Black Diamond
Image source Shire of Collie
Artist: Natalie Veal
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 101 Throssell St
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: Black Diamond, by local artist Natalie Veal, depicts one of her favourite places, a beautiful spring-fed swimming area – Black Diamond Lake. This lake was once an open pit mine, and is now a picturesque recreational place of tranquillity and fun.
The Bones of Collie
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Marina Lommerse, Michael Phillips
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 143 & 127 Throssell St
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: “A sixth-generation Collie resident described Collie’s industrial history as, ‘the bones of this town’. The Collie township originated as a mining town with its post-colonial heritage steeped in coal mining, forestry, and railways.
The industry and natural resources are interrelated. Timber was required to house the settlers, build the railways, feed the steam engines, and structure the underground coal tunnels. The rail was essential to bring in settlers and supplies, to carry coal out of the mines and get the coal to market. The whole township of Collie is riddled by underground tunnels. Tunnels under the river, the highway, the cemetery, and the houses and commercial buildings.
Over the 65-meter long gradient of this mural, colours reflect Collie’s lakes, river, sky, forest, wildflowers and bushland. Overlaid are ‘short stories’ (the mural is only 50 cm high) of legs, tools, implements, underground coal tunnel maps, wildflowers and corellas hint at the early life and times in the timber, rail & coal industries.
The images have been abstracted from archival photographs and drawings that can be viewed in the Coalfields Museum and Historical Research Centre. It includes species endemic to the region — the Western Corella and wildflowers.” Marina Lommerse and Michael Phillips
The mural was researched, conceived, developed and then painted through a collaborative process facilitated by Michael and Marina. Michael and Marina kickstarted Mural Studio in 2020 to collaboratively undertake a mural painting process while also offering educational and social opportunities.
The Mural Studio team was made up of local Collie residents, architecture and interior architecture students and graduates, and our friends and family.
Local stories and archival research: Tom Reardon, Tania Roberts, Nola Green Mural Studio Artist team: Clifford Scanlan, James Russell, Jack Holmes, Camilo Idarraga, Joy Marshall, Danielle Marinho, Rose Phillips
Collie community collaborators: Alison Melvin, Stephen Melvin, Ellen Corbin, Rachael Williams, Thamarat Phokai, Ash Briggs, Tania Roberts
The Girl in the Shop Window
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Marina Lommerse, Michael Phillips
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 72 Forrest St
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: “Collie residents remember the events that entertained them in shop windows as much as the goods on display. The scene depicted in the mural was inspired by archival research and conversations with long-term locals.
One intriguing story was the travelling hypnotist who put people to sleep and then displayed them in a shop window – selling tickets for the public to view.
Black and white TVs were introduced to Collie in the 1950s. Townspeople crowded around shop windows for a good possie. We set the scene with mid-century modern furniture and Manchester goods on display, in a black and white world of early television.
What is that bird in the crowd? Is it an emu? Is it a swan? It is, in fact, a man in a swan costume and was inspired by a photo we discovered in the Coalfields Museum.
During the painting process local Aboriginal Elder, James Kahn, requested we incorporate an image. See if you can find it.” Marina Lommerse and Michael Phillips
The mural was researched, conceived, developed and then painted through a collaborative process facilitated by Michael and Marina.
Michael and Marina kickstarted Mural Studio in 2020 to collaboratively undertake a mural painting process while also offering educational and social opportunities. The Mural Studio team was made up of a temporary Collie resident, architecture and interior architecture students and graduates, and our friends and family.
Local stories and archival research: Yvonne Hammond, Gloria Mathews, Margaret Bates, Tom Reardon, Tania Roberts, Alison Melvin, Nola Green, James Kahn Mural Studio
Artist team: Clifford Scanlan, Jack Holmes, Robyn Duncan
Collie community collaborator: Thamarat Phokai
River Lines
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Mikaela Miller
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: Pump house, corner of Crampton St and Steere St S
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: “River Lines speaks to the history and evolution of the stretch of Collie River that neighbours the Crampton St Pump House site, inspired by conversations with locals, news clippings from the 1964 Collie River flood, and research into the river’s ecology and management plans.
The story flows in three parts across the painted faces of the building, in a reflection of changing water levels and river health. It begins with the pre-European river environment; clear waters, prolific boronia and thriving jarrah forest. This is followed by a decline in water quality and fauna numbers as altered water flow and invasive species, such as nardoo weed, leave their impact. Then, the recovery begins and species such as gilgie return to healthier population numbers, and wildflowers like the Collie Grevillea can be nurtured and celebrated, as a balance is found between the natural and manufactured systems of the Collie River Valley.
This is the river’s journey in navigating competing recreational, commercial, cultural and ecological demands and thresholds, but it reflects much of Collie’s broader narrative and exists at a time where the town finds itself entering into a new chapter of its story. The scientific name for the Collie Grevillea, is Grevillea ripicola – where ‘ripicola’ roughly means ‘living by the bank of the river’.
