Do Go On - Do Go On Presents: Arty Facts - Young and Jackson's 'Chloe'

Episode Date: August 15, 2022

Based on a poem, this critically acclaimed and award winning painting has caused controversy and uproar, has gotten soldiers out of strife and is intrinsically linked here, to the iconic Young and Jackson Hotel. This is the story of Jules Joseph Lefebvre’s Chloe.'Do Go On Presents: Arty Facts' is a joint production from Stupid Old Studios and the Do Go On podcast.Do Go On are Dave Warneke, Jess Perkins and Matt Stewart.Stupid Old Studios is an independent production house based in Melbourne Australia who specialise in making fine, handcrafted nonsense.Twitter: http://twitter.com/stupidoldInstagram: http://instagram.com/stupidoldFacebook: http://facebook.com/stupidoldstudiosThis production was made possible with support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation. Find out more at http://cbf.org.auREFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:https://www.youngandjacksons.com.au/chloehttps://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/chloe-jules-joseph-lefebvrehttps://index-journal.org/issues/identity/evanescence-of-an-artist-s-model-by-katrina-kellhttps://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/chloes-encounter-scratches-surface-20040928-gdypav.htmlhttps://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/young-jackson-s-princes-bridge-hotelhttps://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/224814361https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/38559150 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just jumping in really quickly at the start of today's episode to tell you about some upcoming opportunities to see us live in the flesh. And you can see us live at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2024. We are doing three live podcasts on Sundays at 3.30 at Basement Comedy Club, April 7, 14 and 21. You can get tickets at dogo1pod.com. Matt, you're also doing some shows around the country. That's right. I'm doing shows with Saren Jayamana, who's been on the show before. We're going to be in Perth in January, Adelaide in February, Melbourne through the festival in April, and then Brisbane after that. I'm also doing Who Knew It's in Perth and Adelaide. Details for all that stuff at mattstuartcomedy.com.

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Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy respons essentials. Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. You're listening to Artifacts, a show that dives into the fascinating history of

famous artworks and painters. Broadcast on C31, Stupid Old Studios YouTube channel, and the Community Radio Network. Based on a poem, this critically acclaimed painting has caused controversy and uproar. It's also got a few soldiers out of strife, and is intrinsically linked here, to the iconic Young and Jackson's Hotel. This is the story of Chloe. Welcome to Artifacts. I'm Matt Stewart and I'm here with my very good friends, David Warnecke and Jess Perkins. Yes, hello. Hey, so good to be here with you at Young and Jackson Hotel.

Thank you so much for having us. Hey, we're in Chloe's bar and this is Chloe. No coincidence coincidence the bar is named after her. What are the chances of that? Yeah no pretty good because yeah they named the bar after her. That's how important this painting is. Have you been here before? Embarrassingly no and Young and Jackson's is like an iconic venue in Melbourne. Walk past it every single time I come into the city. We're of course opposite Flinders Street Station, Fed Square's on the other corner. Like we're in a, you know, yeah, a very KFC down there. Forgetting the cathedral. My favorite cathedral.

But I actually never I've never been up here. So this is this is a thrill. So do you want me to tell you the story of Chloe? Yeah. All right. Well, let us begin. So Chloe was painted by Jules Joseph Lefevre. Pretty good, I've written that out phonetically. How many times are you going to say it? A few times. Okay. So Lefevre painted Chloe in 1875. He was a Frenchman and one of the go-to guys for painting

nude portraits in the second half of the 19th century. Right. One of the go-to guys for painting nude portraits in the second half of the 19th century right one of the go-to one of the go-to he refused to use clothes yeah he would never he wouldn't allow clothes even just like a sheet yeah well you can see the sheet there yeah but the sheet has to be off to the side yeah yeah that's right right yep if you wanted it you're like oh i feel you know i feel cute yeah yeah uh you give jules joseph a call but if you're feeling a bit shy he's not your guy he's not your guy no certainly not that was on his business cards so of the model not much is known there's been a lot of theories one of the most popular seems to be that she was about 19 years old she was a parisian named marie and she sadly took her

own life at the age of 21 due to unrequited love. So only a couple of years after this, she passed away. So it's really tinned with sadness a bit as well. Can't help but notice that you said her name's Marie. Yes. Okay. Yeah. That's Chloe coming to it.

