Melbourne Nurse starts a Pottery!
A pottery vase in the February sale of Moorabool Auctions is well painted with flowers, and is signed ‘E. G. Greenway’. The pot itself is marked to the bottom ‘Lesley Ware’ – but what’s the true story?
A web search turns up a historic property at 127 White Horse Road, Blackburn was erected in 1947-49 as a factory for E G Greenway Pty Ltd, art pottery manufacturers. The company was named for Ellen Grant Greenway (1894-1946) – the artist who has signed this vase. However, after forming the company in 1944, Ellen sadly died in 1946, before the property had been built…..
Her husband Herbert kept the company name as a tribute to his late talented wife, and continued to make ‘E.G. Greenway’ pottery for the next two decades.
For some reason, this interesting story, and the rather pleasing pots that were created are largely missed in the literature on Australian Pottery. The 1933 advert from Perth illustrates her creations for sale in the leading department store, and titles the segment “The Well-known Australian Artist”.
It seems though that she has been almost forgotten.
Let’s take a closer look.
The Story
Ellen was a nurse by profession, born in Fenton Creek in Central Victoria in 1894. In 1930 she started operating a ceramics decorating studio from her Northcote home, sourcing unglazed ceramic wares from the nearby Hoffmans pottery works, which she skillfully hand-painted, varnished, and sold under the trademark ‘Lesley Art Pottery’. It was promoted in the 1930’s as ‘the New Lesley Pottery’.
Within just a few years, her vibrant creations found a growing audience across Australia, sold through the major department stores in the larger cities. While renowned for her Australian floral motifs, Greenway also explored the Art Deco aesthetic, crafting octagonal plates adorned with bold, abstract geometric patterns—earning her comparisons to celebrated English ceramicist Clarice Cliff (1899–1972).
Artist’s Impression: the beginning: Ellen began painting pots purchased from the Melbourne pot works in 1930. ©Moorabool
The mark on the ‘E G Greenway’ marked vase – Lesley Pottery – meaning decorated, but the pot probably purchased to decorate from a Melbourne firm such as Hoffmans.
In 1940, Ellen and her husband, Herbert Thomas Greenway (1893–1971), a leather manufacturer, relocated to 98 St David Street, Fitzroy. This site housed both Herbert’s Suedette Manufacturing Company and Ellen’s newly branded Mayfair Pottery Salon. By this time, they had expanded into ceramic production, offering both hand-painted pieces and plain slip-moulded objects, including vases and jardinières.
Examples of Greenway Pottery at Moorabool Antiques, Geelong
December 1944 marked a pivotal moment when the Greenways consolidated their businesses into E.G. Greenway Pty Ltd. Their vision was a purpose-built factory—“a handsomely designed pottery in a garden setting”—dedicated to producing fine art pottery and milled goods. Sadly, she died in 1946, never seeing the ‘masterpiece’ that was built.
Her husband Herbert built the factory complex at 127 White Horse Road, Blackburn, where he continued the pottery production, concentrating on slip-cast forms. Popular items included vases in the form of fans, seashells and logs, glazed in fashionable pastel tones. In 1953, they produced pint tankards to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation. Changing tastes saw the demand decline in the 1960s, and Herbert died in 1971; four years later the company was wound up and sold off.
This vase is to be sold by Auction on February 22nd, lot 206.
