Our route today took us from Wagga Wagga to Balranald, via Narrandera and Hay, with a couple of smaller stops along the way.

ColLingullie

Just outside Wagga is a roadside rest area called Yarragundry Stopping Bays (on both sides of the road) with some small water tanks painted by Wiradjuri artist Owen Lyons. Here’s a link to his website.

NARRANDERA

In Narrandera there is a water tower designed by Apparition Media artists Justin Pedler and Sam Yong and painted by Larissa Fae, Julian De Lio, Christian Vine and Connor Mclennan, featuring a collage of images which reflect significant icons for the local area. It’s also worth a visit to Marie Bashir Park to see the Narrungdera Wiradjuri Honour Wall, acknowledging the contribution of local indigenous people to Australia’s war effort.

We did a short loop walk around Narrandera Wetlands, but after a long dry spell it wasn’t very wet and there were few birds. Pretty walk though, and nice to stretch the legs. Several hides have been painted with traditional designs, with helpful info panels describing the area.

Whitton & Darlington Point

In Whitton there’s a decorated water tower with a difference.  Carla Gottgens’ three dimensional 15-metre-tall metal structure of a soldier pays homage to the Anzac spirit that shaped a nation. Nearby is Charred Memories, a large-scale artwork by Carla Gottgens that depicts the history of Whitton.  Carla has also been busy painting a number of murals on the facades of local businesses depicting scenes from the past. For a tiny town there’s a lot to see there. We stopped for a picnic lunch in nearby Darlington Point, where we came across a large mural by Bohie Palacek and Kerri Weymouth with a striking Goanna design which takes centre stage, symbolising strength, resilience, kinship and the totem of the Wiradjuri people.

https://www.kerriweymouth.art/wiradjuri-walk

Hay

In Hay we found several groups of larger-than-life Corten steel emus, several sheep, a couple of murals about which I have no information, and a stunning water tower painted by Matt Adnate called “Hay, A Town that Went to War”. Several plaques detail the stories of the people depicted on the artwork, as well as this general description: “The vision of this artwork is to capture the soul and heritage of Hay, taking you on an historic journey through local World War II heroes. The artwork depicts four portraits: Victor Murray, Lorna Whyte, George Cannon, Norman Flack, and the heroic scene of Corporal Cliff Farlow clinging to the makeshift raft that kept him afloat for four days. The splashes of colour (a signature style of the artist), offers vibrancy in contrast to the black and white head shots, and helps weave the two towers into one seamless artwork. The stories of the people depicted are of special importance to the community of Hay and through this artistic narrative is a reminder to future generations of the courage and selflessness these young men and women displayed.”