Yeah, that's not the name of the painting. Oh, yeah. I guess it's sort of what we're thinking. We're not at Marie's bar. I think maybe they'd already got the frame done. Yeah. Which says Chloe and they're like you're Chloe now. Yeah. No I'll explain the name in a second. Chloe made its debut or debut at the Paris Salon, a showcase exhibition for the leading French academic masters. Oh. Beginning in 1667, the Salon was the first annual or biennial art event of its kind in the Western world. By the time Chloe was shown there, it was seen by many as the most important art event in the Western world. It sounds important.

Well, that's because it is. Yeah. It's a big deal. The Salon. Yeah. I thought you were going to tell me that it debuted in a hair salon. It's a big deal. The salon. Yeah. I thought you were going to tell me that it debuted in like a hair salon. It's really upgraded here to the pub. Yeah.

At the Pauly salon. Oh that's good. Possibly offensive. So I'm here with venue manager at Young & Jackson's, Megan, to talk a little bit more about Chloe. Thanks so much for joining us Megan. No problem at all. Now Jules Joseph Lefevre, is that right? Possibly Lefevre. Okay great to disagree but all I know about him really is his painting. Is he sort of well remembered outside of Australia?

I think in France well remembered. He was definitely considered a master. He would have been a pretty regular painter that put paintings towards the French salon where Chloe was first shown. And I think he had fair success in that sort of era and in that environment. Yeah. Lefebvre's painting was a big hit at the salon. Big, big hit. It won the gold medal of honour, the highest official award. Gold medal for painting? Yeah. Oh, that's good. Yeah, yeah. So they loved it. Critics loved it. The Parisians went wild for it. They're like, look at this! What a painting! Look at her go!

It's so big! They were also just mostly excited by the size. Yeah. The bigger. No one had ever painted one this big. So, yeah, the Gold Medal of Honour is the highest official award to be bestowed on a French artist. Oh, wow. So Lefebvre was like, he'd already had a pretty good career, but this was just another peak. Yeah, right.

So Chloe depicts the water nymph from a poem by 18th century poet André Chenier. So the poem's about this Chloe, this water nymph Chloe. So that's, it's not, I mean, Marie pose, but it's actually of a character from a poem. Right, okay. So Lefebvre quoted the poem in the exhibition's catalogue. It was in French. And you're going to tell it to us now in French. Perfect.

Can't wait. I'm going to read the English translation. Okay, coward. But in a French accent? Ah oui. Actually, maybe don't. Sometimes when you read long passages in an accent, it's like, uh-huh, and now just do it in your normal voice because I caught every third word.

Yeah. I'm not that audible in the first place. Annunciation. This is the three lines from the poem. He often visits your peaceful shores. Often I listen and the air which trembles in the woods from afar brings his voice to my ears. It doesn't really rhyme.

Maybe in French it does. Yeah. I mean, it'd be pretty lucky if it rhymed in both French and English. Yeah, that would be a coincidence. Poetry has to rhyme. It has to. Thank you. It's not a poem otherwise. Well, we're doing an art show. I think it's important to get the facts out there. It's not rhyming. It's just a little story, isn't it? Yeah. And that's fine. You can write your little stories, but don't you call them poems. That's the worst limerick I've ever heard. There once was a woman from Nantucket and she had a great time that day.

So how did Chloe end up here? I'll tell you. Yeah, I was hoping you would elaborate. So the painting began its journey to Australia in Sydney where it was exhibited. It began the journey in Sydney? In Sydney. That is convenient. Wow, you really skipped over that. You've made the big chunk of the journey already.

