Australia Felix series − Cedar Creek Falls

Australia Felix is the title for the suite of ten etchings by Central Victorian artist, Jeff Makin, inspired by the Australian landscape. In 1836 the explorer, Major Mitchell coined the Latin phrase Australia Felix, which losely translates to mean 'the lucky country' to describes the landscape south of the Murray river. In these etchings, Makin depicts the beauty and diversity of the Australian landscape spanning acacia and grass trees in Margaret River, Western Australia to boabs and emus in the Northern Territory. This work, Cedar Creek Falls, takes its title from the place with the same name, in the Tambourine Mountain Park, inland from Surfers Paradise, Queensland. The Australia Felix suite came about through a discussion between the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Port Jackson Press to celebrate World Environment Week inJune 2004. Jeff and Elizabeth Makin donated these etchings to Central Goldfields Art Gallery in 2019 through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program. Jeff Makin was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia in 1943 and is recognised as one of Australia's leading landscape painters. He has an extensive exhibition career and his work is represented in national, state and many regional galleries throughout Australia.