GUNNEDAH PUBLIC ART

Gunnedah’s active artistic community is evident in the myriad of murals in town including the Vietnam War veterans’ memorial on the Water Tower Museum, which pays homage to the battle of Long Tan and features local veterans. Other murals painted by local artists can be found on the walkway between Conadilly and Little Conadilly streets, and the corner of Little Conadilly Street and Chandos Street which features the iconic koala, as well as at the Railway Station, where local Aboriginal artist Ronnie Long’s Gunnedah is depicted in a colourful mural.

Dorothea can be found all over Gunnedah and features most prominently on the Maize Mill, where a young Dorothea overlooks a golden paddock and a wagon drawn by horses alongside the second verse of her famous poem My Country written in her own hand-writing. In Anzac Park, you can see Dorothea astride a horse. Her poem is part of the Poet’s Drive through Gunnedah.

The Civic in Chandos Street is a treasure trove for lovers of public art: out the front you will be greeted by the Rainbow Serpent Water Feature. This award-winning piece of art is part of a trilogy of artworks addressing the theme “water”: inside, at the Visitor Information Centre, you will find a stunning mural called “two rivers” depicting the Namoi and the Mooki rivers meeting in Gunnedah, and in the courtyard off the Mooki Room there is a mural called the River Gum. All three artworks were created by the local community: aboriginal artists, pottery artists and school children.

To commemorate the historic Preston 55-day sit in of 1983, the Curlewis community created a stunning light tower with the names of the 16 striking miners. The Light Tower can be found on the meridian stripe next to the Commercial Hotel on Goran Street.