It's a, look, it's trip in Australia began in Sydney. Okay, right. And then it did a tour. It did a tour. A little tour, yeah. Okay. Started in 1879 at the French Gallery at the Sydney International Exhibition. You know, when it was displayed there, it won a gold medal.

Oh! What is this? Cream in the field. That's right. It's like bloody Madame Butterfly over here, eh? Wow. It's like Ian Thorpe of the art world. Well, it must be said, there's some fantastic footwork.

Yes. On the painting. It's also must be said there's some fantastic footwork. Yes. On the painting. It's also a sporting term. Is it? Le Fevre painted this with his feet. Not a lot of people know that. The following year, Chloe headed south for the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880. Guess what?

What? Gold medal. Yes! Racking them up. Where do you even put, because you know, like gold medals at the Olympics, they go around your neck. Where do you put them on a painting? I would have liked to have seen them painted on.

Yeah. She'd be weighed down. You can just paint them on like the glass over the top of it. Like a bottle of wine. Yeah. Just the stickers. Yeah. Yeah, I think that would be a nice touch.

Put a little sticker on it. Yeah, like country bakery of the year or something. How do I know it's good if it doesn't have a sticker on it? That's true. So, yeah, it's been a big hit around the world now, France and Australia, the big two art destinations of the AOM. That's what you want. Those are the markets you want as an artist. Three gold medals, though.

Yeah. Yeah, it's huge. Once in Melbourne, it was exhibited. People are loving it. And it caught the eye of one Dr Thomas Fitzgerald and he purchased the painting for 850 guineas. Guinea's? Yeah, which sounds like a made up thing, but that was an amount of money back then.

Yeah, right. I believe, and it was hard to figure out, but I think it's around 160 grand in today's money. Woo! With inflation and whatnot. Yeah, it is hard to... But also possibly a totally different amount. It could be way more than that. Who knows?

You got the whiteboard out. Yeah. Yeah. Honestly. Let's say 160 grand. That sounds impressive. Pi was involved. Yeah.

Carry the pie. Oh, sweating. So anyway, in 1883, Fitzgerald was heading back to Ireland for three years. So he contacted the National Gallery of Victoria offering Chloe to them to display while he was away. A generous offer. Just while he's away? While he's away.

When I come back, I want it back. I want it back. Okay. We've all thought about that when you're going away for a bit, just contacting the gallery. Yeah. Did you want this? I mean it would cost me money to put in storage.

Maybe you could throw it. I've got a magnet on the fridge. Do you want this print I bought off Etsy? Do you want that? Just while I'm away. I'm away for two weeks maybe you can throw it off i've got this magnet i bought off etsy do you want that yeah just for just while i'm away i'm away for two weeks you can have it so um they accepted they're like fantastic but despite being critically acclaimed chloe proved controversial to melbournians melbournians couldn't handle it but outside you know the art community loved it right shown in the exhibition they're like fantastic gold medal but your average joe australian and melbournian more specifically was

like what the hell is going on over here she's nude this lady is nude yeah we are a city of prudes yeah very prudish put it away is our catchphrase i've been looking down here a lot it's on our number plates yeah It says, put a jumper on! Yeah. The prude state. According to Only Melbourne, Melbourne society found Chloe's presence in the gallery quite scandalous. The Argus newspaper, which is a big newspaper here for a long time, the Argus was so inundated with letters of both complaint and passion that

they dedicated a column solely to the issue of chloe in the gallery the letters of passion feels a bit pervy doesn't it i love it i love chloe chloe's my girlfriend chloe chloe could you come live in my house you know it was like okay yeah she can live in my front room but the complaints were a little foreshadowing there there is a bit of that later on right so it really feels like melbourne was divided into two camps prudes and pervs a bigger size bigger size which side what side would you be you go first uh team prude food for life so So you wouldn't be happy with this being just white? I have not looked at once back there. That's horrific. The frame is fantastic.

