Alpine Shire Street and Public Art
There is an extensive number of murals and sculptures scattered about the Alpine Shire region. A massive highlight is the Myrtleford Mosaic Trail.
Bright
Sibley Soundshell Murals by Kade Sarte
Location: Sibley Soundshell, Howitt Park, 7 Riverside Avenue, Bright
The Riverdeck Kitchen Sculpture
Location: Western outside wall of The Riverdeck Kitchen, 16 Howitt Lane, Bright
Platypus Mural by Mike Makatron
Location: On the Canyon Walk, Bright
Dederang
Storyteller Sculpture by Kerrie Hay-Smith
Outside the front of the Dederang Hotel is a sculpture which was inspired by Banjo Patterson's poem "The Daylight is Dying".
Location: 4326 Kiewa Valley Highway, Dederang
Dragonfly Sculpture by Kerrie Hay-Smith
Resting by the Dederang General Store is a dragonfly with impressive, yet delicate wings.
Location: 4561 Kiewa Valley Highway, Dederang
Male Superb Fairywren Sculpture by Kerrie Hay-Smith
Hidden among shrubs in front of the Dederang Primary School, look for the male Superb Fairywren, showing off his beautiful plumage.
Location: 4364 Kiewa Valley Highway, Dederang
Falls Creek
Big Fella Water Tank Art
Falls Creek's iconic "Brown Tank" has long served the Falls Creek resort by holding clean drinking water for the village year-round. The tank is now the backdrop of an incredible piece of street art thanks to the local Artist in Residence Program.
Featuring the culturally significant Bogong Moth as its subject, "Big Fella" was created by Melbourne artist Hiroyasu Tsuri, otherwise known as "TWOONE" in April 2017. Standing over 12m tall this impressive piece provides an incredible experience for those skiing to the village via Shortcut, or walking up Ory's Trail from Cafe Milch.
Location: 89 Schuss Street, Falls Creek
Mount Beauty
Auditorium Mural by Mike Makatron and Conrad Bizjak (2022)
The mural has a theme of the hydroelectric scheme and its impact on the development of Mount Beauty.
Location: End wall of the Mount Beauty Auditorium, 31 Bogong High Plains Road, Mount Beauty
Hollonds Street Amenities Block Mural by Mike Makatron and Conrad Bizjak
The mural has a theme which reflects and acknowledges the traditional owners of the land we now know as Mount Beauty and features a Bogong moth.
Location: Toilet Block near 21 Hollonds St, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Neighbourhood Centre Mural by Tom Lawler
A hybrid mural/sculpture. Look closely and you can see that many separate painted pieces were assembled together like a jigsaw to create this artwork.
Location: Pondage side of the Mt Beauty Neighbourhood Centre, 1 Tennis Court Avenue, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Library Mural by Mike Makatron and Conrad Bizjak
The mural reflects the Mount Beauty community and volunteerism. The depiction of the ringing CFA bell recognises the vital role played by volunteers in this community.
Location: Back of Mount Beauty Library (facing the pondage), 61 Lakeside Avenue, Mount Beauty
Eagle Sculpture by Xavier Pinard
Location: Cnr Hollonds Street and Park Street, Mount Beauty
Eddy Slide Sculpture by Benjamin Gilbert
Affectionately known as "Eddy", this adventurous slide and accompanying sculpture was created as a reminder as to the importance of water in our environment and how water droplets flow through turbines in the hydroelectric scheme to make electricity.
Location: Playground at 56 Lakeside Avenue, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Recreation Reserve Amenities Block Murals by Kade Sarte
Location: 44 Lakeside Avenue, Mount Beauty
Les Peart Oval Shipping Container Artwork by Kade Sarte
Location: Tennis Court Avenue, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Swimming Pool Mural by Elise Marcianti
Location: Pool Road, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Swimming Pool Carpark Electrical Box by Zellie
Location: Pool Road, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Hospital Artwork
Location: 2-8 Hollonds Street, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Visitor Information Centre Historical Display (Whistling Snow Poles)
These three poles were part of a pole line on the Staircase Spur, a ridge used by hikers and skiers to access Victoria's highest mountain, Mount Bogong, from Mountain Creek.
After three skiers died in August 1943, 30 metres short of the Summit but in a howling blizzard that had buried the 1938 snow pole line in deep snow, the new metal snow pole line was erected.
At the beginning of this line, which starts from the timber line on the Staircase Spur, an experiment was tried with the use of telescopic sections of tubular steel, similar to those used by the Army as telephone poles. In 1.8 metre sections, they could be linked to produce 3 to 4.5 metre poles above ground level.
