Port Vincent

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Port Vincent Water Tower Art, Australian Silo Art Trail
Photo by: AdBe Photography

Port Vincent Water Tower Art - South Australia

Artists: Vans The Omega, Jasmine Crisp & Camilo Delgado

Location:  Side road off Lime Kiln Rd, Port Vincent, SA

Proudly owned by: SA Water

The Port Vincent Water Tower was painted by Camilo Delgardo & Jasmine Crisp and was completed on the 17th May 2021. They used approximately 300L of paint to prime and creatively paint the mural.


 Artist Joel Van Moore (Vans the Omega) was chosen to work with the committee to produce a design that

reflected Port Vincent’s history of boating, fishing, beach,  and family fun. Joel designed a work of art, rather than a “postcard” scene. The tower shows the emotion and pride of the Port Vincent community. The design has resulted in a marvellous mix of “old and new” – the past alongside the present, with the beautiful “ribbons” joining the images.


About Port Vincent and the Story Behind the Mural


Port Vincent was originally called Surveyor’s Point. Shipping began at Surveyor’s Point prior to the jetty

being built. The historic wharf is also depicted on the tower – the first piles of the jetty were driven on 4 th June

1877.


Ketches and steam ships once travelled between Adelaide and Port Vincent. The ketch depicted on the

tower is a gesture to the Hawk, which was still transporting grain from the Port Vincent wharf in the 1960’s.

If you look closely you will see the bags of grain sitting on the wharf, with a depiction of the iconic hotel in

the background (construction of the hotel began in November 1877). The sunrise in the background

represents the “new day” – with our easily recognisable pine trees depicted.


The sailing boats depicted on the tower are representative of the town’s affinity with boating and the

Port Vincent bay, their sailing club, and school aquatics programmes which are run throughout the year.

The young fisher person is typical of the scene on the wharf on most days of the year. The artist has painted

a classic scene of a fisherman with his border collie. This laconic scene is in stark contrast to the

indigenous fisherman with his energy and enthusiasm. This certainly depicts the changes in lifestyle

between past and present – the necessity to catch a fish (or not eat), which is in stark contrast to the

“hobby” fishing that takes place now.


Port Vincent is known for its snapper, and if you look closely you will see these beautiful fish depicted in this

artwork. Port Vincent's agricultural history is depicted on the northern section of the tower – a beautiful reflection of what the  adjacent paddocks look like just before harvest time.


The black swan is a reference to their indigenous heritage. These beautiful birds are often seen on Port

Vincent’s “back beach” – this scene of sand is also another reference to the tidal aspect of Port Vincent –

with the sandy beaches.


The Hard Work Behind the Scenes


The mural was painted nearly 21 months after the original idea was proposed!

The small volunteer sub-committee of the Port Vincent Progress Association received the financial backing of

both the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (Tackling Tough Times Together) programme, and the

SA Water Community Partnerships Programme.

The committee consulted with the local community about what they wanted to see on the tower, and

received over 500 responses!


Camilo Delgado who stayed and worked in Port Vincent for over 3 weeks. Camilo is a brush artist.

Jasmine Crisp assisted with the initial colour sprays, and the graphing of the images on the tower. Jasmine stayed in Port Vincent for over a week.


Special thanks to Jan Le Feuvre for supplying the ASAT team with this information and for her continual updates as the project progressed.


Additional Information


There are drone flight restrictions at this site. Please check with CASA in relation to how to operate drones at this location. Approval was obtained to take some of the images posted here.


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