Victoria’s Silo Art Trail – Don’t Miss Out!
Need inspiration for a weekend getaway from Melbourne? The Victoria Silo Art Trail is packed with fantastic art work and history. Get up close and personal to these monumental silo paintings which are truly fascinating and also give an insight into rural life in Australia.
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Think you can tell apart a Monet from a Manet, a Van Gogh from a Gaugain? Well, you won’t have to on the Victoria Silo Art Trail because the massive grain silos have been painted by local Australian artists! Go and visit the countryside towns and inject some cash into the rural communities this weekend.
Where are the Victoria Art silos located?
Situated about 2.5 hours drive from the city of Melbourne in the state of Victoria. The first town is called Goorambat. Even though it is called officially the North East Victoria Silo Art Trail, the first town with a silo is Goorambat.
How to get to the Victoria Art silos
You really need a car to get around the small rural towns to see all the artworks. They’re not as close together as they look on a map. They’re definitely not within walking distance of each other either.
Map of the Victoria Silo Art Trail
It is best to download this map from the Benalla Tourism office.
Incidentally, before you embark on the Victoria Silo Art Trail, you should stop off in the town of Benalla. At the local Art Gallery, which is free, there is also an excellent coffee shop. An attached gift shop, is also a chance to buy a unique Australian souvenir.
Outside the art gallery, along the river, there are also some interesting Gaudi-esque type installations which are worth a look. Plus, the town itself has lots of wall murals to discover.
What you’ll see on the North East Victoria Silo Art Trail
You’ve guessed it, tall silos with paintings on them!
Goorambat Silos
As the map suggests you start in Goorambat. This is where you’ll see the horses silo, the owl and the Church painting, (“the Sophia”) if it is open.
When you turn to your left, you’ll see the endangered animal bird of prey silo.
If you’re feeling a bit peckish or thirsty, head over the road to the Railway hotel pub!
Time to jump back in the car and find the next painting. Dubbed “Sophia”, she is the female representation of God. The artist is Matt Adnate. Originally the painting completed in 2017, was only meant to be open for the Easter weekend. It proved so popular that it is now open every day for visiting tourists.
Devenish Silos
After seeing the lady herself, it’s time to go to Devenish, which is 13kms away. It isn’t signed very well and Google maps isn’t great. Check your odometer and if you haven’t arrived in 10 minutes, you’re lost. Alternatively, you can follow other cars because there’s only one place they’re going, to the next silos on the trail, like you!
The Devenish silos pay homage to the military and in particular to ANZAC day. ANZAC day is an Australian holiday that commemorates soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
The local town of Devenish saw fifty young men and women enlist for WWI. Seven never made it home and the artist, Cam Scale wanted to honour the memory of these fallen with the third silo painting of a young man and his horse. There are detailed information boards to read at every silo site, where you can get the full history of the paintings.
If you’re feeling hungry again, or, you didn’t stop at the pub in Goorambat, you can have some scones at the Devenish pub, directly opposite the silos! Word has it that they’re very tasty!
In Devenish in front of the silos are information boards which give you a deeper insight into the history of the silos. Right, onto the next town called St James.
St James Silos
The St James Silos tell a story about rural farming life and how one of Australia’s largest supermarkets started. You’ll see some familiar horses pulling bushels of wheat on a wagon, a truck, a portrait of George Coles and two men sewing up a wheat sack.
Tim Bowtell is the artist. You might recognise his work from other pieces in the town of Benalla, including work in the Makoan Rest Area.
Tungamah Silos
Stop 5 is the small town of Tungamah. There are two colourful silos to see here.
The Tungamah silos celebrate Australian birds. You will see dancing brolgas, a kookaburra, a pink and a grey galah, a Humming bird, an owl, a Sulphur-crested cockatoo, two small wrens and white Ibis. The tree is a native Australian gum tree. The silos still work and are privately owned. They have been fenced off.
The artist is Sibrane Simcock. She is the first female silo artist.
According to the map, you can now drive on to the Winton wetlands area. You may just spot some of the birds you’ve seen at the Tungamah silos! We didn’t get there, but if you do, we’d love to hear all about it. Please share your comments and thoughts below.
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