Travel Notes: South Australian silo art trail

A little while back I wrote two articles on the Victorian Silo Art trail (Part One & Part Two), which I had been visiting on our travels. I’ve just recently come back from a trip to South Australia, chasing the silo art trail there too. While this is not an extensive list, the area covered is vast and fairly remote in many regions. You can check out a complete list from the Australia Silo Art trail website.

Coonalpyn

Painted by Guido van Helten and completed in March 2017. This mural took 200 paint cans to complete. They were the very first silos to be painted in South Australia, we first visited them in 2018 on a trip through South Australia. The murals on this 30m silo depict school children in the area. On average 4,000 vehicles are day pass this town, many now stop and the town has opened new businesses employing residents, thanks to these murals.

Paringa

Completed in early 2021 by artists Jack Fran and Sam Brooks, it depicts various people in the area with great relevance to the local area’s history. George Disher, Sister Elaine Balfour-Ogilvy, Captain Pear Wallace and Charles Francis Chaffey. You can read all about them here.

Waikeri

Titled “Healthy River, Healthy Community” by artist Garry Duncan and my personal favorite Jimmy DVate (from Melbourne). It took nearly 16 weeks to complete and 500 liters of paint. It features the local fauna and flora of the Waikeri region. Waikeri means Rainmoth in the local aboriginal dialect, which is also featured in Garry’s art. It is painted on both sides and sits next to the fabulous cliff-top walk overlooking the mighty Murray River. This installation was completed in December 2018.

Eudunda

Was painted by artist Sam Brooks and completed in July 2021. Sam calls them the storytime silos.

My silo tells a story about two children, sharing stories about their past and their culture. These two children use these local books as a way to teach each other about their history, culture and connections to the area.

Famous local author, Colin Thiele, wrote Sun on the Stubble as he reflected about this area. The book talks about the hardships, farming community and day to day experiences of rural life in Eudunda. The young girl in my painting carefully steps through her magical book, experiencing cattle, sheepdogs and horseback riders as they travel through a golden dust storm. I wanted to present the kind of idealized snapshot of what it was like in the early days, as a child would envision it.

Sam Brooks

Farrell Flat

Artists are Jarrod Soden and Mathew Knights (Perplset Designs) and depict the last train to pass through the historic township. The former Roseworthy-Peterborough railway line through the town in the late 1800s through to the mid-1900s. It was completed in November 2020 and used 150 liters of paint and took the two artists 140 hours to paint the 30-meter tall silo. It was the 42 silo painted in Australia.

Copeville

The Copeville silos are probably the most remote we traveled to on this trip and sadly missed by many due to their remoteness, but well worth the trip. Can’t say I was impressed by the biting sandflies! Completed in October 2022, they are the latest silo art in South Australia, but more are added all over Australia. The town was established on the Waikerie railway line, but the line has long closed, and the town has since declined. The bulk grain silos are still operational, but only when required due to a bumper harvest season.

Final thoughts

These silos have been a boon for many small townships across Australia. Drawing visitors from all over Australia and indeed the world. Many belong to the Viterra group and are often community supported and paid for, as well as many local businesses supporting these endeavors. Some have reopened towns and businesses and created jobs while there is often a lack of employment in these remote rural areas. They are a treat to see in person, I have even seen one being painted. Incredible.

If you are looking for a road trip in Victoria, South Australia or indeed anywhere in Australia, check out the Australian Silo Art Trail. So much to see.

Tip:

These silos are big, 30 m in most cases. I used my Sony 16-35mm wide-angle to capture most of these photos. True, it does sometimes warp them a little, but I managed to get most of the silo in a shot. Frequently there is no room to stand back far enough to get it all in a single shot with a narrower focal length.