Silo and Water Tank Art in the Goulburn Valley, Victoria

Our Goulburn Valley silo and Water Tank Art Trail journey began in Shepparton, and from there we made the short trip to Tatura. There are a number of art features in Tatura but the best is the water tank with art work by Cam Scales and Andrew Davis.

The subject, Sir John Monash, was born in Melbourne in 1865 and from an early age was a high achiever. At 16 years he commenced study at the University of Melbourne where he gained degrees in Arts, Law and Engineering.. He worked as a civil engineer and amongst his many achievements was his work with reinforced concrete in civil engineering.

During World War 1 he was commissioned as a Colonel and served at Gallipoli, Egypt and in France where he distinguished himself. In 1918 Lt General John Monash was knighted in the field by King George V. After the war he returned to Australia and became the first Chairman of the State Electricity Commission.

General Sir John Monash died in 1931 but his name and legacy live on through Monash University, Monash scholarships, the Sir John Monash Centre in France, and a large number of bridges, silos and water tanks throughout Australia. The Monash Bridge in Benalla is one example.

The reverse of the tank features the poppies of Flanders as a tribute to the areas significant ANZAC legacy..

From Tatura we went on to Rochester where we had previously visited to see the work of Jimmy DVate on the wheat silos. His work is stunning and well worth a second viewing, however the main reason to visit was to see DVate's latest art silo featuring the Duck-Billed Platypus. How incredible to be able to paint the platypus partly under water so successfully!

All three silos are in the centre of town with the platypus back to back with the azure kingfisher and the squirrel glider possum.

There are several info boards telling about the town, the silo art and the artist.

This photo is not a silo or tank but Iddles Lane mural in Rochester is the work of another renowned silo artist, Tim Bowtell.

Our last stop was Kyabram, where unfortunately you cannot get close to the large water tank. Through a peep hole in the wire fence I managed to get this shot of a little bit of the Wetlands and bird life of Kyabram. As usual Jimmy DVate has put a huge amount of detail into his work and even at a great distance this can still be appreciated.

 We returned home with plans to return with friends, and make a two day trip and thus cover more silos and tanks in the Greater Goulburn Valley.

We are so lucky to have so much excellent art in the Goulburn Valley and North East of Victoria.