Beautiful frame. Beautiful writing down here. Great feet. Good little knobbly knees. I'm totally fine with feet. But I'm not a perv for feet. Prude for feet. Prude for feet.

But how about you? You've been looking a lot back there. Yeah. I don't know if this is a safe place to answer, honestly. I reckon I'd be team perfect. Team perfect. Yeah. I'd be like, get your kid off if you want.

Doesn't mean I have to. Okay. But if you want to get your kid off, go for it. No, don't. No, come on. Even in the shower? No. No.

Especially not in the shower. Especially not in the shower. It's when I'm most vulnerable. Okay. Okay. There's a lot to unpack there, but we really don't have a lot of time. Yeah,. It's when I'm most vulnerable. Okay. Okay. There's a lot to unpack there, but we really don't have a lot of time. Yeah, we'll talk about that later maybe. Yeah.

I'd say I'm somewhere in between the two. Yeah, that sounds, yeah. So you make us choose and then you get to be on the fence. So the reason for the controversy was not only that it was a nude painting, but that it was being displayed on Sundays, the Sabbath. Oh my God, unbelievable. Well, her hair was probably what caused the most controversy when she was at the National Gallery

in the 1880s. Her hair is in an up style, which would have been how a modern young lady would have presented herself. So the question that was asked by your prudes was why would a modern young woman show herself naked in public? So another newspaper at the time wrote, quote, the picture, which was on view at the recent exhibition where it attracted the admiration of all good judges, was purchased by a patron of

the fine arts, our friend Dr Fitzgerald, and lent by him to the trustees. On the picture being hung, the puritanical raised a howl of indignation, and poor Chloe was subjected to an amount of abuse that could only come from narrow-minded bigots. Oh, wow. This newspaper was in the perv camp. A very balanced, impartial reporting there. The article went on to say,

one result of Chloe's appearance on the wall was of course an increased attendance and thousands who had never heard of the picture before visited the gallery while it was on view. Oh no, all the pervs have accidentally like signposted it for all the pervs. Yeah, that's right. I've heard about this.

A nude painting. Sunday. I don't work on Sundays. I've got heaps of time. I'll go and check out this nerd. After church. Yeah and I think that was like I think that happens a lot. You bring controversy to something and that just brings attention to the thing that you were trying to smother. Within weeks the campaign against the painting was successful though. To stop all the hassle Fitz the campaign against the painting was successful, though. To stop all the hassle, Fitzgerald requested the painting back and the NGV took it off display. Not long after, the painting spent time on display in Adelaide where it proved less controversial.

They're full of pervs over there. When Fitzgerald returned from his trip, he took the painting back, hung it in his front room. But even this caused controversy. As passers-by could see it through the window. Oh, my God. Stop looking through windows, you pervs. They're pretending to be prudes, but they're actually pervs.

Yeah. People have obviously gone, oh, it's moved to this place, has it? Well, let's make sure no one can see it. Oh, there it is. There it is. Yeah. Wow. I'm going to complain about this.

I'm offended. I'm not gonna look away binoculars so that he got more complaints ended up having to move it to his back room you don't want to put it in the back room nobody goes there and it remained there for the final decades of his life so I was there for another 20 odd years oh wow obviously we can't talk about Chloe without talking about this pub here the Young and. So the two are really you know linked together. It's probably the most famous thing about the pub in a lot of ways. What about the Palmer? Yeah Chloe and the Palmer. Name a more iconic duo. Chloe and the Palmer? Chloe and the Palmer. Or and the Palmers. Palmers, there we go.

