Daytime photo by: West Arnhem Regional Council

Night photo by: Peter Keepence

Written by: Heidi Walton

The 34-metre high water tower in Jabiru, located in Kakadu National Park, features an incredible mural, 

with the artwork concept by artists at Marrawuddi Gallery and Proper Creative.

This larger-than-life project is one of the major parts of the Jabiru Beautification Project rolled out by West Arnhem Regional Council in July 2021, and it is hoped the mural will be a tourist drawcard to Jabiru and Kakadu.

Proper Creative artists Jesse Bell and David Collins who carried out the painting, are also responsible for

 all of the large scale murals in the Darwin CBD. They worked closely with artists from Marrawuddi Gallery, 

sharing ideas and gathering images, to put together the artwork concept.

David Collins said, “we gathered hundreds of images, reference material and heaps of notes about 

what the Marrawuddi artists wanted to see on the tower.”

“The concept chosen is one that showcases natural environment through realism painting, 

traditional art work and weaving and is also extremely bright and vibrant!”

The mural on the water tower took approximately three weeks to complete, including painting two 

undercoats and lots of crane usage.

“Big murals are nothing new to us, but this mural is definitely the tallest and most exciting thing we 

have ever been involved in!” David said. 

This Jabiru Beautification Project is funded by the Northern Territory Government and Director of National Parks.

The mural was a project involved in the Jabiru Beautification, rolled out by West Arnhem Regional Council as the town of Jabiru transitions to a tourism economy.