A stay at Capella Lodge offers guests a genuine connection with Lord Howe Island; its landscape, wildlife and community. A commitment to commissioning local designers and artists and using locally-sourced, sustainable materials creates a unique feeling of a ‘sense of place’.

Capella showcases a collection of Bruce Goold’s artwork, woven into the distinctly Australian beach-house style with artefacts and textiles playing their part in the form of vintage linocuts by the Australian printmaker. Famous around the world for the vivid graphics that made the Mambo surf brand so distinctive, Bruce has a special affinity with the lodge and also Lord Howe Island having curated a collection of his artworks and fabric designs for ‘Capella South’ as it was known in the early days.

A collection of curios and textiles are showcased throughout the main lodge lounge and restaurant areas and also feature in the Capella Spa and guest suites. Layered with thick line and broad colour, Bruce’s designs depict the island’s unique flora and fauna such as the kentia palm, often interwoven with stories of the island’s history including a cheeky portrait of Lord Howe himself. One of the original cuts of Bruce’s work titled the ‘SS Makambo’ hangs in the Makambo Loft and portrays the rats swimming from the sinking ship off the coast of Lord Howe in 1924. In the Lidgbird Pavilion, a linocut of the legendary white gallinule toting a bottle of kentia blanc keeps an eye on guests.

Baillie Lodges partnered with Joshua Yeldham in the first artist residency program at Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island. Josh travelled to Lord Howe on a seven day expedition to gather ideas for upcoming artworks and explore the Jurassic subtropical landscape. Joined by wife and photographer Jo, the couple fell into an easy flow where sunlight set the daily rhythm. Memories relayed by the pair are gently poetic. Joshua recalls terns heavy with droplets, swooping seabirds, emerald ocean and a winding trail leading to a rainforest gully where ancient fig trees with gigantic buttress roots reigned.

“There is a tale of regeneration happening on this idyllic island. A story that involves the passion of the small community that has the best interest of this World Heritage-listed island at its heart. It is a feeling that you experience when you are there, a no nonsense, nature loving ethos, a way of being with your surroundings, where the splendour around you captivates you and that is remarkable and worth treasuring in this day and age.’ – Jo Yeldham.

Josh created several artworks for his current exhibition, Providence, which showed at Sydney’s Arthouse Gallery. Joshua’s major Lord Howe work has already sold for $50,000 with proceeds going to Cool Australia, a not-for-profit that helps educators engage young learners in the area of environment. “I try to encourage nature as our teacher, the great adapter, the shape-changer, says Joshua. “By linking Cool Australia with Lord Howe Island scientists, we hope to develop a learning platform that explains how extraordinarily pristine this island is.

Many artists feel a special connection with a particular bird or animal, and for Joshua the owl is akin to a personal totem and features in many of his works. Josh created a limited-edition print featuring ‘The Owl of Lord Howe, inspired by the endemic and now extinct Lord Howe Island Boobook.