Or Palmees for people who like to say it wrong. So we're here now, as we were saying, right in the heart of Melbourne. It's sort of the main intersection where the Melbourne CBD begins. It goes out in this direction. Yeah. And I've had a few meals here because you sit in front of the great painting out that window, great view of the city. Isn't that, it's wild that there's not many places you can sit in front of a multi-million

dollar or multi-hundred guinea painting and just have a Palmer and a pot. The frame was recently weighed, the painting and the frame and the glass, and she came in at about 180 kilos. Ah, hefty. So it's probably not true, some of those stories you hear about people who've lifted it off the wall? No, a lady once told me that her grandfather came in with a stepladder, took Chloe off the wall and carried her out the front,

and that was their family history. And I didn't really have the heart to tell her that probably wasn't true. He could have been a beast to the granddad. He could have been. In 1875, the same year that Lefevre painted Chloe, two Irishmen named Henry Figsby Young and Thomas Joshua Jackson became the licensees of the Prince's Bridge Hotel. Remember Henry's middle name? Figsby. Figsby. Yes, fantastic.

Bring it back. Yeah, it's a great name. Figsby. I love it. Oh, big fan of that. That is great. And then the other guy went on to be Dawson's best friend. Pacey, yeah. Dropped the Thomas.

What a career. Yeah, that's right. Still going. You would have noticed their surnames there. Young and Jackson. When I got to that bit reading about the pub, I'm like, that's them. It wasn't just brilliant marketing. They're real people.

It wasn't just names that go quite well together. Y and J. Oof. Oof. That's good. Young and Jackson's partnership only lasted for 15 years. I say only. That's a pretty good partnership.

I think they were cousins. So, you know, working with family, 15 years, good stint. And Jackson, which makes sense, was the older one. Young was the younger one. So, I think Jackson, I think, pretty much just retired. That's why the partnership ended. But Henry Figsby Young continued on as publican until, I believe, 1922. Wow. So, he was here for a bit. Old Figsby was a bit of an art collector and after Dr. Thomas Fitzgerald died in

1908 he was able to buy Chloe at his estate auction and put it straight into the pub in 1909 and it became a big hit. People loved it. I mean the pub must have been doing pretty well if he could afford a pretty expensive and famous painting. Yeah, I think he was a really good businessman as well. I think he had something to do with the starting of the Abbotsford Brewery and he was involved in the early days of Carlton and United and stuff. So I think he was, he knew what he was doing,

had a bit of cash and yeah, became a bit of a draw for crowds. So once Chloe got here, yeah, people came to have a beer with Chloe. Apparently soldiers in particular took a liking to the artwork. And enjoying a drink with Chloe at the hotel has become a good luck ritual for Australian soldiers since the First World War. According to Australian academic Katrina Kell, the ritual of having a drink with chloe at the young and jackson hotel began after private ap hill who was killed in action put a message in

a bottle and tossed it overboard when the bottle was found in new zealand in january of 1918 his message read to the founder of this bottle take it to young and jackson's fill it and keep it till we return from the war. And so that led to people like, obviously someone came here, filled it up. Wow. With what? That's a good point. Yeah. Could be anything.

Maybe vermouth. Probably. Maybe a G&T. Yeah. Fill it with the G&T. Give it a shake so it goes all flat. Yeah. Maybe an espresso martini. Yeah. A little pick. A little pick-me-up. Or maybe

a lager. Probably. According to Only Melbourne, during the World Wars, diggers came to drink with Chloe before being shipped out. Letters were written to her from the trenches of Turkey, France and Papua New Guinea swearing their true love and promising to return. So when you said it before, as the soldiers did, they... I guess, you know, they used to... Soldiers, I think, used to... It was pretty common to meet someone and get married straight away.

Yeah, right. I guess those who didn't had Chloe. They had Chloe. During World War II, a crewman aboard a German luxury liner was accused in the US of being a spy. As an alibi, he recalled that at the time of the offence, he was in Melbourne. He said, no, no, I couldn't have been me.

