Important William Morris stained glass in Adelaide, 1901

The famous British design company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. of London was a firm that grew from a partnership founded in 1861 by artist and writer William Morris, the man credited with inspiring the Arts and Crafts Movement of the 1880s and 1890s. There was nothing Morris and Co couldn't design for private homes: wallpaper, tapestries, carpets, furniture, textiles, carvings and stained-glass windows. Nor, apparently, for public spaces. But what are the chances of a number of totally unconnected William Morris Co. stained glass windows ending up in Australia?

In Sydney Morris & Co's work may be seen at All Saints' Anglican church at Hunters Hill, which is the proud owner of two stained glass windows made to designs by Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833–98). The window Sydneysiders love most is the portrayal of Christ at the Transfiguration. The Sydney version of the The Transfiguration is very similar to the 1910 Transfiguration that William Morris & Co made for the Egremont Prebyterian Church in Wallasey. Only more pastel and gentle.

Transfiguration window, All Saints Hunters Hill, Sydney

But it is in Adelaide that most of the treasures can be found. The former Adelaide Stock Exchange in Exchange Place Adelaide has a very special, 6-panel stained-glass window; it was commissioned by philanthropist and trustee of the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery, George Brookman, for the Stock Exchange. The timing was perfect because the grand, red brick building was itself completed in the year that Australia federated as an independent nation (1901). And as Federation was arguably the most important single event in Australian history, the celebrations were momentous.

Federation window, Morris & Co., owned by the South Australian Art Gallery, 301 x 210 cm

The Federation window was designed in 1900 by John Henry Dearle, a man who trained with William Morris and became the company’s chief designer. The three lower panels depict the British Empire, with life-sized figures representing Australia, India Africa and Canada on either side. The three upper panels represent morning, sun and evening, based on designs of the British painter, Edward Burne-Jones; note the central figure representing Britannia holds a wreath framing the word Federation.

By 1902 the window was installed in the Adelaide building, lighting the main staircase. Insured for a million dollars, the Federation window has now been donated to the South Australian Art Gallery by a Spanish businessman who sold the building to the State Government in 2007.

In total there were 10 Morris & Co stained glass windows created for, and shipped to Adelaide, but this is the only one that related to a contemporary and important event in Australia's history. It will remain where it is at the top of the main staircase of the old Stock Exchange, unless the building is sold.

Today the building houses the Science Exchange of the Royal Institution of Australia, so the window can best be viewed during the Royal Institute's business hours.