Tumby Bay Silo Art - South Australia

Tumby Bay is a coastal town situated on the Spencer Gulf, on the eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It’s 45 km north of Port Lincoln and is also home to the Colour Tumby Street Art Festival .

At the entrance to Tumby Bay stands the very impressive Viterra Tumby Bay Silo Art. Its actual location is the corner of Lincoln Highway and Bratten Rd. At the site along Bratten Rd, there is a great purpose built car park suitable for all types of cars and caravans as well.

The Silos

The Tumby Bay silos were completed on April 13th, 2018 and were the third silos to be painted in South Australia. Overall, they are the 18th to be included in the Australian Silo Art Trail Collection.

Depicted on these silos is an interpretation of two boys jumping off the Tumby Bay Jetty. The inspiration for the silos comes from the artist Martin Ron and his assistant Matt Gorrick, who spent some time in the area before painting the silos. Saying the initial idea came from seeing people dive off the jetty into the ocean, even joining in the sport himself.

Mr Ron started researching about the jetty jumping and came across an image that would form the basis of the silo mural. The image was taken by a local photographer Robert Lang, in January 2014, of local boys Eli Carmody and Morris Webb jumping off the Tumby Bay jetty on a very hot summer’s afternoon.

The mural is not an exact copy of the original image as the artists worked with it to create something unique. It’s slightly distorted to suit the curves and shape of the silos as well. On the silos, the boys are reaching for the sky, wherein the original photo they are reaching towards the water.

About the Artist

Martin Ron was born in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina and is one of Argentina’s leading street artists. Mr Ron has worked in England, Spain and the USA and is considered to be one of the best ten muralists in the world. 

A Strong Community Builds a Town

The Tumby Bay Silo Art project would not have been possible without the hard work of mural project leader Dion Lebrun and his tireless Colour Tumby Bay committee members. It was also made possible through a ‘Fund My Neighbourhood’ grant and a strong community that got behind the project too.

Many thanks must go to Tumby Bay Area School, Oneyre, D+K Fencing, Landmark Tumby Bay, Corny’s Cabling, Pacer Murphy, The Pedler Family, Curtis’s Sales and Service, Tumby Concrete and Troughs, just to name a few.



Parking Information

The Tumby Bay Silos cannot be seen in their true glory from the Lincoln Highway. Entrance is via Bratten Road. They have a designated car park suitable for caravans and motor-homes and a suggested viewing area for best photos as well.

Tumby Bay also annually hosts the 'Colour Tumby Street Art Festival' so there is much more to see in this beautiful little town.