From Penguin our journey along the northwest coast also passed through Ulverstone and Sheffield - 'The Town of Murals'.
Sheffield was one of the many early townships settled in 1859. It was named by Edward Curr after his home town in South Yorkshire, England.
The area grew slowly, but the commencement of the Mersey-Forth Power Development Scheme in 1963 saw the town grow dramatically. The power scheme, comprising seven dams and seven power stations was completed in 1973. We drove by the Devils Gate Dam on our way into Sheffield. The dam is 84 metres (276 ft) high and is one of the thinnest concrete arch dams in the world. Once, however, the Development Scheme was completed in 1973, the population decreased rapidly.
Sheffield's revival as the "Town of Murals" began as a bid by a small group of residents determined to save their town. Inspired by the story of Chemainus, a small Canadian town that had through mural art, rescued itself from ruin, the Kentish Association for Tourism (KAT) in Tasmania worked on the vision to combine the arts and tourism to revive and reinvent the town of Sheffield.
The first town mural was painted in Sheffield in December 1986. Since then, over 60 murals depicting the area's rich history and beautiful natural scenery have been painted on walls throughout the town and buildings along the roadside. I have selected just a few of these town murals to include above.
The murals attract an estimated 200,000 people to the town annually and today a number of studios are open to the public where visitors can watch the artists at work. They are drawn from many disciplines, including photography, fine art, glass, woodcraft, pottery, ceramics and specialised crafts.
Sorry I don't have titles for the Murals except for the 3rd one - the Old Wireless Shop. The 2nd photo is an illustration of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine) that is an ancestor of the Tasmanian Devil.
Sheffield is also home to an International Mural Fest art competition that has been held annually since 2003 and returns in April each year. A poem is selected, which the artists use as their inspiration. After each competition the nine finalist murals remain on display at Mural Park until the next competition. I have attached a few of the entries that were currently on display.
There was some amazing art and also some I really did not understand or appreciate to be honest but must acknowledge all the artists ability and talent
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