I think this moment in time is a great opportunity for Collie to question what it means to live by the bank of the river, and to shape and champion what the privilege and responsibility of this lifestyle looks like.” Mikaela Miller
About the artist:
Mikaela Miller is young Western Australian artist living in Walyallup/ Fremantle. Having trained in both design and community development, she works predominantly as a public artist, print maker and as an arts facilitator - running workshops and coordinating community art projects.
Mikaela's work typically features native flora. She is fascinated by the variety and distribution of species around Australia, and the world. Her practice explores how endemic flowers can be both a complex and highly accessible subject matter to encourage viewers to consider place, identity and their relationship to the natural environment. These bright florals and her unique command of line, illustrating form and texture, can be found across metro and regional WA.
Her fascination with florals stem from her childhood - witnessing how her Grandfather’s prize-winning garden impacted the wider community and permeated simple human interactions. She learned how nature can enable generosity, joy, and connection. Her dedication to investigating species specific to each work’s locale is her way of understanding a place. In part, it reveals the character and vibrancy of that area. In part it can also help to unpack both the colonial and pre-colonial narratives there. Her innate curiosity, and passion for sustainability compel her to explore a place not only for what it is now, but also for what it once was, and what it could be (or could have been).
Mikaela has painted a variety of private commissions; large scale public works for local councils, developments and festivals; and coordinated a string of community murals - either working closely with youth and school groups or creatively engaging the broader community. Her studio works have been exhibited in solo and group shows around Perth & Fremantle.
Timber Workers
Image source Jacob Butler
Artist: Shakey (Jacob Butler)
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2021
Location: 75 Throssell St (Mineworkers Institute)
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: This mural is a tribute to the Collie timber industry workers who worked on both the railways and in the underground mines throughout Collie’s early history. The artwork is based on historical imagery of workers, known as broad-axe super cutters, from the early 1900s.
Kwobidak Koondarm
Image source Jacob Butler
Artist: Shakey (Jacob Butler), with guidance from Joe Northover
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2022
Location: Collie Senior High School, 76 Wittenoom St
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: “Kwobidak koondarm, means beautiful dreams. This is the name given to this mural by Bianca and Ijah Coyle, the parents of the three sisters who are painted in this mural.
My intention was to paint a mural for the younger generation of Collie that reflects setting out on your own journey in life but doing it with pride and always having your culture and your traditions close to your heart.
Under the guidance and consultation with local Elder, Joe Northover, we were given the opportunity to meet and collaborate with a young family in Collie and capture three beautiful sisters at Minninup Pool, a sacred place and resting place of the Ngangungudditj Walgu.
Thank you Joe Northover, Bianca, Ijah and your family for collaborating with us and everyone who helped make this mural come to life.” Shakey (Jacob Butler)
The Sun and the Moon — the Moon and the Sun
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Kyle Hughes-Odgers
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 44 Johnston St, Collie
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: The Sun and the Moon – the Moon and the Sun is an abstract artwork made up of six individual portrait panels. The images move in colour from warms to cool, tracking the movement of the day into night.
Open Road
Image source Shire of Collie
Artist: Luke O'Donohoe
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: Cnr Burt St & Throssell St (on Burt St)
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: “My text-based artwork aims to celebrate the town of Collie in an authentic and captivating way. Drawing from the artistic style of Rosalie Gascoigne, and her famous assemblages of found road signs, I have selected words that give voice to significant parts of Collie’s history, and collaged them across the wall. Words were also chosen that possessed a certain poetic energy and nostalgic quality.” Luke O’Donohoe
Creatures of the Night
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Jerome Davenport (Ketones6000)
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: Collie Sound Bowl, Collie Central Park
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: The mural centers the rush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), also known by as the common wambenger, the black-tailed mouse or the black-tailed phascogale.
Jax’s vision
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Karen Sewell, collaborator Tegan Sewell
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2019
Location: Cnr Johnston Street & Atkinson St (Jax Diner)
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: This mural expresses the natural landscapes around Collie, as well as the coal and rail industries that have been an important part of the town. The black section at the bottom symbolises the coal industry that has built the town and the round house is included at the top to represent the future of tourism.
Golden Crust Bakery
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Jarred Martyn
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 86 Steere St N
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: This mural depicts a horse pulling a cart belonging to the Golden Crust Bakery, which delivered bread and milk to the people of Collie until the 1950s when the carts were replaced by cars. Large draft horses were used to pull the carts, similar to the pit ponies which were used in the Collie mines.
It’s said that the horse was so familiar with the delivery route that it would continue on as the driver walked to deliver the bread, as depicted by the figure in the background of the scene. In addition, sizable horse stables once occupied the whole of nearby Johnston Street, from Steere to Lefroy Street.
Coal Mining Through the Ages
Image source Shire of Collie
Artist: Shakey (Jacob Butler)
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2021
Location: Collie Woolworths, rear carpark
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: “Collie coal has played a vital role in the development of Western Australia. The danger and hard work that the men (and women who supported the family) endured is incredible and hard to comprehend in this day and age.
I wanted to pay tribute to the underground coal mining industry in two parts.
Central to part one is a hostler walking out with his pit pony at the end of shift. The painting is referenced from a photo taken at the Bullfinch Coal Mine (Proprietary )Collie in April 1939.
