This paper will focus on female artists’ nature based artwork in 19^th century Victoria. It will argue that the creation of women’s art served a dual function, as both a rewarding pastime for the individual and as a part of the broader colonizing process in Australia. Female artists were present in various fields, including botanical illustration, landscape art, homestead art and other less formal pursuits. Many settler women used art as a mechanism through which to access an often-elusive intellectual life, an identity independent from that of wife or mother, and a respite from daily domestic duties. This paper will argue that through these creative pursuits, women also developed a stronger connection to place, and expanded their sense of legitimate belonging to the Victorian landscape.