Hobsons Bay Street and Public Art
Hobsons Bay City Council was an early adopter of a public art strategy, with a number of artworks commissioned over the past decade. the artworks help interpret the city, providing new landmarks and acting as markers and, over time, creating a strong sense of place. the Hobsons Bay public art collection includes six installations along the Hobsons Bay Coastal trail (bay trail), a number of other site specific works, and a series of markers and interpretive panels that inform and celebrate the physical, cultural and social context of the city. The collection features works created by some of Australia's leading artists.
Altona Area
Grow
by Jonathan Leahey (2011)
Grow - to cultivate, raise, nurture - is a symbol of looking to the future of potential, of hope. Aptly sited to the west of the city, and near one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, Grow is constructed using a corten steel skin with an oxidized patina. It is supported by an internal galvanized pipe super structure and has a stamen or face of mirrored stainless steel.
Location: Cnr Queen Street and Merton Street, Altona
Seaborn
by Pauline Fraser
A pier can be as evocative a coastal landmark as a lighthouse. Altona Pier, at the end of Pier Street and the Esplanade is a much loved part of the west. Seaborn is a harmonious arrangement of five bronze marine creatures or elements: Cuttlefish, Weedy Sea Dragon, Leatherjacket, Crab Shell. The sculptures reflect the marine life that lives beneath the surface of Port Phillip Bay.
Location: Altona Pier, The Esplanade, Altona
New Beginnings Forest 2021 Sculpture
This area was revegetated in May 2021 with native trees and plants by staff from Melbourne Water to celebrate a 'new beginning' following an incredibly challenging year in 2020. Their people grew and nurtured many of the seedlings and came together to plant this 'New Beginnings Forest' which is a positive and hopeful symbol and a reminder of what we have endured as a community. The area supports one of the most significant population of the threatened Altona Skipper Butterfly. The butterflies rely on Chaffy Saw-sedge as habitat.
Location: Cherry Lake (beside trail on north side), Millers Road, Altona
'Tidal Shift' Mural
by Steph Cartledge (2024)
The mural pays homage to the marine life of Hobsons Bay and the detrimental effects of plastic pollution. Positioned a mere 300 meters from the bay, the mural is ideally located to address these pressing issues. Tidal Shift serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need for ocean sustainability, highlighting the entanglement of marine species as one of the most visible consequences of plastic waste.
Location: Cnr Pier St and Blythe St, Altona
Transcendence Sculpture
by Jos Van Hulsen (2022)
Location: Outside Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre, 5 Sargood Street, Altona
Altona Meadows Area
Time Beacon
by Cameron Robbins
Cameron Robbins created Time Beacon specifically for this site at the top of the 100 Steps to Federation, the highest land point between Melbourne and the You Yangs. It's a dynamic work for an impressive location with its panoramic view across Port Phillip Bay and across to the Cheetham Wetlands.
Location: Top of 100 Steps to Federation at Truganina Park, Altona Meadows
Insect Survey
Designed by Cameron Robbins of Down Street Studios (2001)
Location: Bottom of 100 Steps to Federation at Truganina Park, Altona Meadows
AirTime
Work created by young people flying at the flags at Altona Meadows Skate Park. There are three curated rotations each year.
Location: Altona Meadows Skate Park, Cnr Queen Street and Andrew Park Drive, Altona Meadows
H20 Stint Map
by David Murphy
Taking its name and shape from two of the site's most informing features, being water and wildlife. Migratory birds including red necked stints fly from this wetland, travel 105 degrees north to the Siberian wetlands, and back each year.
Location: 47 Hosie Street, Altona Meadows
Altona North Area
Threshold
by Louise Lavarack (2006)
Threshold consists of two groupings of precisely aligned poles on either side of Kororoit Creek just upstream from the Barnes Road bridge. They suggest flood markers, or perhaps the segmented stems of the nearby reeds. Either way, they're a juxtaposition to this industrial thoroughfare. Louise's poles became a hallmark of her work, and are referenced in many collections and public spaces in Australia.
Location: Barnes Road Bridge, Barnes Road, Altona North
Kororoit Creek Sculpture Trail
The sculpture trail is a fun walk through a beautifully regenerated area with huge quirky sculptures and other art installations along the way.
