BATTERY POINT LEGEND

AFTER nearly 50 years, Joan Siberry’s St Georges Antiques will close on Monday, November 30. A unique destination, her small shop reflected the style of a distinctive collector, one with an eye for design, who ignored trends, bought only what she liked and with the shop an extension of her home. Joan attracted a dedicated following as she moved to three venues in Battery Point, from de Witt St to St Georges Terrace to Hampden Rd. Her shop has always been a delight with its eclectic mix of time- hewn English oak, campaign furniture, Chinese screens, Thai Buddhas, Turkic kelims, and more. Joan’s love of chairs, in particular, stretched from centuries past to the great modernist designers, Eames, Le Corbusier and others. Many a cup of tea or coffee was enjoyed by her clientele while sitting on them and chatting with her. She was born in Singapore to a Dutch mother and an English father. Mother and children were evacuated from Malaya to Fremantle early in World War II, moving to England after the war. On leaving school, Joan returned to Malaya, working as a clerk for Malayan Emergency Information Service and where she met her English husband, Dr Norman Siberry.

They settled in England until 1963, when they emigrated to Tasmania with three children. Joan studied at the Tasmanian School of Art, while frequenting auctions. At 40, she opened St Georges Antiques. Now 87, she has decided, regretfully, it is time to retire. Battery Point will never be the same.

Margaretta Pos

Battery Point