We started off on the Silo Art trail from Ballarat after spending the night and checking out Sovereign Hill.
Sovereign Hill is an outdoor museum which brings the gold rush era to life through a living township. It’s great to experience mining, panning for gold and horse and cart rides. We met historical characters, browsed the 1850’s shops, homes, schools and more. Luckily we were here during the winter wonderlights festival which happens annually. It’s definitely worth a visit as they project light shows onto the buildings and it snows. Which is quite magical!
Our first silo art was from the small rural town of Rupanyup. The 2 figures painted on the pair of grain silos are said to represent the towns youth and embody a youthful spirit of strength, hope and camaraderie.
The featured faces are of local Rupanyup residents and local sporting team members, Ebony Baker and Jordon Weidemann, dressed in their sports attire of netball and Australian rules football uniforms. We enjoyed our first encounter by artist Julia Volchkova and it left us keen for more.
The vibrant purple shades are seen from a distance and I think it was possibly my favourite Silo Art on this trail. It’s an imposing image in the town of Sheep Hills by talented artist Adnate.
Adnate's mural is of a Wergaia Elder named Uncle Ron Marks, along with a Wotjobaluk Elder, Aunty Regina Hood. They both stand beside two young children, Savannah Marks and Curtly McDonald.
Conceived over four weeks in late 2016, Adnate wanted to shine the spotlight on the areas young Indigenous people, but he also wanted to portray the strong ancestral connection that they share with the elders in their communities. The piercing eyes on this one look so realistic.
We stayed the night at Brim Weir pool in reddas park, a fantastic spot for camping at only $10 a night, including power. This campground is just down the road from the first of the Victorian Silo Art, which was located in Brim. This one was painted by Aussie artist Guido van Helten. An impressive sight to pull up to in our Winnebago as it sits very close to the main road.
The faces on the mural are anonymous, but they are said to portray a multi-generational quartet of farmers both male and female who show the strength and resilience that is required to be a country Victorian farmer.
My kids were impressed with the sheer size of what was in front of us.
The colours are pretty special in the Silo Art in Sea Lake done by Joel Fergie, the Zookeeper and Travis Vinson, Drapl. It depicts a young girl, swinging from a Mallee Eucalyptus which looks over Lake Tyrrell and reflects on her Indigenous heritage. Pink features strongly and you can understand the inspiration after calling down to the lake itself.
How could we not check out Lake Tyrell itself whilst in the area. The lake is the largest inland lake in Victoria at 180m2. It’s covered by a salt crust that often looks pink in colour. It’s a perfect place to capture beautifully coloured photos and for impressive star gazing at night.
After assisting Rone on his work in Lascelles, Kaff-eine has created a towering artwork of her own, where the past and present of Mallee meet as one. One Silo depicts a young, female farmer, symbolising the future of farming in the region. Another is a man and his horse, sharing a quiet moment of contemplation and peace, together. These stand proudly together in Rosebery.
As mentioned the Lascelles Silo Art was completed by Artist Rone. It’s a Local farming couple, Geoff and Merrilyn Horman. They are part of a family that has lived and farmed in the area for four generations. They stand back to back looking out over the train line.
Our final Silo Art for this trip was at Nullawil By the artist Smugone.
It’s a spray painted image of a man and his dog named Jimmy. It came from the artists interpretation of life in the area. It really does have an Aussie country flair, he is wearing his favourite checkered shirt and all.
Travelling the Silo Art trail is exciting, you never know what you are going to see popping up in the distance. You can often see the colours from a few kilometres down the road. Besides visiting Ballarat and Lake Tyrell there is not much else out there. Many of the Silo’s are in deserted paddocks or unused farms. I would have liked to call into a country town for some Devonshire teas but we could not find much open at all.
We stayed in Bendigo on our way back through to Melbourne and called into the wonderous Organ Pipes National Park.
It’s a steep walk down but worth the effort (well the effort is actually coming back up) as the Organ Pipes themselves are fascinating.
I’ve since discovered many of the artists have also done wall murals in Frankston, south of Melbourne. If the Silo Art trail is too far out of your way you must visit Frankston to get an idea of their talents then times it by ten as the scale of the Silos is so huge.
I’ve posted a lot of images and videos on Instagram at @kb4travel if you’d like to see more.
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