Location: 483 Blackshaws Road, Altona North
Laverton Area
Reunion
by Grant Finck (2011)
Reunion was developed by Grant Finck as part of a state initiative to transform the spaces in and around the train station into more vibrant and attractive hubs of community activity. 'Reunion is formed from the intersection of two separate, double ended pod shapes.. the shapes wrap around each other in an embrace, causing a change of direction of each pod, giving the sculpture centrifugal animation.' Grant's work sits in a number of private and public collections.
Location: Maher Road, Laverton Train Station, Laverton
Lohse Street Mural
by Heesco and Putos
Location: Cnr Wood Street and Lohse Street, Laverton
Wood Street Art Space
Location: 44 Woods Street. Laverton
Linking Laverton
by Dean Bowen (2010)
Dean Bowen has created three bronze sculptures that reflect sustainable travel behaviours. The works address the themes of car pooling, walking and public transport and link Bladin Street and Thomas Street, through a walk in the park.
Location: McCormack Park, 136 Bladin Street, Laverton
Fire Within
by Adrian Mauriks (2011)
The work was commissioned as part of Images of the West, an initiative of the western metropolitan councils and the Department of Sustainability and Environment.Fire Within is a series of 23 forms that 'reference the organic living and breathing nature of things.' The work aims to represent the natural beauty and the ongoing development and change of the western region. Adrian works mainly in white painted expoxy resin and stainless steel, and visitors might be familiar with his popular works in the Docklands Precinct as well as many other public spaces.
Location: Kororoit Creek Road Off-ramp, Princes Freeway, Laverton
Art Body Image Tattooing Mural
Location: 93 Railway Avenue, Laverton
Curlew Community Park Toilet Block Mural
Location: 5 Epsom Street, Laverton
Walking Man Sculpture
Location: Cnr Bladin Street and Maher Road, Laverton
Newport Area
Diver
by Simon Perry and Drew Cole (2006)
Newport Lakes is 33 hectares in size and is one of the hidden gems of the west, a haven for wildlife and native flora. The intention of Diver, a playful sculpture in bluestone, is to provide a significant marker at its entrance, while drawing on the history of the site, both in its use of materials (the site being a reclaimed bluestone quarry) and in inspiration, specifically from ducks observed dipping and feeding in the lakes.
Location: Newport Lakes, Cnr Mason Street and Lakes Drive, Newport
Newport Lakes Wildlife Mosaics
Location: Newport Lakes, Lakes Drive, Newport
Whirlpool
by Anuradha Patel
The work depicts the warm water from the power station flowing into the cold sea water and marks a popular fishing and walking spot. Its skeletal form also references organic structures past and present. Whirlpool takes on a different ambience at various times of the day and at different angles; sometimes reflecting light and at others almost merging into its landscape.
Location: The Warmies, Newport
Nuts and Bolts
by Geoff Hogg and Enver Camdal with support from Adnan Esan and Gary Donnelly (1995)
A concrete mural leading to the pedestrian underpass and tunnel at Newport train station, to suggest the former industrial activities of the area, especially railways and maintenance, once the focus of Newport.
Location: 1 Mason Street, Newport
Hall Street Newport Sea life Mural
Location: 1 Hall Street, Newport
Newport Station DVATE Murals
by DVATE (2019)
Murals of a Red Capped Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Pied Oystercatcher, Royal Spoonbill plus view from Sandy Point.
Location: Tait Street (near Newport railway station), Newport
Industrial Flowers
Found at the entrance to Newport Park; these works reference the site's industrial history and local environment.
Location: Cnr North Road and Douglas Parade, Newport
'Our Lakes' Mural
by Damien Arena (2024)
The mural is designed to capture the essence of Newport, drawing inspiration from the serene beauty of Newport Lakes. A vibrant tribute to the local area, it symbolises a harmonious coexistence between urban living and the natural world, emphasising the significance of biodiversity and environmental conservation.
Location: Cnr Challis St and Woods St, Newport
theFabric Mural
Location: Cnr Durkin Street and Mason Street, Newport
Challis St/Monmouth St Mural
by Julia Bevis (2022)
Location: Cnr Challis St and Monmouth St, Newport
We Are With You Mural
by A.B (2020)
Location: Cnr Challis St and Monmouth St, Newport
Woods and Monmouth Street Bollards
Location: Cnr Woods St and Monmouth St, Newport
Seabrook Area
'Colours of Seabrook' Mural
by Amanda Newman (2022)
The mural with themes of swans and the creek environment is painted in a photorealistic style.