I was in Melbourne. Seeing my girlfriend. And then, oh, Chloe. And they're like, oh, yeah, prove it. And he goes, well, I was at a pub across the road from a railway. There was this painting of a woman named Chloe. And they're like okay story checks out so I got it got him out of out of trouble wow around the same time a group of

American GIs made plans to steal the painting but they're unsuccessful okay isn't it amazing looking at you like how do you reckon it used to be in the bar downstairs so a little closer to the exit but still how do you hoodwink the barkeep for long enough to get out there and throw it on a tram? Take it out. Apparently, one American soldier threw a glass of beer at it, saying, here's something for you to remember me by. What a dog act. That's just, that's silly.

She's a painting for starters. She's a painting. She can't remember shit. Doesn't remember. She doesn't know anything. I mean, but in fairness to that guy, we are remembering him

by telling that story. Oh yeah. Take it. Oh, he's got us. That is frustrating. Is that, I wonder if that's how

he got around in daily life. Hey, I'm off. See you again. Don't forget me. And you wouldn't, would you? No. Never forget that guy.

Yeah. Before that, very forgettable guy. A bit dull. Oh, the guy throws pints at people. Yeah. Yeah, I remember him. I remember him. Don't know his name, but I know. Bit of a douchebag. Yeah, he sucks. Soon after, obviously, it had some conservation work done. Need a bit of a patch and repair.

According to Kel, by the start of the Second World War, Chloe and Young and Jacksons were so enmeshed in military mythology they were included in the second 21st Australian Infantry Battalion's official march song. You know, the army march songs. So there was a little line in it about Chloe, which I don't understand it, but I'll read it. Four lines here.

Now, this is poetry, though. I'll tell you that. So it's got a rhyme. It's got a rhyme in it. All right, we'll see. I don't understand the rhyme, but it's got a rhyme. Okay. Goodbye, Young and Jackson's.

Farewell, Chloe, too. It's a long way to Bonegilla, but we'll get there on stew. Okay. I definitely understood the first two. Yeah. The second part, less so.. I definitely understood the first two. Yeah. The second part, less so. But I reckon it's probably a place in Victoria. Bonegill is a place and we'll get there on time.

On stew. In time for dinner. Stew will keep us going. On stew, that's what they're eating to get there? Oh, yeah, yeah. Or is it a, maybe it's a nickname for Tuesday? You know, Taco Tuesdays. Maybe it was Stew Day Stews Days.

Yeah, yeah. Stew Day Tuesdays. Back then. It was what?, taco Tuesdays, maybe it was stew Tuesdays. Stew Tuesdays. Stew Tuesdays, back then. What? Stew Tuesday Tuesdays. That's why they changed it to tacos. Yeah, it's better. It really could have had a rewrite, like we'll get there thinking of you or something like that.

Yeah, that's good. That's just my submission. But I imagine it means something. Yeah, and all that matters is they understood what I meant. You know? And all that matters is they understood what it meant. You know? And all that matters is that people comment below. After Japan's surrender, Australian prisoners of war sent out an SOS to be rescued. I'm not saying this out of nowhere.

This is Chloe related. Okay, great. As a test to make sure that they were actually Australians and it wasn't a trap, Melbourne soldier John Van Newton was asked, how would you like to see Chloe again? Very cryptic question. How would you like to see her? So he's just, Japan surrendered, he's found a radio going hey, come get us, we're out. And on the other end he gets a call, how would you like to see Chloe again? There's no time for that come rescue me apparently van newton replied lead me to her and the operator asked sure where is she and van

newton responded with young and jackson's finally convincing the operator he was australian so they came and got him wow and interesting so if you were if you were like a double agent or something just a little knowledge of chloe you could have brought the whole bloody operation probably Isn't that interesting? So if you were like a double agent or something, just a little knowledge of Chloe, you could have brought the whole bloody operation down. And probably a convincing Australian accent would have helped too. And to be honest, Jess, if you're stranded overseas and they tried this on you last week... I'm stuffed.

I don't know what you're talking about. Dave, they could try it next week. I'll forget. I'm ruined. Lead me to it. What? What are you talking about? Who's Chloe, I'd say?

