THE portrait of Clara Georgina Butler (nee Jary) found at the Swan Hill Big Green Shed has been reunited with its family.
One of Clara’s grandsons, Geoff Butler, of Woorinen, collected the portrait from The Guardian on Tuesday.
Mr Butler said he learned about the portrait when his brother, who was visiting from Bendigo, spotted the picture of their grandmother in Monday’s edition of The Guardian.
“He gave me a call and said our grandmother was in the paper,” Mr Butler said.
“It was a bit of a shock as she hasn’t been alive for about 30 years.”
Mr Butler said the portrait ended up in The Big Green Shed when his family were moving their mother into Logan Lodge in Swan Hill.
“We took a lot of stuff to the tip and had no idea the picture was inside one of the gift bags,” he said.
The portrait of Clara was found by Swan Hill resident Cheryl Bailey on October 29 who handed the picture into The Guardian last week.
Mr Butler said his grandmother was born in Mildura in the 1890s and worked at the Irymple Packing Company until she married James Butler in 1920.
“They then bought land at Woorinen and became grape growers and dried fruits,” he said.
“They had three sons who have now all passed away.”
Clara died on March 23, 1986 (aged 88 years) and was buried at the Swan Hill cemetery with her husband.
Mr Butler said he would take the portrait home to put on the wall with the rest of the family photos.
Thank you to everyone who called or emailed The Guardian to help trace the family of Clara Butler.
