Hans Heysen painting commissioned by Don Bradman and his mates for Sir Thomas Playford goes under the hammer

What do you get a premier who has everything? If you’re Don Bradman and B. H. MacLachlan you coax Hans Heysen out of retirement. Now that painting could be yours.

Auctioneer Jim Elder with Sir Thomas Playford’s Hans Heysen painting – Wonoka Creek. Picture: Matt Loxton

On March 30, 1965, Adelaide’s business elite, including our greatest ever cricketer, Don Bradman, gathered over roast baby duckling and Sydney rock oysters to pay tribute to a giant of Australian politics, Sir Thomas Playford.

The group, which also included pastoralist B. H. MacLachlan and Brigadier Thomas Eastick, had conspired to coax famed painter Hans Heysen out of retirement for one last commission for the former premier, who had just lost the state election after an epic 26 years and four months as the leader of the state.

Wonoka Creek, which was presented to Sir Thomas Playford in 1965. Picture: Supplied.

The watercolour painting of Wonoka Creek in the Flinders Ranges will go under the hammer next month, having last been sold in 1986, and is expected to pass the $110,000 record set for a Heysen in 2017, when the related piece, The Camp at Wonoka Creek, was sold.

Auctioneer Jim Elder of gallery Elder Fine Art, said the piece was not even listed in Heysen’s commission book, which he used to keep a record of the paintings he was paid to produce.

At the time Heysen’s health was ailing and he would die just three years later.

Mr Elder said it was extraordinary that Playford had led the state from 1938, through the World War II and into the mid 1960s.

The plaque which went with the painting of Wonoka Creek, as presented to Sir Thomas Playford. Picture: Supplied.

Playford has been credited with building the bedrock of the state’s manufacturing industry, nationalising SA’s electricity sector to underpin the state’s power supply and putting in place a raft of measures including the supply of affordable government-owned housing.

The painting, which Mr Elder has listed for $60,000-$80,000, but which he expects to set a new record for a Heysen, is an excellent example of his work, he said.

“It’s not only a piece of history, it’s also a very good picture which sold for a record price when it sold in 1986,’’ Mr Elder said.

“It was painted when Heysen was in the twilight of his life, which is hard to believe when you look at the quality of the work.’’

The menu signed by Donald Bradman and others, as they presented Sir Thomas Playford with a commissioned Hans Heysen painting of Wonoka Creek. Picture: Supplied

The painting was presented to Mr Playford at a dinner at the Hotel South Australia, which previously stood opposite the train station on North Tce.

“Certainly the people who were in attendance that night were the Who’s Who of Adelaide at the time,’’ Mr Elder said.

Hans Heysen was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1877, before emigrating to SA in 1884 with his family.

His painting career was supported by patrons including Robert Barr Smith and he became a household name in the early 20th century, known for his watercolour and oil paintings of Australian landscapes.

The auction, which also includes pieces by Albert Namatjira, Norman Lindsay and Brett Whiteley, will be held on July 10.