Grain silo art, Goorambat, Victoria
What do grain silos have to do with railways, one might ask? ‘Quite a lot’ comes back the answer, and far more than most people might first think.
Australia has long been a major producer of grain crops and part of the reason for that success has been its ability to ship harvests quickly and efficiently by rail from the farm to the mills and processing plants in the larger towns and cities. Australia’s extensive network of rural railway lines, branch lines and sidings might never have been built, were it not for the need to carry grain and other commodities from the farm to the factory.
"I love a sunburnt bountry", a tribute to Dorothea MacKellar on the grain silo in Gunnedah, NSW. The poem was inspired by her experience on her brothers' farms near Gunnedah.
Bulk grain storage was well underway by the 1920s, and the norm by the second World War. Innovative construction methods were tried and proven by Monash/Monier, Stone and Siddeley, and others early in the 20th century and also standardised by the war. Grains other than wheat were regularly stored in the same silos and there is no particular distinction between a barley silo or one intended for other gains, apart from their history of use. obviously barley silos tend to be associated with maltings.
The first concrete silos were built in Victoria about 1907 when John Monash was commissioned to erect silos at Rupunyip flour mill. This was prior to bulk transport, so the purpose was to stockpile summer harvest grain at mills for use over the year, with shipment of whet to the mill and flour away from it, still manhandled in bags. Numerous flour mills associated silos were then built across Australia. The destruction of massive stacks of bagged wheat by mice plagues gave encouragement of silos for other stages in the handling processes, particularly at ports, and for wheat-board controlled stockpiles.
Stone and Siddeley's patent for prefabrication of panels which formed the silos, was put into effect in 1910 at the Albury Flour Mills (recently demolished), while Monash again used a panel system at Minnifies mill in about 1914. The use of slip form cast reinforced concrete became fairly standard by the 1920s, and progressed to larger installations.
Peak Hill silo
Peak Hill, half-way between Parkes and Narromine is the site of the first country silo built in New South Wales. Other silos were under construction at the same time however Peak Hill was the first to begin operating in 1918. The first two years saw little wheat delivered to the new silo as 1918 and 1919 were very dry years, with only 14 and 12 inches of rain respectively. A bumper crop in 1920 saw the silo filled for the first time.
Serviceton station
Grain silos were soon built alongside many regional railway lines, both as drop-off points for farmers and pick-up points for trains. Hundreds of these huge concrete structures still tower over the countryside, they range in age from 60–100 years old for the tall, concrete silos, and 50–60 years old for the lower steel, rectangular structures. Vandals have been tagging them for years, but in recent years authentic artists have been volunteering their time and skills to create some magical works of art.
Australia's largest grain handler, GrainCorp is the owner and operator of several hundred public silos throughout eastern Australia. About 170 are still fully operational, and about the same number are non-operational, some of which are leased. Up to 50 have been sold off. Changes in agriculture, combined with the closure of railway lines, has left hundreds of grain silos in regional Australia abandoned. Some of these mammoth structures have received a new lease of life via a number of means, but for others the future is not clear.
Grain silo art, Weethalle, NSW
One of the most popular re-use opportunities for silos has been silo art. The first official silo artwork appeared in Western Australia in 2015 when Phlegm and HENSE painted a silo in Northam. However, the Silo Trail concept was started by the Yarriambiack Shire Council in Victoria in 2016. Guido van Helten turned the tiny town of Brim, with a population of about 100, into a tourist destination overnight. Helten's request that the identity of the four character he portrayed should remain a mystery has been honoured, as the art is about the place, the community and, on a broader scale, the whole Wimmera region.
Following Brim's success, GrainCorp has received hundreds of requests for painting projects on other disused silos, and subsequently developed its Silo Art program. Artists from Australia and around the world have been invited to paint silos with their own artistic expression.
Grain silo art at Brim, Vic. Photo: RV Daily
In their words, GrainCorp “essentially provides the canvas and it's up to the community and council to then undertake the implementation of the art.” All of the company’s silo sites are open to potential re-use, as long as safety concerns and costs are met. Silo art projects cost up to $50,000 to attract artists of the calibre of Heesco and Guido Van Helten – a considerable investment for rural communities struggling for survival in hard economic times, but one that is now starting to pay off for those who have seen the potential and instigated their own silo, water tower and mural artwork projects.
Street mural, Kurri Kurri, NSW
Communities that have embarked on this innovative re-use of their silos and water tower use them to showcase the natural flora and fauna of their region, the history of their town and the colourful characters who have contributed to their towns fame or infamy, depending on who is being portrayed. Even towns that don't have grain silos have climbed on the bandwagon, and have brightened up their towns by adding these gigantic works of art to their water tanks and towers.
The value of silo and water tower art to a community is that it not only adds beauty to the local landscape, but has revived regional tourism and become a lifeline for communities that were facing an otherwise bleak future.
Water tower art at Narrandera, NSW
Regional tourism is the greatest beneficiary as travelling across the countryside and viewing this artwork is fast becoming the ultimate Australian road trip. But following an Art Trail holds a double-bonus for the railway fan. Not only do they get to see some of the finest artwork in the land created by our talented young artists, they'll come across some incredible, long-forgotten railway infrastructure nearby, gems from a past era that are just waiting to be discovered and appreciated.
The railway station, at Weethalle, NSW, re-furbished as a cafe, located next to the town's colourfully painted grain silos.
Design by W3layouts
