The north Queensland town of Bowen often claims to be the original mural capital of Australia. But the upkeep of the street art is costly and labour intensive. And with a dwindling volunteer base, there is uncertainty over the future of the town’s murals.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Glen Gillard has been painting the walls of Bowen for 35 years, preserving local history
00:10with every brush stroke.
00:12When you see blank walls around the place you can always think now that needs a mural.
00:17The North Queensland town boasts a colourful collection of dozens of murals.
00:21It brings a lot to the town, people come especially to see them, not just from Australia itself
00:27but overseas as well.
00:29Most are snapshots of an era gone by, stories of pioneering families, farming, industry
00:36and innovation.
00:37It's good for teaching everyone our history so it's not lost.
00:44Exposed to the elements, some of the artwork has seen better days.
00:48Bowen locals consider their town the original mural capital of Australia, but preserving
00:54the artworks and commissioning more costs time, money and hard work.
01:00It all depends how long we last.
01:03If we can keep it going we will.
01:04I know we've got two more planned but we've got to raise the money for them.
01:09After decades of volunteering, the local mural society has just four members left.
01:16Many organisations hold up because they can't get volunteers or people involved and that's
01:22a bit sad.
01:23It could happen here, we hope it doesn't.
01:26Artist Martin Djegu recently restored one of the town's older walls.
01:31He's eager to help keep Bowen's mural legacy alive.
01:36It's a great way to bring joy and to bring happiness to people in such a simple way.