned to Australia by way of a Swedish freight ship, the Cumulus, that had the capacity to accommodate fourteen passengers in spacious cabins. It was then that Peter finally found the time to  try his hand at painting. With no easel to support his canvas, Peter just sat on the floor in the main passenger lounge with his painting propped against the wall, and his small colour-palette at his side.  Peter found that he loved the challenges of painting. His subjects were drawn from sketches made of the ports visited as well as portraits of his fellow passengers.  

The Matthews family settled again in Victor Harbor where a close friend immediately offered Peter a job in a real estate business. In his spare time, Peter pursued his newfound love of painting using the large bathroom of their rented house as his new ‘studio’. He had a great affection for Encounter Bay area and for the resourceful fishermen that lived there.

Peter Matthews, together with small groups of students of George Bray, an art teacher, formed the Southern Districts Arts Society 60 Years ago.

Peter was the first president of that small group. They had night classes at the school and displayed their artworks together on the lawns at Warland Reserve.

Forty six years ago, another of this collegiate group Alfred Engel became the Founder of the Rotary Art Show held on Warland Reserve.

In recent times Glenn Irvine, a much-valued contributor to ‘The Collective’ provided the now named Victor Harbor Art Society with historical information about the foundation of the society.

During the mid-sixties, Peter became a foundation member of the new Southern Districts Art Society that formed in Victor Harbor. During this time of new prosperity, many people were showing an interest in the arts. The Victor Harbor council was approached and permission was gained for local artists to begin exhibiting their works at Warland Reserve.

Peters paintings using oils with a palette knife, were much admired and sold well at these weekend exhibitions. He began painting professionally, selling his works both locally and interstate, and exhibiting at the Adelaide Festival of Arts.

Peter Harold Matthews was born on 28 January 1920 in Adelaide to William Harold and Dorothy Matthews (nee Byrnes).  He was the fourth of their five children, who all served in the Australian armed forces during World War Two.

After completing his education at Victor Harbor High School, Peter worked as a butcher’s assistant.  He was active in the community; being a member of the Fire Brigade, Drum Major of the Municipal Band and played for the senior football team. 

Peter enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy on 14 August 1939 for twelve years, completing recruit and communications training at HMAS Cerberus, Flinders Naval Depot, Victoria. After basic training and specialist training he was classed as an Ordinary Signalman and joined the cruiser HMAS Perth in Sydney on 4 May 1940.   The next day Perth sailed, escorting RMS Queen Mary carrying Australian soldiers.  On 20 October 1940 he was promoted to Signalman while Perth patrolled Australian waters until late November 1940.  The ship escorted a convoy to Aden then reached Alexandria in Egypt after passing through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean in late December 1940.

During the ensuing five months, Perth was damaged by a near bomb miss in Malta, then they ferried troops to Greece and Crete.  Later, the ship evacuated soldiers from Crete where the ship was again near missed before being hit by a German bomb on another trip, causing casualties. Perth spent most of June being repaired at Alexandria.

In July 1941, Perth bombarded Vichy French positions in Syria as allied forces fought to capture Syria. Peter was transferred to the destroyer HMAS Stuart on 17 July 1941.  Over the next five weeks this ship, often under attack by German aircraft, completed 12 ferry runs to Tobruk. After several days aboard the destroyer HMAS Vendetta he joined the newer destroyer HMAS Nizam on 28 August 1941.

During the remainder of 1941 Nizam undertook ferry runs to Tobruk, escorted convoys to Malta and rescued survivors from the British battleship Barham when it exploded after being torpedoed by a German submarine.

It was during Peter’s service in the Mediterranean that he managed to souvenir the Battle Flag of Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the most senior naval officer in the Mediterranean during the Second World War. Post-war, Peter wrote the retired admiral, then 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, telling the retired admiral how he had come in possession of the flag. Viscount Cunningham acknowledged the transgression and wished Peter well for the future. Peter later donated the Flag to the Victor Harbor RSL, where it remains today.

During January 1942, Nizam, with sister ships Nestor and Napier, was sent to Singapore to join the British Eastern Fleet.  Afterwards she was based in Ceylon as a convoy escort and as part of a battle group sweep across the Indian Ocean which unsuccessfully searched for Japanese ships.

In June 1942, Nizam was part of the escort of an important convoy to Malta.  During September 1942, Nizam was part of the screen during the British operation to capture Madagascar from the Vichy French.  The ship then underwent three months of refit at Simonstown, South Africa.

It appears Peter left Nizam at Mombasa in early 1943 to return to Australia.  He remained at Adelaide’s naval depot from 8 February to 1 July 1943.  Service in the Melbourne naval depot, HMAS Lonsdale, followed before returning to Adelaide on leave on 10 March 1944.  He would have been involved in communication duties at both depots.   Further training followed at HMAS Cerberus where he passed the Visual Signalling qualification for Leading Signalman.   

On 17 July 1944 he joined the frigate HMAS Barcoo and, apart from periods of leave, remained with the ship until 17 January 1946. Barcoo was then deployed escorting convoys around New Guinea and rescued two American fighter pilots from the sea in August, before spending September in Sydney for a short refit. November and December 1944 were spent at New Britain where the ship provided naval gunfire support to shore operations, before returning to Sydney for maintenance during February 1945.   

Peter returned to Adelaide on 10 February 1946.  After a fortnight in hospital, he received his release and discharge from the Royal Australian Navy on 28 February 1946, after paying 26 pounds to buy out the remainder of his unfinished twelve year engagement.  

Being a Signalman, Peter was on duty near the ship’s bridge while at sea.  There he had the advantage of seeing much of what was happening around ship, together with understanding the situation from the signals being sent and received.

After serving in five warships around the world, Peter returned to Victor Harbor and butchering.

He married Margaret Leicester SMITH, and there were three children of the marriage. Peter and Margaret were the principal developers of the Maude Street industrial area in Victor Harbor.

• Died: 28 October 1989, aged 69 years

• Cemetery: Victor Harbor General Cemetery, South Australia

• Memorials: Victor Harbor WW2 Roll of Honour