Wait a second, she's not Australian? I'm Jess. Oh, Who's Chloe, I'd say. Wait a second. She's not Australian? I'm Jess. Oh, no, no, no. I'm Jess. Happens all the time. Kardashian? What are you talking about? In an article written in 1945,

West Australian journalist Peter Graham claimed that Chloe is to Melbourne what the bridge is to Sydney. Okay. Well, I'm aware of the bridge. Do you remember when for the 56 games they lit her up? For the Olympics? They lit her up. There's sparklers, there's fireworks. Yeah, that was good. That was good coverage. But he does clarify from the soldier's point of view. Yeah, right, okay. So when they think of Sydney, they think of the bridge. When they think of Melbourne, they think of Chloe.

Do they also write letters home to the bridge? I miss you so much. I love you bridge. I love you. Can much. I love you, bridge. All those nuts and dots. Can't wait to see you again, bridge. So he goes on to say, she is a soldier's pilgrimage when in Melbourne. They speak of her with affection. The bridge will always belong to Sydney, but Chloe belongs to the Australian soldier.

That's nice. In the article, Graham talks of meeting a soldier at the bar who necked three beers in a row in front of the painting. So I was downstairs in 45 in army gear. One for me, one for Chloe, one for me. And Graeme went up to him and said, couldn't help but notice you just sculled three beers. And apparently beer was sort of rationed at the time. I was like, that's pretty wild that you were just knocking them down like that and apparently the soldier replied uh when he asked what are you what are you up to the soldier replied keeping a

promise we made to chloe 12 months ago when we were going north to have a drink with her when we came back the soldier's two mates died in the, so he was keeping the promise for all three of them. Oh that's nice. Pretty sweet. Yeah. For decades it remained in the main downstairs bar until 1987, when it was moved upstairs to protect it from natural light and the smoke. The following year the National Trust and Heritage Victoria decreed that the painting and the pub remain bound together forever. They're not a...

Even if you wanted to to you couldn't buy this and take it elsewhere. Chloe's not supposed to leave the hotel, certainly can't leave the hotel without permission. She recently did actually get permission to leave the hotel. She went to Mona for a couple of months. She's considered a fixture or fitting of the pub so if you want to buy Chloe you'll need to buy the hotel and vice versa. Right. Do we know what it's worth in today's money? It's currently insured for $3 million.

$3 million? And the pub? I'm just crunching some numbers here. But more so the whole package is at least three. Probably even more. Probably 30. Yeah. Okay.

Well, I'll talk to the bank. Yeah. In 2004, a punter knocked the painting up in this room, which is amazing to think about. Knocked the painting, breaking the protective glass. Whoa. And causing a 15-centimetre scratch. According to then-bar manager Dan Payne,

the culprit, quote, did a runner. We were notified about it 10 seconds after the incident happened. My heart stopped beating. Luckily, the damage was able to be repaired and after ordering special German protective glass, Chloe was returned here to the bar where the public can continue to have a meal and a drink in her presence more than 110 years after she first arrived.

So that's the story of Chloe. You should be able to have a Palmer in a pot in front of the Mona Lisa. Yeah. Certainly make me want to go there more. I'll tell you something about the Mona Lisa. Nothing on the size of this. No way. Teeny tiny.

Yeah, she'd crush her in a fire. Absolutely. She's a little different from Mona Lisa as well. Her eyes never follow you around. Yeah. She's always looking away. You can try as you might. Though her ear hole is staring straight into me.

My God, look at that. Cheers to Chloe. Cheers to Chloe. Cheers to Chloe. It's 10am. Cheers to Chloe. It's 10am. Do Gone Presents Artifacts has been made with the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation and is available nationwide on the Community Radio Network. Thank you. We'll see you next time. So no, you can't get snowballs on Uber Eats. But meatballs, mozzarella balls, and arancini balls?

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