Hope
We chose St Arnaud as our pit stop destination while exploring the state's
silo art trail not just because of its location but also for the things this Northern Grampians town has to offer. Besides the grand buildings and manicured gardens, what interested me most was its own silo and art trail which encompasses Alma Street to the north and Wills Street to the south.
Ron Reyne
Mates
Steeped in gold-rush history, St Arnaud's silo art truly depicts the 1800s when this precious metal kicked off the development of the township. Local artist Kyle Torney used images of a gold prospector and his wife and son to tell the gold mining story of the past as well as to reflect the present pandemic climate. Aptly titled
Hope, the masterpiece took more than 800 hours to complete in the second half of 2020.
Miner
Kyle's other murals are adorned on various building walls throughout town. Just opposite the silos, you'll find
Ron Reyne and not far around the corner of Wills Street and Kings Avenue is the
Mates mural featuring Os Sanderson and Matt Batters.
Six2Six commissioned the painting of the two gentlemen in April 2021 and it's amazing to see what had been achieved. A short walk up Kings Avenue will then lead you to the
Miner mural.
Firefighters
Australian boxing legends
At this point, it might be worth heading back to the car and driving to the next set of wall murals. We parked along Alma Street where three could be found. Kyle believed that firefighters deserve recognition. However, not financially being in a position to donate, he decided to contribute by way of a mural instead - paying tribute to the volunteer firefighters. Walking towards the intersection with McMahon Street, you'll see Australian boxing legends Jeff Fenech and Lionel Rose on the walls of Kyle's own
gym. Slightly further up the road is
Los Hamilton and, last but not least, the mural on the sidewall of 117 Napier Street features local art teacher Andrea Hicks.
Los Hamilton
It is hoped that this silo and art trail can help draw both local and interstate tourists to the town.
St Arnaud is only 2.5 hours' drive from Melbourne, so do drop in over the weekend or during the school holidays. I'm sure you'll find that it's worth a stay.
Andrea Hicks
