There’s a little town in deepest, darkest Victoria called Yarram. It’s not much more than a village with a population of a little more than 2,000 people, a main shopping street boasting some 20 or so shops, a hospital and several churches. Historically, the main reason for Yarram’s existence is the fact that it is situated in the heart of valuable cattle-country, which also supports vast areas of forest, both of which help to make the little town reasonably prosperous.
Unfortunately, it’s the sort of place thousands of holiday-makers drive through every summer, on their way to other places, hardly aware that they’re in a town at all — no sooner do they drive in than they’re driving out again! On top of that, many country towns around Australia are ‘doing it hard’ these days, due to changing conditions, drought and other factors, including ageing populations, and more recently coronavirus, but Yarram has a lot to offer tourists.
It has good places to eat and great places to visit, both in the town and in the surrounding area, like Port Albert, Ninety-Mile Beach and Tarra Bulga National Park. Despite this, it was a situation that badly needed assistance or correction, from the point of view of many people living in Yarram. Put simply, the town needed more visitors if it was to survive!
Several of the town’s leading citizens got together one evening over a glass of wine in the Bull Bar and Gallery, a cosy little hostelry on the main street that sells tapas and drinks. The bar’s owner, Wayne Tindall, had commissioned a popular street artist to decorate the establishment and there was discussion about how such art could be used to entice people to spend more time in Yarram, an opportunity for them to find out more about the town and maintain its health and prosperity.
Well-known Yarram farmer Eric Greenaway could see the potential such murals could have in drawing attention to the area and suggested that the Bull Bar and Gallery artist be approached and commissioned to do more.
Mongolian-born street artist ‘Heesco’ developed his interest in the art form after he migrated to Australia in 1999. He had been making a name for himself painting silos and was eager to portray various historical figures on the walls of businesses across Yarram.
Arriving in Yarram in March, Heesco proceeded to produce over a five-week period a series of fantastic paintings showing the life of the town — past and present — in addition to the portraits of local people. What I found remarkable, as an artist myself, was his ability to reproduce these images onto the giant surface simply by referencing the image from his mobile phone!
Thanks to business owners and building custodians around the town, a total of 10 murals were completed. Included in the depictions of historical figures are Ralph Vale and his bullock train, a Vietnamese business owner by the name of Liem Nguyen, and pioneers of the hardware business, the Mattern family. Perhaps the greatest mural of them all is the one that appears on the wall of the Ship Inn Motel. What’s also great is that each individual piece has its own code, which can be scanned so that the full story behind the mural can be explained.
Heesco’s murals now provide an opportunity for families to travel, to stop in Yarram and explore the artwork on display, to stay in a motel, have a cuppa and/or something to eat, and really explore all this area has to offer. And his work isn’t done yet — there are plans for the artist to return in 2021 to produce more murals!