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Australia's first and
only dedicated black and white art gallery exhibiting the largest
private collection of contemporary cartoons in the Southern
Hemisphere. Housed in a heritage listed WW2 Bunker, The Bunker is home to the Rotary National Cartoon collection displaying original cartoons. The NSW State forest, Henry Kendall Collection is also exhibited. The Henry Kendall Collection Bunker Cartoon Gallery is also home to State Forests' Henry Kendall Collection - one of the nation's most well respected collections of fine wood art. Selected pieces are on display at the gallery, all featuring beautiful Australian timbers by well known artists. The pieces are rotated regularly to add variety to the exhibition. Eventually, the entire Henry Kendall Collection will be on display at the proposed Coffs Harbour Regional Art Gallery. The Bunker - a short history The bunker was built during the dark days of World War Two, after Coffs Harbour was selected as the best town on the east coast of Australia to build a military operations base to defend the nation against invasion. As part of the Air Force operations, The Bunker was built in 1943 on what was to become known as City Hill. It became home to many men and women working to protect their country, including a young Gough Whitlam, former Prime Minister of Australia. By 1984, The Bunker
had become derelict filled with rubbish and the occasional home to the
homeless. Fortunately, the Rotary Club of Coffs Harbour City recognised the potential of the building and its heritage value. They proposed it be converted into a gallery to house the Coffs Cartoon Collection - the largest contemporary collection of original cartoons in Australia. During the restoration of The Bunker only minor alternations were made to ensure the historical integrity of the structure was preserved. The Bunker Gallery was opened to the public 1996, largely due to the hard work the Coffs Harbour City Rotary Club with the support of Coffs Harbour City Council. In late 1996 it was decided to also utilise the gallery to exhibit selected pieces from the Henry Kendall Collection, State Forests' fine wood art collection which is the larges of its kind in Australia. The entire Henry Kendall Collection will eventually be housed in the proposed Coffs Harbour Regional Art Gallery but the Bunker has provided an excellent venue for people to enjoy the works until the new gallery is built. Open daily 10am to 4pm Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday
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