Members of the Murrumbateman Lions Club are raising money to paint this giant water tank. From left, Terry Davis, Steve McCutcheon, Cath McCutcheon, Paul Helmling and Sally Bensley. Photo: Linda Bensley.
The painted silos trend is on the move to the Capital Region – but in Murrumbateman, they do things a little differently.
For this village between Canberra and Yass, the Murrumbateman Lions Club is raising money to paint a large concrete water tank.
The Lions, working with Murrumbateman Landcare, Murrumbateman Progress Association, Southern Tablelands Arts and the Yass Valley Council, have commissioned regional artist, Jimmi Buscombe, to paint the water tank with images of local endangered flora and fauna.
Buscombe specialises in photo-realistic wildlife art, public art and murals, with his work seen across the country.
His proposed design for Murrumbateman features the Gang Gang Cockatoo and Golden Sun Moth in a box gum grassy woodland setting.
The water tank project is part of a larger campaign by the Murrumbateman Lions to draw more visitors to the area. Located within the Murrumbateman Bush Cemetery Precinct, beautification of this area has been top of the club’s agenda since the project began in 1991.
Lions Club spokeswoman Sally Bensley said a bush garden, memorial walkway, construction of a columbarium, a wooden perimeter fence and more seating had already been established in the area.
Artist Jimmi Buscombe’s proposed design for the Murrumbateman water tank, featuring endangered birds. Photo: Murrumbateman Lions Club.
The huge 2.5-megalitre tank was installed recently when the water pipeline was opened.
“We knew about the silo trails,” Sally Bensley said, “so we thought we should do something with the water tank because it was such a great big blank canvas.
“We wanted it to help beautify the area, which is already on the winery and walking trails and bring attention to the endangered native species around here so we can use it as an educational tool for youngsters from the new Murrumbateman school which will be opening soon.”
She said all the relevant community groups had been consulted with in-principle support received from the Yass Valley Council.
Now all they had to do, she said, was to raise the money to get it done.
The Lions Club has already committed $10,000, with a grant of $10,000 from the Australian Lions Foundation. It has also applied for a number of other grants to help pay for the work which is expected to cost about $50,000.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for the project. More information is available on the website.
People keen to support the project are invited to email the club at murrumbateman.nsw.lions.org.au for more information.
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