A cultural painting by Yuin artist, Cheryl Davison, has been purchased by the National Museum of Australia - a personal achievement she describes as a "hat-trick" in her career.
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Already she felt humbled to have her work represented in two major art institutions - The Art Gallery of NSW and The National Gallery of Australia.
Now, she celebrates her painting "Gulaga", which has been sold to the National Museum.
"I am very proud and I pat myself on my back," she laughed.
"This is my hat-trick.
"I don't like to brag about myself, but to have this third major institute really means a lot - it shows I have got my work to a certain level," she said.
"The art work really spoke to them and spoke in itself," she said.
The painting will feature in the museum's upcoming Captain Cook Exhibition.
"The exhibition will be all about the places he [Captain James Cook] mentioned in his journal," Ms Davison said.
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Stories of Gulaga Mountain are the most significant to the Yuin people of the South Coast, Ms Davison says.
"When Captain Cook sailed up the East Coast of Australia, he renamed the mountain as Dromedary," she said.
It's important to share that story and keep it alive
- Cheryl Davison
"He never met with Aboriginals to talk about the significance of the mountain and how special it was to the people," she said.
Gulaga Mountain rises above the small village of Tilba, where Ms Davison currently resides.
"There are lots of stories about Gulaga; the stories we have are really ancient and the elders protect, share and pass them on," she said.
Ms Davison said her grandfather shared the story of Gulaga when she was a young girl living at Wallaga Lake.
READ MORE: Storytelling at Tilba with Cheryl Davison
"It's important to share that story and keep it alive," she said.
"I love my culture and I love the South Coast; to be able to share Aboriginal culture with both indigenous and non-indigenous people is very special to me.
"We are very lucky because a lot of places in Australia weren't able to keep their stories.
"During colonisation we weren't allowed to practice our culture, so we were lucky to keep them alive," she said.
Ms Davison spent many years travelling away from family, studying art, mentoring in small community groups and encouraging other artists.
"I encourage people to practice their art and peak at it - you will get somewhere eventually, but it won't happen over night," she said.
Ms Davison said she will continue to discover more of her culture and is eager to settle and get stuck into good quality artwork.
If you would like to view Ms Davisons painting, "Gulaga", before it makes its way to the National Museum, pop in to the Ivy Hill Gallery situated midway between Bermagui and Tathra on the coast road. The gallery opens from 10am to 5pm over the June long weekend.