Location: Seabrook Plaza Shopping Centre, 73-75 Point Cook Road, Seabrook
Welcome to Seabrook Mural
Location: Seabrook Community Centre, 15 Truganina Avenue, Seabrook
Spotswood Area
Nature's Beauty Florist Mural
Location: Cnr Forrest Street and Hudsons Road, Spotswood
Forrest Street Tree Sculpture
Location: Cnr Forrest Street and Hudsons Road, Spotswood
Welcome to Spotswood
Loving life in the shadow of the Westgate bridge. Spotswood is a small, quirky suburb in Melbourne's inner-west with a diverse industrial history. It is also an area that is changing.
As part of 2020 Art & Industry Festival, and in acknowledgment of this change and the area's unique landmarks Tony Mead (local sign writer and graphic designer) painted a larger-than-life, postcard-style mural Welcome to Spotswood on a vintage water tank.
Featuring an image of the Westgate Bridge against a silhouetted Melbourne CBD at sunrise, Tony's mural design has inspired a collaboration of filmmakers and musicians to create a short film and a song that tell stories of an area that has in recent years become home to cafes, wine bars, art studios and even a boutique brewery.
Location: Near corner of Booker Street and Hudsons Road, Spotswood
Williamstown Area
Cargo
by Mike Nicholls and Jonathan Leahey
Cargo is a contemporary sculpture that references the ongoing and historical maritime links Williamstown has to transportation, industry and navigational aids. Rising above its natural setting, it's upright position juxtaposes the freighters sitting on the horizon at sea waiting to unload their containers.
Location: Cyril Curtain Reserve, Battery Road, Williamstown
Requiem For A Champion
by Yvonne George
A series of hoops supported by two vertical columns balance a bronze stint on top of a galloping horse. The relevance of the sculpture is that in 1873 the Altona Coastal Park was the location of the Williamstown Racecourse, a place of significance in Victorian racing history, and no doubt the site of very grand gatherings.
Note: In late 2018 the horse was stolen from the sculpture but was later replaced.
Location: Altona Coastal Park, Racecourse Road, Williamstown
Steel Life
A metal vine grows out of the ground and entwines with a tree drawing attention to the continuation of natural life in the urban environment.
Location: Cnr Ferguson Street and Cecil Street, Williamstown
Wilkinson Memorial Drinking Fountain
Reverend George Wilkinson of Holy Trinity Church was a teetotaller and a homeopathic doctor. Public subscriptions in 1876 purchased this Glasgow-built fountain to dispense pure water for ferry passengers at the "Front Door to Williamstown". It is the earliest known memorial drinking fountain in Melbourne and one of the earliest in Victoria.
Location: 132 Nelson Place, Williamstown
Nelson Place Horse Trough
Location: Nelson Place, Williamstown
Grindstone Barbers Mural
Mural with a Williamstown theme.
Location: 83 Ferguson Street, Williamstown
Rifle Range
by Simon Taylor (2000)
The main theme of Rifle Range Sculpture is the history of the area: the natural history of the natural wetlands and foreshore; recent social history as use as a rifle range and more recently as a residential subdivision. Each theme is represented by a steel column and the structure is lit internally to highlight the structure at night.
Location: Rifle Range, Lakeside Place, Williamstown
The Botanic Gates
by Anuradha Patel and Velislav Georgiev (2010)
The overwhelming aspects of the gardens are its variety of formal walkways, intimate spaces and the wonderful collection of flora and the native fauna. This was the source of inspiration in the design of the gates at the Botanic Gardens.
The Gates of Ceremony
Osborne Street, Williamstown
"The Gates of Ceremony are inspired by the majestic trees within the garden. The trunks are strong and upright, aspiring to the sky. They are also deemed architectural due to their scale, elegance and interaction with surrounding period architecture." Patel and Georgiev
The Gates of Earthly Delights
Giffard Street, Williamstown
"The Gates of Earthly Delights are a slightly smaller gate. Its design explores the more intimate and hidden aspects of the garden. In its form, it is more curvaceous and sensuous, echoing not only the sinuous vines and roots forms within the undergrowth but also the ebbs and flows of the nearby ocean." Patel and Georgiev
Location: Williamstown Botanic Gardens at Osborne and Giffard Streets, Williamstown
Map of Street Art Locations:
Web Links
→ Hobsons Bay Public Art
→ Hobsons Bay Public Art Guide (PDF)
→ Kororoit Creek Sculpture Trail (Altona North)
