The Agnes Mumford Reserve is directly opposite the Redesdale Hotel – so either works for a pit stop. We parked in the reserve and enjoyed our cookies and hot coffee. As we never know where we are going to find an image – we always travel with snacks and a thermos 🙂

Avoca

From Redesdale, we headed to Avoca. Jimmy Busuttil has been working on the Avoca silo for a couple of months now, but work has come to a standstill while they await permission to paint the other side, which is almost on the railway line, so a few OH&S issues need to be solved. When it is finished, it will have a background of the night sky behind the owl; his eyes and stars will be glow in the dark paint – and it will be lit up at night.

We also stopped off at the railway cafe, up the road from the silo, for a late lunch – but they seemed to be mainly catering to cakes and coffee – and while they were open – there was no one there to serve us.

From Avoca, we headed off on the final leg of the days’ journey – to St Arnaud. Arriving in St Arnaud, we drove around photographing the street murals and silo – all done by Kyle Torney and featuring locals of the town or its history.

St Arnaud

Mural Locations

1. The Hope silo – Mc Mahon st
2. Ron Reyne Mural – opposite the Hope silo at 14 Mc Mahon st
3. Mates Mural – Cnr Wills St and Kings Ave
4. The Miner Mural – 22 Kings Ave
5. CFA Mural – Cnr Napier and Alma Sts
6. Andrea Hicks Mural – side of the wall at 117 Napier St
7. Loss Hamilton Mural – 36 Alma St
8. Torneys Fighting Fit Gym – cnr of Alma and McMahon sts
9. Owen – sidewall of 18 Napier St
10. St Arnaud Primary school – observe from Dundas Street
11. Royal Hotel Beer Garden at 60 Napier St

We were booked into the Motel St Arnaud for the night before an early start the next day to Sea Lake via the Silo Art Trail. Our motel was clean, beds and shower were good, and the free wifi was fast – for a budget motel it’s excellent value. Dinner that night was at the Royal Hotel, built in 1874 its full of character and old-world charm and decorated throughout with antiques and another mural in the beer garden. We enjoyed wine by the open fire before heading into the dining room for dinner.

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Originally it was planned as a one-off project just for Brim. However, the popularity of the silo’s saw many more added across Victoria, with more designed or being added all the time, making maps of the trail obsolete very quickly. As a result, there are now two silo trails in Victoria. The North East Silo Art Trail and the ‘original Silo Art Trail in the Wimmera.

To the tiny towns, while some are thriving, many are little more than ghost towns. The silo art trail brings the much-needed tourist dollars into town. Be it meals, fuel or accommodation and souvenirs. But, like in Field of Dreams, “build it, and they will come”, and come they do. At each silo, there is a constant stream of cars pulling off the road to marvel or photograph the works.

Doing the Trail

The entire Victorian Silo Art Trail can be easily done in a day. The most time required to view or photograph each silo is under 30 minutes. You will need accommodation at the end, though, as the trail will take around 5 hours – and leave you about 4 hours from Melbourne. So that’s an excellent opportunity to stay in Sea Lake and include Lake Tyrell at sunset before heading off in the morning again.

Our Plan

Some time ago, a group of friends and I planned a trip. We would visit the Silo Art Trail, Lake Tyrell and Mungo National Park. Departure day is tomorrow, and we are all meeting up in St Arnaud tomorrow afternoon. Along the way, we will photograph silo’s, water towers, street art and ancient landscapes. At Mungo, we go ‘dark’ for two days as it is so remote there is no cell reception there.

Follow along with us as the next few posts will cover our travels.

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