Peter and Christine's Australian Road Trips

When I was planning this trip, I decided I’d like to visit any Silo or Water Tower Art that was on our route. Therefore, Tumby Bay was added to visit between the Ferry and Port Lincoln. Little did I know what an amazing small village it is. If you take country Sheffield, Tasmania (it’s about the same size) with its street art and murals and plant it right on the foreshores of Spencer Gulf then you can start to imagine what we discovered.

As we turned off the highway, we almost immediately found what I originally wanted to see – Tumby Bay Silo Art. After you park your car, you walk between a few scrubby trees to catch your first view. I must admit disappointment right away. The silos are not joined together as most are and the mural, because it is one artwork across the three silos appears to be very disjointed. I nearly turned around without even taking a photo. However, Peter did!

Then Peter and I realised that there was a path that led across the face of the silos to a designated viewing area. As we walked towards it and eventually reached the exact point, to our astonishment, the mural melded into one continuous piece. It was magical.

After we stood in awe of this masterpiece for quite some time, we drove into the township and cruised around quite a few of the streets. Dotted throughout the whole village were numerous murals of a large variety of subjects and ideas. We certainly didn’t see them all but captured a few of the ones we liked the most.

As well, we discovered this quirky replacement for an historical clock. The clock was built in the seventies but because of its position (right on the foreshore) where it was subjected to all kinds of salty stormy weather, it rusted out and collapsed. It has been replaced by this fascinating obelisk recording the local history. Very cleverly it has been printed on a vinyl overlay which, of course, is much more stable for its location.

If you ever get the chance to visit this little gem, you must take the opportunity as it is very worthwhile.