Bowen’s murals preserve local history, but keeping the legacy alive is a challenge
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.
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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.