New South Wales Silo Art Trail

For us, Australia's New South Wales Silo Art Trail was a wonderful experience and a fantastic opportunity to explore unknown territory. We travelled through towns we had never heard of before and probably would never had visited if it was not for the Australian Silo Art Trail. We worried about the 'big drought' and how it would affect our travels, so we stocked up with water before we left from known 'affluent water towns' so as not to burden already struggling communities.

You can't really grasp the size of the drought or its full impact on communities until you head out on the road and experience it for yourself firsthand.  We are so glad we made this journey and as we supported many towns along the way, we feel that in some small way we have helped them out a little.

Our New South Wales Silo Trail currently stretches over 2,100 kilometres and does run through some very drought affected areas, but not all are in bad shape and with our forward planning, water was not a problem.

This trail includes five silo art locations, six water reservoirs and three street art towns. All up, 13 locations. If you require one of our maps to make your trip easier, just click on the map book image above and it will take you directly to our online store.

As we are almost full time on the road, we took our time making this journey, beginning our adventure in Lightning Ridge.

The journey from Lightning Ridge to Brewarrina is 207 km and like many other towns, Brewarrina is a town struggling to be heard above the roar of all others. It's located right in the heart of drought country in central New South Wales. 

Recently though the town has come under the wing of Zest Events International, Lightning Ridge artist John Murray and renowned artist Jenny McCracken.

Between the two of them and with the help of the local community they have been painting walls, toilet blocks and a new concept, levy banks. Not only to brighten up their town and to engage community spirit, but also with the aim of drawing travellers to their area too.

Pictured image by artist John Murray, photograph by Viki Murray.

Did you know that Brewarrina is also the home to one of the oldest manmade structures in the world? 

The fish traps which can be found at the bend in the river near the town of Brewarrina were added to Australia's national heritage list in 2005 and were described as “the largest traps recorded”, showcasing a thorough understanding of “dry stone wall construction techniques, river hydrology and fish ecology”. Due to their size, design and complexity they were considered “exceptionally rare”.

The image above is a glass-plate negative of the fish traps dating from 1880-1923. Photograph: Powerhouse Museum Sydney

For more information about the fish traps there is a great article about them here.

It's was only a short drive from Barraba to Tamworth, just 92 km, so this gave us plenty of time to park up the bus and explore this wonderful and vibrant city.

The Tamworth water tank is located at the Oxley Lookout on Flagstaff mountain. It's a little tricky to find but can be accessed via a dirt and gravel track leading from the carpark. It's uphill all the way and approximately 500 meters in length. It's fenced all the way around so getting that perfect shot may be a little difficult. The tank was painted by Damian Moroney and James Moulton of Iknograffix in 2019. 

Photo by Damian Moroney.

The trip out to Coonamble from Gunnedah is 222 km and Gulargambone is a further 47 km on from there. We did not personally stay in Coonamble on this trip, but it’s a great town and well worth a stopover too.

The water tower at Coonamble was painted by John Murray and Sooty Welsh in June 2017 and took just 11 days to complete. It features Australian Pink and Grey Galahs' and fence posts to signify the rural aspect of Coonamble. It also includes the sun, moon and the Southern Cross. Aboriginal dreamtime artwork was painted by Sooty Welsh and decorates the bottom of the tank.

Located near the eastern bank of the Castlereagh River in Aberford Street is the history museum which is situated in the old police station. This building dates back to 1886 and is worth checking out while in Coonamble also.

Gulargambone is one town in the trail that I totally recommend as an overnight stopover. You will love this town for its artwork, its cafe's and its great caravan park atmosphere too.

The water tower here was painted by Jenny McCracken of Zest Events International as part of the 'Pave the Way to Gular Festival' which was held in April 2018. Her artwork titled 'lucky Dip' was one of several works of art completed by Jenny during that time.

Also, at the festival were nine other artists and between them they painted twelve buildings and two footpaths also. They were Peter & Lisa Browne, James Giddy, Claire Foxton, Rudy Kisler, Goddie, D’Nart, Kaff-eine and Sam Brooks.

The GrainCorp Silos at Merriwa are best photographed in the afternoon and the viewing area is located in Hacketts Road. It’s a gravel road and does flow through to the rest of town, so no need to worry about turning your caravan around.

They were painted by David Lee Pereira in April 2019 and depict sheep in red socks standing in a canola field. You might think that this is strange, but Merriwa is where the "Festival of the Fleeces' is held each year, an event to celebrate agriculture in the area. One year a sponsor could not afford a monetary donation, so he donated a pair of red socks instead. When organisers asked each other, what were they going to do with the socks, one suggested they put them on the sheep. The annual running of the sheep is now an important part of the festival.

These silos are not in use, so you can scramble up the hill also to get a better look.

The old Portland Bottle Kilns are extremely rare with only two of the original eight still standing. They are constructed of brick, iron ties and turnbuckles and were built around 1889.  They once held lime and are the remnants of the early Cement making process in Portland and were the first cement making kilns west of the Blue Mountains. 

They can be found at the bend in the road on Carlton Street and are located directly behind the Portland Cement Silos. There is a small verge parking here available only.

The jump from Grenfell to Weethalle is only 162 km making this silo location the perfect place to stop for lunch. The 'Road Kill Grillz' is just down the road, but don't be put off by the name, the food here is excellent.

These silos were once again painted by Heesco Khosnaran and were completed in July 2017. The large-scale mural is a tribute to the rich agricultural heritage of the small community of Weethalle and the surrounding Bland Shire Communities. They portray a shearer, a grain farmer and a small flock of sheep perched high on a balcony keeping a watchful eye over the land.

After lunch travel the 107 km from Weethalle to Narrandera. This mural featured in this town was the recent winner of 'The Best Mega Mural' at the inaurgural Australian Street Art Awards.

The stories behind the design for the mural include significant icons for the Narrandera Shire Community. One of those is the Koala Bear.

In 1950 there we no Koalas in the region after succumbing to poison and the gun! In 1972 the community established a reserve with just four koalas, now there are many hundreds once again.

It was painted by Apparition Media in May 2019.