Cloncurry is the latest Queensland town to boast a giant mural on a local concrete landmark.
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Unlike Thallon in southern Queensland, which became an overnight sensation thanks to the enormous work of art sprayed across the town’s four silos, it’s a disused water tank that has become the canvas for Cloncurry’s newest attraction.
Painted by the same artist that undertook the installation at Thallon, Joel Fergie aka The Zookeeper, the tank at Cloncurry’s scenic lookout features symbols that set the area apart – its famous Cloncurry parrot, the eagle hawk that is the Mitakoodi tribe’s dreaming bird, and a paper plane that hints at the beginnings of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Mayor, Greg Campbell, said it was aimed at being proud of the things that symbolise Cloncurry’s culture as well as making a plain item stand out.
He was also keen to ensure young people received full exposure to art and understand that it was just as cool to be an artist as it was to play sport.
“One of the things that builds the fabric of a community is art,” he said.
“We’ve got a strong sporting culture but to be well-rounded we need art too.”
Costing around $20,000 and funded fully out of the Cloncurry shire budget, Cr Campbell said it had turned what was a local landmark into something that everyone would be talking about.
“Visitation to the lookout has definitely increased,” he said. “You can see it standing out as you drive in from Mount Isa – it’s going to become iconic.”
To undertake the work, Joel explained that he had immersed himself in the community, being introduced to local Aboriginal culture and bush tucker by Mitakoodi elder, Ron ‘Hombre’ Major.
In return he’d run a workshop at Dajarra, teaching the students spray painting.
Two local children, Barrack and Brianna, feature and one of them, Brianna is depicted launching a paper plane into the air to symbolise the RFDS beginnings in Cloncurry.
Council’s community development director, Leanne Tu’ipulotu, said there were many elements in the mural that could best be discovered by a walk around the old tank.
“There are so many beautiful images,” she said.
Hombre said it had been good for the community to see that this sort of thing could happen there.
“Hopefully we can have some more around the place,” he said.
If The Zookeeper and Cr Campbell have their way, that’s a real possibility.
Joel said it had been a scorching two weeks of painting but hoped it would lead to some other projects in the region.
