PUBLIC ART doesn’t just put a place on the map – it can also put it in the post.
A new commemorative stamp issue was released on Monday 7 September by Australia Post featuring four colourful water tower murals from across Australia – including Gulargambone’s ‘Lucky Dip’ created in 2018 by artist Jenny McCracken.
Australia Post have released a street art series some years ago, followed by a silo art issue in 2018.
In around April this year an Australia Post representative contacted Annette Green, who founded the Silo Art Tourism Trail website and social media.
“We put up a post on Snow Town [water tower] and a lovely lady from Australia Post saw it and it snowballed from there,” Mrs Green said.
The other three images selected are Apparition Media, Narrandera, NSW; Guido van Helten, Winton, Victoria; and Vans the Omega, Snowtown, South Australia.
“Australia Post picked everything – they were trying to find photos that suited their stamps, what their designer wanted and the stories behind the art.”
“At one stage they wanted the Gulargambone tower photo to be horizontal not vertical!” she said.
Mrs Green’s says her promoting silo and water tower art is about promoting regional tourism and encouraging travellers to visit small towns.
Australia Post has picked up on this theme, saying that the Water Tower Art stamp issue demonstrates “the vibrancy and creativity of regional Australian art”.
“In addition to attracting visitors, these large, striking artworks often feature local people and culture, paying homage to those who have served their community, celebrating local history and wildlife and raising awareness of local issues,” said Australia Post’s Philatelic Manager Michael Zsolt.
The excitement in Gulargambone is palpable.
When the announcement of the forthcoming stamp issue was published in the Mayor’s Column in the Coonamble Times a couple of months ago, the Gulargambone Post Office & Rural Transaction Centre started to receive inquiries.
“I had mine ordered in advance,” said RTC Manager Tammy Nichols.
“We started selling them last week and both the stamps and the postcards are selling really well.”
“It’s mostly local people buying them so far,” she said.
The water tower project was part of a larger street art project organised by the Gulargambone Community Enterprise Co-operative to boost tourism and kicked off in 2018 with an ambitious public art project.
Artist Jenny McCracken was tasked with the enormous mural on the 23 metre water tower and was assisted in this by Andi Mether, who is also Production Manager for Zest International, the company who helped pull the project together.
Ms McCracken says she was “very very excited” when she found out that both her 2018 Gulargambone work and a 2019 water tower project at Gunnedah had been selected for the stamp issue.
“It’s actually a bit of a childhood dream come true,” Ms McCracken said.
“I grew up in Mildura and as a kid I’d ‘forge’ stamps – to challenge myself to draw accurately enough to pass for the real thing.” “I thought one day I’d like my art to be good enough to be on a stamp,” she said.
“That’s one life goal ticked!”
The Gulargambone Water Tower mural stands next to the football ground and references the importance of water to the local community.
Jenny’s artwork, ‘Lucky Dip’ has transformed the water tower into a huge glass of water, showing an iridescent blue kingfisher in search of food.
Australia Post says the water tower now “stands over the town like a glowing beacon of hope.”
The four domestic base rate ($1.10) stamps are now available in Post Offices across Australia and additional products available include a first day cover, stamp pack, maxicards and a decorative minisheet.
The extra exposure should help add to tourism numbers for Gular.