The 2022 City of Stirling Calendar celebrates the many beautiful murals across the city, featuring a different mural each month. The calendar led me to research other public art works on display across the City of Stirling. There followed another voyage of discovery to explore new parks and buildings in search of the numerous public art pieces. Our journey loosely followed the Mural Art Trail as published in the calendar and these murals are numbered 1-12. Other artworks along the way are not numbered.
The City of Stirling acknowledges the traditional custodians of this land, the Wadjak people of the Nyoongar nation, and pays respect to the Elders past, present and future for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and the hopes of Aboriginal Australia.
kaadatj Nyoongar moort Nyoongar boodja-k Wadjak boodja-k. Ngalak kaadatj Nyoongar nedingar wer birdiya koora koora wer yeyi. Baalabang koondarm, malayin wer nakolak baalap yang ngalany-al. Ngalak dandjoo barn wer kaaratj bandang boodja-k.
1. Swamp to Sea is a vast mural by Brenton See situated on top of Mt Flora Museum which is itself
situated inside an old water tank overlooking the Indian Ocean. The mural features both the flora and fauna of the swampland and the sea shore and includes species such as the Fairy Tern, which is vulnerable in most states, and the endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo. This is a must see!
2. I See, The Sea, a collaboration between Melski and the members of the Trigg Island Surf Club, is located on the Trigg Island Surf Club.
Portalsxthree by Tony Pankiw is located at Apex Park in North Beach.
Centaur on the North Beach foreshore commemorates an iron brig of that name that shipwrecked on the reef in1874 with no loss of life.
Earth Vegetation and Ocean is located at Charles Riley Reserve in North Beach. This is also the location of Windswept (in the playground area) but we could not locate this one.
3. Fishing for Dreams a mural by Peter Ryan is located inside Karrinyup Library.
“Fishing for Dreams is a story about connection. It begins with the creativity of a boy hanging ropes up into the trees, which come down throughout the mural to the others, supporting and joining them all together. Imagination, adventure, community, serenity and knowledge; all connecting under the same roof.”
- Peter Ryan
4. Forever Young by Jerome Devonport, aka Ketones, is located at the Scarborough Community Hub.
“The philosophy behind the concept is connectivity and communication through the generations. The piece connects two people with the simple form of the string telephone used by many in their younger years.
Given the structure is a community space with a library, I thought it was the perfect way to connect the walls and place of learning through this fun and vibrant design.
The artwork includes the flower of life symbol, which is relevant in a lot of my works. This symbol is the physical representation of the connections that we feel to all living things. It is a sacred symbol found in nearly every culture on the planet and is believed to represent the cycle of growth of a fruit tree, from the seed to a fruit-bearing tree.”
- Jerome Davenport
The City of Stirling wishes to warn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that this mural features an image of a deceased person.
As we enjoy discovering on foot we set off from here to look for other murals along Scarborough Beach Road ultimately turning around at Doubleview House in Munro Reserve. Here is what we discovered along the way:
We then headed back into Scarborough to find the many artworks along the beachfront. For information on public art within Scarborough refer to the Public Art Map
Whale Playground was inspired by stories from Nyoongar culture - a whale will beach itself when it comes to the end of its life so it can return an ancestor’s spirit to the land. Each part of this playground has been created as a unique and creative play element for children.
Rotary Clock Tower leads you to Scarborough Beach.
Scarborough GT identifies Scarborough Beach and is an ideal location for photos. The design draws from iconic roadside signage and Scarborough’s car culture from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Watch Over You honours Scarborough’s surf lifesaving history and its continuing importance to the local culture and identity. ‘Watch Over You’ is the form of two bronze surf lifesavers, wearing 1960s beach attire, casting a watchful eye over the ocean.
Ethereal Hand represents the Nyoongar custom of visitors casting a handful of sand into the water to show respect to an area, introduce themselves, and welcome spirits, ancestors and the Waugal to the water.
Weaving of Stories features brightly-coloured shade sails representing the colours of the sun setting over the Indian Ocean. The artist has designed the panels to be ‘stitched’ together, to show the ‘weaving’ of stories and cultures.
Mystic Edge doubles as informal seating and represents the edginess of Scarborough’s past, present and future culture. Written in Nyoongar and English, the ‘Mystic Edge’ translates the aspirations of welcome, inclusiveness and peace, into a story of arrival and meeting.
Tjunta Trail reflects the dreamtime story of children who went missing and the spirit woman Tjunta who finds them. The story is told in five episodes around the Scarborough foreshore.
Many of the above art also feature in my Scarborough Trigg Heritage Trail blog.
Scarborough Mural on Scarborough Beach Road is another artwork that has defeated us!
5. Njookenbooroo by Justin Martin is located inside Westfield Innaloo Shopping Centre and we haven't managed to view this one yet either.
Stirling Spirit can be found at the Morris Road shops in Innaloo.
Seed Pod Wind Chimes are located in the lovely Millet Park in Innaloo.
Yuluma Primary School also has a large mural.
