Pinnaroo Printmakers program revives historical printing press collection to teach 'joyful' art form

Inside a museum in a tiny South Australian farming town, machines from a bygone era are whirring back to life.

The Mallee Tourist and Heritage Centre at Pinnaroo has one of the largest collections of printmaking equipment in the state, but it has sat mostly dormant in recent years.

Now, to the delight of residents, a local group has reactivated the machines and hired two Adelaide-based printmakers to teach the unique art form to the community.

"It's great to print old photos from people's school days that might be 40 or 50 years ago, just to see the memories in people's eyes," printmaker Damien Warman said.

Printmaking involves transferring text or images to a new surface, often paper or fabric, using ink and pressure.

It can be used to create or reproduce artwork and typography. 

One form is the letterpress process, where text on a raised surface — similar to a stamp — is repeatedly pressed against paper, which was a popular method of printing newspapers until the 1970s.

Historical treasure trove

Pinnaroo's printing collection was the dream of the town's former newspaper editor, Rob Wilson.

Mallee Tourist and Heritage Centre committee member and local historian Max Wurfel said Mr Wilson visited many collections when travelling.

"If he knew there was a printing museum, he called a detour and he kept saying that Pinnaroo was the best that he'd come across," Mr Wurfel said.

"When the Gum family offered their collection to the district we brought them all together."

Local resident Elise Kennedy has fond childhood memories of the printmaking equipment.

"As a child I had my own name made by Mr Wilson out of the metal typeset," she said.

"Seeing all of this historical equipment come to life is pretty incredible.

"It's such a wealth of information that has just sat there untouched for many years now."

Developing skills, not gathering dust

The Pinnaroo Printmakers program is the most recent of workshop opportunities presented to the Mallee community by The Pinnaroo Project.

The group received a $30,000 grant from the federal government's Regional Arts Fund and Country Arts SA, which allowed it to refurbish some machines, order new equipment, and bring Mr Warman and colleague Simone Tippett to town to lead workshops over six months.

Participants have so far been able to learn about and use wooden and metal typesets, letterpress machines, screen printing, rubber stamps and linocut prints.

Chairperson Julie Wallis said the artists help "develop skills within the community that will stay in the town".

"For some people, they didn't know if they'd be that interested in some of the older machines [but] we've been combining new skills with some of the more traditional techniques," she said.

"Everybody's had some really positive things to say about their experiences."

Plans to keep printing

When Mr Warman was approached by The Pinnaroo Project, he was immediately on board with the program.

"I'm a press tragic … and I love the opportunity to work in a space that was a working space and to be part of that ongoing story," he said.

"The collection at Pinnaroo, it's really remarkable and it's really fascinating to get that perspective on things."

Mr Warman said it had been a wonderful experience to engage with a community — and people of all ages — so invested in the workshops and learning about the printing process.

"When we see the print … we get that little surprise because you don't know what it's going to look like until you print it," he said.

Ms Wallis and fellow project member Morrison Polkinghorne are hoping to continue using the equipment after the project ends, using the skills they have learnt in the workshops.

"It would be great for us to continue providing services in the community," Ms Wallis said.