Kimba, on the Eyre Peninsula, has just held the official opening of South Australia's first colour silo mural - a breathtaking artwork of grand proportions. The art was painted by scale mural artist
Cam Scale and came about after the huge success of other rural silo murals like South Australia's first silo mural in
Coonalpyn.
Kimba Silo Mural (©paula mcmanus)
The silos at Kimba are the first on the Eyre Peninsula to be painted and they are stunning to view. The painting depicts a little girl at sunset, in amongst a vast expanse of wheat. The subject choice came after consultation between the artist and the community and it shows the heart and soul of the area.
Kimba Silo Mural (©paula mcmanus)
The local community and the District Council of Kimba worked together to form the
Ignite Kimba Art Program. More than $50,000 was raised through donations and an additional $40,000 was gained through grants - enough to get this wonderful arts project happening.
Kimba is a beautiful, spacious and very clean town with a population of approximately 1200 people. It's smack bang in the middle of the wheat and grain growing area of the Eyre Peninsula. It's also famous for being geographically halfway between Sydney and Perth.
Many people already stop at the town to view the
Big Galah and the Edward John Eyre Sculptures at the lookout, but this latest art installation is sure to bring many more people to the town to stop and admire the magnificent silos.
Kimba Silo Mural (©paula mcmanus)
The silos are still in use by Viterra and for everyone's safety, it's prohibited to get too close to them. Thankfully, the locals have purpose-built a picnic viewing area which provides a lot of shade and a great view of the silos.
The silos face to the west, so visiting in the late afternoon is ideal for viewing and photographing the mural.
Kimba Silo Mural (©paula mcmanus)
We took the opportunity whilst in Kimba to visit White's Knob Lookout and see the Sculptures. The sculptures stand tall over the impressive landscape as they tell the story of explorer
Edward John Eyre and his Aboriginal companion Wylie, whose bush skills he heavily relied on as he became the first white man to cross Australia from Sydney to the Swan River in Western Australia, via the Great Australian Bight and the Nullarbor Plain in 1840. The Eyre Peninsula, Eyre Highway and Lake Eyre were all named after this early pioneering explorer.
Edward John Eyre sculpture at White's Knob Lookout (©paula mcmanus)
There's a lot of art in Kimba. We checked out the wonderful artworks at the Kimba Art Prize exhibition in the main town hall and saw some great examples of mural art on the walls at the showgrounds campsite. Camping is free in Kimba too. How great is that? Clean and shady sites with toilets and showers available - there's lots of room to park your van and campers are welcome to stay for up to 5 nights at no cost. What a great way to invite travellers to the area and to encourage them to explore and enjoy everything that this end of the Eyre Peninsula has to offer!
Kimba is a warm and welcoming country town located approximately 160kms north-west from Port Augusta and 460kms from Adelaide. It's the gateway to the Gawler Ranges and the outback and I'd encourage everyone to take a road trip and visit this beautiful 'halfway-across-Australia' town.
Free Camping in Kimba (©paula mcmanus)