Two unique features about the steel poles were noticed:
- The steel after immersion in a bitumen bath failed to collect the snow rime, which on wooden poles gathers to immense proportions and the pile becomes as white as the landscape.
- Also, on these steel sections were a series of holes meant in their original design to connect guy ropes. The wind whistling through these creates a low moan, providing both a visual and audible indication of the location of the track to follow.
Location: Outside Mount Beauty Visitor Information Centre, 31 Bogong High Plains Road, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Visitor Information Centre Historical Display (Calyx Drill Cores)
These columns are sample rock cores removed from the site of the Rocky Valley Spillway shaft at the commencement of its construction by using a Calyx driling machine. They are composed of Granodiorite which is the predominant rock in the area.
Location: Outside Mount Beauty Visitor Information Centre, 31 Bogong High Plains Road, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Visitor Information Centre Historical Display (Manna Gum)
Manna Gum approximately 250 years old, found fallen in the National park after the 2003 fires. This section was taken 10 metres from the base of the tree and was 6 metres in diameter.
Location: Outside Mount Beauty Visitor Information Centre, 31 Bogong High Plains Road, Mount Beauty
Mount Beauty Visitor Information Centre Historical Display (Conway Shovel)
This machine was used for excavating tunnels during the construction of the Kiewa Hydro-Electric scheme. After the rock at the tunnel heading has been loosened by the use of explosives, this machine picked up the rock from the floor of the tunnel and loaded it into the trucks for transport out of the tunnel. The overall height of the machine has been reduced to a minimum for working underground.
Location: Outside Mount Beauty Visitor Information Centre, 31 Bogong High Plains Road, Mount Beauty
The Festival Flame
The Festival Flame was presented to the Mount Beauty Chamber of Commerce by Heatane Gas to symbolise the Mount Beauty Festival & The Kangaroo Hoppet Ski Race in association with The State Electricity Commission of Victoria 1992.
Location: 26 Bogong High Plains Road, Mount Beauty
Kiewa River Trail Sculpture by Michael Whipps
Location: A 15 minute walk along from the start of the Kiewa River Trail in Mount Beauty will bring you to Pebble Beach where the sculpture is located.
Myrtleford
Tobacco Heritage Display
Designed by Tom Bradbury. Created by Richard Walker, High Country Forge (2008)
Tobacco growing commenced in the Upper Ovens Valley in the early 1870's, supporting the local Myrtleford area for over 100 years. Due to increasing global competition, tobacco growing in the Upper Ovens Valley ceased after the February 2006 harvest.
This commemorative display was commissioned by the Alpine Shire Council as a symbol of the dedication, hard work and pioneering spirit of the early tobacco growers who laid the foundation for the resilient Myrtleford community of today.
Panels on the display are:
Tobacco grown in the Myrtleford area was primarily 'flue cured' 'varieties including 'Virginia Gold', 'Hicks' and Ovens 33. Burley tobacco was also grown in the area until the early 1970's. The flowers of the tobacco plants were removed to promote vegetative growth.
Tobacco growing was generally a family affair with the many chores including seedling preparation, cultivating, planting, tending and harvesting shared amongst family members from children to grandparents. Growing tobacco was hard and often hot work with many hours spent in the fields.
Early growers raised their own seedlings with limited success. In the 1930's seedling were grown in various locations across Victoria and southern New South Wales due to the limited success experienced in the Ovens Valley. By the 1950's methods for growing seedlings had advanced sufficiently for farmers to grow their own. Tobacco plant seeds are about the size of a grain of sand.
Tobacco was cured by applying heat at the bottom of the Kiln to create upward convection. Early kilns were heated by wood fires and modem kilns used any 6f timber, diesel, gas or briquettes. Curing would take between 5 to 8 days. Some kilns and the tobacco inside were lost to uncontrolled fires.
Tobacco leaves were tied on sticks which were then loaded in to the tobacco kilns for curing. Workers would load the sticks of tobacco hands up to the roof of the kiln. This method of loading was replaced by new kilns and metal clamps negating the need to 'tie' the leaf.
Once cured the tobacco leaf was graded in to leaf type and quality, any poor quality leaves were removed at this time as well. The graded tobacco was then packed in to 100 kilo bags. The 'Hands' of tobacco was the required presentation of tobacco for sale at the market.
Location: Jubilee Park, 117 Myrtle Street, Myrtleford
For those who've come across the sea Sculpture
Location: Side wall of Bastoni Pizzeria, 140 Myrtle Street, Myrtleford
Tawonga
Tawonga Pioneer Memorial Park War Memorial
An evocative War Memorial honouring the men and women who left Tawonga and district to serve their country.
Location: Tawonga Pioneer Memorial Park, 57 Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga
