Calling all adventurers at heart – grab your maps and prepare yourself for an artistic discovery of epic proportions!
Featuring larger than life scales water murals that trail and extend through the hearts of 9 towns in Western Queensland, the Trailblazing the West’s Art Trail is a unique artistic experience that links Outback communities while showcasing culture, history and heritage.
Funded by the Year of Outback Tourism Events Program, the art trail is headed by Red Ridge Interior Queensland, who engaged multiple award winning artists to work alongside the communities and create trailblazing stories that transformed and captivated a tale to be told through artwork.
From Mount Isa all the way to Cunnamulla, it’s time to adventure in one of the most spectacular trails Australia has ever seen.
About the Trailblazing the West Art Trail
The focal point of the art trail is detailed on water tower and tank mural artwork, scattered throughout different towns in the Outback.
The 9 towns involved in this magnificent project include Mount Isa, Dajarra, Richmond, Windorah, Juneau, Stonehenge, Augathella, Charleville and Cunnamulla. Each of the towns will have art trails that represent their unique town history, culture and heritage.
The purpose of the Trailblazing the West art trail is to create a combination of stories that detail the Outback. The artistic stories will act as a celebration of the people and the place, exemplifying how amazing it is to live in Central Queensland.
Starting from Mount Isa, the art trail spans a massive distance of over 1,800 kilometres. When following the trail, it is crucial that proper planning is done beforehand to ensure a safe journey. Visit park websites for up to date information on current conditions, as well as updates on specific murals that you want to visit. Ensure you have enough food and water for the journey and always stay on the marked tracks whenever possible. Promising a scenic drive that will present plenty of photography opportunities, remember to leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but memories.
Empowering local communities
One of the draws toward creating an epic scale art trail was to supply and create unique, high quality, large scale artwork scattered throughout regional Queensland. The project aimed to bolster tourism and engagement within the rural Outback Queensland towns with a strive of creating a long lasting public exhibition that features the uniqueness of each town, helping people connect with the places on a deeper cultural level.
Art is such a magnificent way of rich expression. And by sharing this with the local communities, there is hope that a platform has been created through one gathered voice, united by art.
Mount Isa and the art trail
The first community to take the plunge, Mount Isa unveiled its very own mural that represents the city, its story and its landscape.
Mount Isa has a history of being praised for its picturesque landscape of what was once the largest mining city in Australia. With native flora and fauna that brings life to the region, adding gleams of colourful mirages and vibrancy to a harsh terrain, you can see why Mount Isa has a pen name of being the oasis of the Outback.
Featured on a water tank, the very first mural that embarks upon the Trailblazing the West art trail is nothing short of spectacular. It symbolises the best of flora and fauna of Mount Isa, showcasing the unique Kalkadoon Grasswren bird, which inhabits the area near the water tank, amongst native plants and flowers.
The artist behind this masterpiece is none other than David Houghton, from Sunshine Coast. His art skills specialise in flora and fauna, which is clearly represented in the sprawling Outback skies, lush waterfalls, native plants and local birdlife that makes the Mount Isa mural art.
Where to eat and stay in Mount Isa
There is no better way to experience Mount Isa than pampering yourself to the best dining and accommodation establishment here – the Redearth Boutique Hotel.
Offering an experience set in the heart of the city, all the city’s major attractions are right at your doorstep. When it comes to in-house services, the Redearth Boutique Hotel astounds through unparalleled customer service, exquisite and spacious rooms, luxurious comfort and first class dining at the Redearth Restaurant with an atmosphere that is heartwarming and of high standard.
A dine and stay at the Redearth Boutique Hotel is a true Mount Isa experience that must be done, especially when exploring the Trailblazing the West art trail that dives into the heart of each town.
Banner image credit: Weekender