Part two is laid out like a timeline, from the early days (earliest reference photo from 1939) dominated by manual-handling up until the introduction of machinery like the bobcat and the Alpine Continuous Miner.” Shakey (Jacob Butler)
Black Cockatoos
Image source Shire of Collie
Artist: Natalie Veal
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2021
Location: Suspension Bridge, Cnr Flora Road and Scenic Drive, Collie State Forest
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: The bridge’s concrete footings feature a mural which depicts local plants and animals and a geometric pattern that represents the natural and cultural connections that exist in this ancient landscape. The blue lines represent the above-ground water table, while the thick white lines are the dividing lines between the different Wilman tribes.
Boronia Gully
Image source Shire of Collie
Artist: Shakey (Jacob Butler), guidance from Joe Northover
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2021
Location: Collie Shire Office, 87 Throssell St
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: This mural depicts Aboriginal community members and leaders Jimmy and Mary Meares, Ray Davis and his father Mr Davis, and Jack Slaven and his wife. They stand at Minninup Pool the sacred resting place of the Ngangungudditj Walgu (hairy faced snake), on the Collie River.
Dorsett Motors
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Jarrad Martyn
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 88 Steere St N
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: This mural responds to the past use of the site as Dorsett Motors, a Ford car dealership from 1930 to 1980, and as one of the locations of the Collie Co-operative Store.
“The mural depicts a scene of shifting different time periods. I am drawn to the theatrical lighting that characterised many car advertisements of the 1970s and 1980s, and particularly how this creates a sense of drama that encourages narrative associations. By playing with and employing these conventions, the scene becomes loaded with ambiguity and potential for multiple interpretations. The mural uses several different cars to signify the years the dealership was operational. The foreground prominently features two 1981 Lasers, typifying the closing of the dealership. Conversely, in the background, a 1934 Model BB V8 Truck illustrates its opening.” -Jarrad Martyn
Untitled
Image source Shire of Collie
Artist: Jade Dolman (J.D. Penangke), Seantelle Walsh
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2021
Location: 87 Throssell St
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: This artwork represents the Ngangungudditj Walgu (hairy faced snake) who is the creator of the pools and waterways around Collie.
Fading Habitat
Image source Esteban The Nature Man
Artist: Ian Mutch
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 51 Steere St S (laneway)
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: Fading Habitat depicts the Baudin’s Cockatoo, or the White-Tailed Black Cockatoo, in flight, above abstract and hidden details portraying native plants and local blue waters. The Baudin’s Cockatoo is a different species to the Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, and can be identified by its longer bill. These birds are normally seen in groups of three or more, and are endemic to Australia’s South West. They nest in the hollows of old marri, karri, wandoo, tuart and bullich trees.
Baudin’s Cockatoos are currently at risk of extinction. Protecting their habitat is vitally important, particularly old growth forests. Two-thirds of Australia is privately-managed rural land, with private land-owners playing an increasingly important role in the conservation of these birds and other threatened species. If you have the opportunity, start by planting a Marri tree.
Subterranean Marron
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Jackson Harvey, Ed Riley
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: Pump house, corner of Medic St and Harvey St, Collie
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: Subterranean Marron tells the story of a colony of marron that was bred deep beneath the earth during Collie’s days of underground coal mining.
To develop this piece, Jackson Harvey reached out to local conservationist, Ed Riley, to learn more about the relationship between the local community and the smooth marron (Cherax cainaii), a species endemic to Collie and the South West. Ed has years of experience working with the Department of Fisheries and was all too happy to share his knowledge of this local marron species with Jackson.
Through conversations with Ed, Jackson learnt about a period in Collie’s early underground coal mining days, when miners successfully bred marron in the depths of the mines, far from their natural habitats. As a consequence of being bred in the dark, these crustaceans developed blindness.
Subterranean Marron seeks to tell the story of these underground marron, taken from their river habitats and bred beneath the earth.
Three Workers
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Fintan Magee
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 75 Patterson St (Mineworkers Institute)
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: Three Workers promotes unity between working people across industry, representing the backbone of working culture in Collie. The mural depicts a farmer with his dog on the right, and a miner seated on the left. The work, located on the Collie Union Hall, aims to promote unity across industries and working class solidarity.
The work is painted in a bevelled glass effect and is tinted with a red colour, aiming to emulate the stained glass across union halls and stone mason halls across the world. Stained glass is an integral part of both ecclesiastical and secular architecture and is an example of working craftsmanship and human achievement.
The work is painted with a split image effect, meaning the figures are abstracted, broken and disconnected. When you walk to the centre of the mural the figures come together to make a complete image. This encourages interactivity for the viewer and photography of the mural.
Karda
Image source Taj Kempe
Artist: Jack Bromell
Asset Type: Mural
Year of Work: 2020
Location: 38-40 Johnston St, Collie
Provenance: Shire of Collie
Description: “I have painted a giant Karda (goanna) over patterns of native flora to the area. The skin of the Karda depicts the people of Collie, past and present, celebrating the moon and the stars. I chose to paint the Karda because it's an iconic and striking reptile native to the area. It may serve as a reminder to the community that nature is to be respected and without it we have no stories and no history.” Jack Bromell