Victorian Silo Art Tour

Introduction

In March 2023 we stayed for a week in one of our timeshare properties "Lakeside Country Club" in Numurkah, northern Victoria.
We had decided on an indirect route to return home in Melbourne via some Silo Art installations to the west of Numurkah.

Here is a video that shows some of the sites that we planned to visit. The video is from the https://www.youtube.com/@Aichkaye/videos channel.

While we were in Numurkah we took a day trip to Rutherglen via the main highway but decided to return home via some back roads.
As a result we arrived in towns that we would not otherwise have visited. One such town was Tungamah where we saw our first painted silos.

Tungamah

The following description is taken from the display board at the site:

The history of the silos and railway station:
" the tungamah Railway Station goods sheds and portable building opened in 1886, which coincided with the railway opening between St James via tungamah to Yarrawange on the 5th May the same year.
It was 1889 before the main station was erected which was followed by a more substantial grain shed in 1890. At its peak, 60,000 bags of wheat were delivered to the station in a normal harvest.
The concrete silos were erected in 1944.

The Artist - Sobrane

Street artist, Sobrane Sinmcock, from Broome, W.A. was connissioned to paint this silo in 2018.
This was the first silo to be painted in N.E. Victoria and set the precedent for other small towns to follow resulting in the N.E. Silo art Trail.

For more details of the history of the site and of the artist see the photo of the display board (at left below). For a larger version of photos, click on the photo. To return to the post click on the X in the top right hand corner.

Here is a video of the Tungamah silo art from the https://www.youtube.com/@Aichkaye/videos channel.

St James

The St James Silo received its first bulk load of wheat in 1943. For more details on the history of the silo see the first photo below.

The Coles family that established the large national chain of variety stores and supermarkets came from St James. The first G J Coles store was opened in St James. That is why one of the silos features G J Coles and the St James Store. More details of G J Coles see the second photo below.

The artist - Tim Bowtel. See the third photo below.

Here are photos of the silos.

Here is a video of St James from https://www.youtube.com/@Aichkaye/videos

Devenish

The Devenish silos were opened in December 1943. Few farmers owned trucks at the time so the wheet was taken to the silos by Horse and Cart.

Later, fundamental changes to farming techniques including on farm storage led to the closure of the silos. The silo art project is creating a new chapter for these iconic structures.

The Artist - Cam Scale. The artwork is a visual tribute to the 50 young men and women from the Devenish community who served in the First World War, focusing on the role of nurses and how their role has evolved over the years.

For more details see the first two photos below. Reminder, to see a larger more readable version, click on the photo. To return to this post click on the X in the top right of the screen.

Here is a video of the Devenish silos from https://www.youtube.com/@Aichkaye/videos

Goorambat

The Goorambat site features three Clydedale horses

For details of the horses see the first three photos below:

As well as the horses, the artist, Jimmy Dvate, has a passionate interest in conservation, so the silos also feature an endagered species the Barking Owl and its favoured habitat, hollows in iron bark trees.

Here is a video of the Goorambat Silo Art Site:

Sea Lake

When we finished our week at the Numurkah time share we returned to Melbourne via overnight stays at Sea Lake, Woomelang, Warracknabeal and Horsham. During that time we saw another 15 Silo Art Sites. The first one was in Sea Lake.

Here is a description of the Sea Lake art from this link: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/sea-lake .

"The artwork depicts a young girl swinging from a mallee eucalyptus tree gazing out over the endless vista that is Lake Tyrrell. A powerful Wedge Tail Eagle saws above the girl and emus run off into the night. For millennia this lake has existed, unchanged and untouched. It is a place of wonder and story. In this ever increasing busy day and age, people universally long for space and solitude."

Here is a video of the site:

Nullawil

The artist is Sam Bates nicknamed Smug - who paints large photo realistic grafitti street art around the world.

The dog "Jimmy" is a local working sheep dog who was 6 at the time of painting.

For more details of this project see the first six photos below.

Watchem

The Watchem (water tank) artwork is been dedicated to, two trainers and drivers of harness racing, Graeme Lang who died at age 87 in 2020, and Ian 'Macca' McCallum who passed away in June 2013.

Here is a link to more details of the site: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/watchem

Lascelles

From the sign at the site: "In order to capture the true essence of Lascelles, Melbourne based artist, Rone, knew that he had to learn about the town from those who were deaply connected to it. Here, he depicts local farming couple Geoff and Merrilyn Horman, part of a family that has lived and farmed in the area for four generations.

For more details see the first two photos below.

Patchewollock

To prepare for his Pathewollock mural, Brisband artist, Flintan Mageee booked a room at the local pub to immerse himself in the community and get to know its people. When he met local sheep and grain farmer, Nick "Noodle" Holland he knew that he had found his muse.

For more details see the first two signs below.

Woomelang

Woomelang does not have any grain silos, instead it has paintings on mobile field bins. There is too much to explain here so I have included the signs for each bin.

Albacutya

Ten kilometres north of Rainbow lies the quirky, colourful and more modern take on Silo Art at Albacutya Silo.

For more detalis follow this link: https://juddyroller.com.au/project/albacutya-silo/

Rosebery

Before commencing work in Rosebery, Melbourne artist, Kaff-ein spent ... time assisting artist Rone in his Lascelles silo project. During this time she visited neighbouring towns to develop a concept for the Rosebery silos. For more details see the first photo below.

Brim

Brim silo, painted by Guido Van Helten was the first silo art in Victoria. It features members of the local farming community as you would see them any day of the week. For more details see the first three photos below.

The silos can be viewed in daylight and in the eventing. Here are daylight views

Here are the silos taken in the evening, floodlit at sunset

Here are shots of the sunset

Arkona

"World renowned mural artist Smug faced the challenge of painting a silo sized photorealistic mural without being able to meet and photograph the subject. Unfortunately Roley Klinge had passed in 1991. To overcome this, Smug came up with an ingenious and original concept, not painting the body at all." Source: https://visitwimmeramallee.com.au/business-listing/arkona-silo-art/

Note that the artist referenced Roley on the watch and included an image of him.

Sheep Hills

Melbourne-based artist, Adnate uses his art to tell the stories of indigenous people particularly Australian Aboriginal people.

For more detalis see the first two photos below

Rupanyup

The Rupanyup silo art features young people playing team sports.

Horsham

"The mural is titled The Yangga Dyata which means 'Walking on Country' and it stands proud celebrating the significant story of Yanggendyinanyuk a Wotjobaluk warrior's story of leadership, resilience and significant legacy." For more details visit: https://www.australiansiloarttrail.com/horsham

Source: https://www.youtube.com/@chrisdunmill8438/featured

Goroke

"Artist Geoffrey Carran was heavily inspired by the birdlife in West Wimmera Shire when creating the Goroke silo art. The word Goroke is the local Aboriginal word for magpie, so the native bird was a great fit for the design. Geoffrey then expanded the idea to include other native birds, including a kookaburra and galah. His love of birds has meant they are a regular subject of his artwork."
Source: http://siloarttrail.com/works/goroke/