Leongatha mural success?

RECENTLY l happened upon an murals aficionado from Melbourne taking photos of the new Leongatha Railway Precinct mural. He said how he appreciated the mural being elevated and free from the visual clutter associated with ground level murals and commented that such large murals are expensive and how being elevated would increase the cost. He added he was actually a horticulturalist and we proceeded to try to identify the flora, as well as the fauna depicted.

Unfortunately, most of the flora and fauna did not seem to relate to the purported theme of “Leongatha and its Landscape,” perhaps it was the scale of the artwork or maybe the “artist’s impression” or the fact the artist was from Brisbane. Perhaps a list of the species can be made available, and while at they’re at it the total costs of the mural to the ratepayers, and of having an interstate artist for the job.

Your article (ST Dec 27) quotes the project manager saying “...council, which hadn’t previously done an arts project on such a scale.”

Has whoever at council not seen the murals in Korumburra and Mirboo North? Perhaps they didn’t need a bureaucracy to get them painted. I did look at the three preferred murals for the Leongatha

Railway Precinct and didn’t particularly like them but commented that the job should go to someone who lived in South Gippsland.

Why point all this out now? l don’t know who decided on the Brisbane artist, where they live or their expertise but would it be too much to ask that in the future an interested and informed group of local volunteers make such decisions? Any comments from council are welcome.

Steve Finlay, Leongatha