Further south we eventually found the site where ECU Churchlands once stood now named Edith Cowan Reserve so it shouldn't have been so hard to find! The parklands have been developed to reflect the footprint of the site including Word Wall and Nesting Fields.
Crossing over the freeway to Robinson Reserve where there is a large playground and you can visit Daisy and Olive, the local cows before heading to the Osborne Community Hub next door for more murals and artworks.
6. The Market Gardeners at Osborne Community Hub reflects this area's origins.
7. The Garden and the Arches mural by Mel McVee at the Osborne Community Hub radiates the joy of our local flora and fauna as it wraps around the architectural contours of the building. Further murals are located inside the building in the courtyard and Peace Seats by Anne Neil and Steve Tepper is located in the forecourt.
8. Pink Galah in Beaufort Lane Mt Lawley is one of many murals to be found in the Mt Lawley streets and laneways. See my Mt Lawley Urban Art blog to explore more.
9. Inglenook at 884 Beaufort Street is a contemporary collage reflecting the vibrancy of Ingle wood which is host to many other sensational murals and sculptures like Here Birdy Birdy at Inglewood Library. To discover more urban art in Inglewood head to my blog - Inglewood Urban Art.
The Terry Tyzack Centre in Mt Lawley features Waterlines Sculpture and Water as Habitat both inside the building and too far way to photograph.
10. Kwop Wirin (Good Spirit) at Denman Reserve in Nollamara remembers and appreciates our past, acknowledging the land on which it sits, Mooro Boodja. The Wagyl moves across Country offering new life, blessings of good spirit to the land and its people.
You’re Welcome! by Sioux Tempestt is situated at the Mirrabooka Community Hub, The graphic elements and patterns reflect the sun setting over the sea which is symbolic of all people, of calm, peace and spirituality as well as the link between us and rest of the earth.
A Meeting Place by Peta Roebuck is located at Mirrabooka Library and reflects the area's vibrant and diverse community with representations including the Waugyl, Songlines, Koolbardi and an Uzbek teapot. A plaque gives details of all the stories that flow through this fascinating artwork.
At the back of Mirrabooka Library you will find STORY .
Harmony Under the Stars and Journeys sit side by side at the Mirrabooka Amphitheatre
as does Handprint Artwork.
Shaping the Future was originally painted in the late 1990's by Steve Cross and was once condemned but fortunately it has been brought back to life by the original artist in conjunction with local students. The wall embraces the different waves of migration that has made up the Mirrabooka community and the kid's faces represent these different backgrounds.
Kadidjiny Diet at Mirrabooka Square is about how Whadjuk people would look at the flowers to show the change of season. Further artworks in the shopping centre combine to create the Harmony Art Trail reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, including Harmony which features vibrant mandalas to symbolise unity.
The walls of Sudbury Community House abound with artworks depicting traditional Noongar life and stories.
Kambarang at Bina Parkland in Balga is the name given to multiple scripted artworks etched into the pavements of the playground.
Flow is located at Balga Leisurepark
Birdlife on Branches and Hybrid Leaf and Flower adorns the entrance gate to Yokine Play Space, a wonderful nature playground.
11. BMX Bandits is hard to find and is located behind a fence on Delawney Street in Balcatta.
12. Rainbow Bee Eater on the hit up wall at Carine Open Space acknowledges these colourful birds that migrate here annually to nest in sand. At the end of the car park you can find Surface Tension.
Ibis by Paul Deej has faded from it's true glory but stands alongside Local Life, a mosaic outside Dianella Library constructed in collaboration with a local primary school.
Splendid Wren greets you at Dianella Community Playspace, another fabulous nature playground within the Dianella Regional Open Space, also featured in a blog.
Tree Man is located at Joondanna Community Garden and up the road at Grenville Reserve you will find From Little Things Big Things Grow.
At Stirling Civic Gardens you can find Poppies at the War Memorial and from there it is a short walk through the beautiful park to cross to see The Story of Stirling, integrated paving made of photo etched concrete and glass, located at the entrance to the City of Stirling Administration Centre which is dominated by the statue of Lina.
And so we have come full circle. City of Stirling, we discovered, is a huge local government area stretching over a large number of suburbs. It has taken several months and multiple journeys to locate all the public art works located on the City of Stirling website. Some were easy to find and some have eluded us but we have had a great deal of fun discovering them and finding many other artworks and points of interest along the way.
Below is a map of the Calendar Mural Trail which is what started us on this journey of discovery. You can see how big the area is that we covered. For information on the artworks not included in the Calendar Mural Trail we have posted the locations and will leave it up to you to embark on your own journey of discovery should you wish to find them. Happy Hunting!
To read more blogs go to:
There are several blogs featuring Urban Art Trails including Art and About in Perth https://www.outandaboutfnc.com/post/art-and-about-in-perth which references them all, or search Urban Art.
In the spirit of reconciliation Out and About- Family Nature Connection acknowledges the traditional owners of the Wadjak boodjar (Perth land) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
Comments