Max Ragless
As an official war artist, the brief of Adelaide-born Max Ragless was to document life and work on the home front in Australia. On his visit to Loveday in 1945 he depicted agricultural activities. Several paintings emerged from his time there, including the one below.
More of his work can be seen on the website of the Australian War Memorial: https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search?query=ragless&collection=true&facet_type=Art
This painting by Max Ragless shows Japanese civilian internees harvesting the pyrethrum daisy grown at Loveday. From the blossoms is extracted pyrethin, the basic element in insecticides used by the Australian Military Forces in the south west Pacific area. A chronology of events at the Loveday Group Camp records the harvesting of Australia's largest pyrethrum crop concluded on 4 December 1945, yielding 75 wool bales containing ten tons of dried heads. AWM ART23407.