Tahune Pottery was originally set up in 1981 as a sheltered workshop in Grove, Tasmania in the beautiful Huon Vallery.
24 years of helping people rehabilitate: Started in 1981. By 1986 the workshop had gained a reputation for the high quality of work produced by its disabled employees.
Well known Tasmanian potter Peter Battaglene (who I actually used to personal train back in the day) was production manager at Tahune Pottery 1996-7.
The rehabilitating potters made a wide range of functional stoneware, hand-thrown, hand painted, slip cast and press-moulded pottery pieces. Pots were sold in the associated showroom and in various outlets in Tasmania and interstate.
Closed in 2005 you can find work marked with an impressed 'Tahune Pottery Huon, TAS', 'TP' in a circle, and the TP in a circle mark inside a map of Tasmania. The earlier pieces at the start of the workshop can have Sheltered Workshop Tahune impressed on them (which helps to date the pieces).
Why these pieces should be collected? No longer produced: 24 years is a very short time for a workshop to operate. Throw in the fact that these glorious pieces were produced by people with disabilities makes them all that more poignant and important as historical items not only for Tasmania but also for Australia. They should be collected and cherished for future generations.
