A giant magpie and kookaburra and a passing galah now overlook the west Wimmera town of Goroke.

They are the prominent features of a new mural at Goroke’s GrainCorp silos and the latest West Wimmera Shire addition to the region’s Silo Art Trail.

The image of the magpie is particularly fitting considering the name Goroke has its origins from a Wotjobaluk word for the native bird.  

Artist Geoffrey Carran, who specialises in painting birds and is responsible for previous landscape-scale murals at Edenhope, Balmoral, Niddrie and Naracoorte, started work on the Goroke project in late September.

His Goroke work follows completion of a GrainCorp silos mural at Kaniva.

Carran worked closely with the Goroke community and West Wimmera Shire Council to develop the concept for the artwork.

Council chief executive David Leahy said having two silo art locations in the shire was a significant drawcard for the region.

“With COVID-19 restrictions easing, more tourists are now allowed to travel out to our beautiful part of the world,” he said.

“We encourage everyone to put West Wimmera Shire on their list of ‘must see’ locations to visit.”

Mr Leahy said regional Victorian visitors were already visiting both Kaniva and Goroke to view the painted works. 

He said he expected visitors from Melbourne to soon start arriving. 

“We have many other attractions in West Wimmera Shire to take advantage of and we hope when people come to visit us, they also stop to buy food and fuel, or visit our wonderful lakes and wetlands,” he said.

Silo art first started in the region at Brim in 2016 and soon spread to seven other locations throughout the Wimmera and Mallee. 

“We are very fortunate to have our own piece of silo art in our back yard,” Mr Leahy said.

The council undertook the silo artwork project on behalf of the Goroke community through a State Government Pick My Project campaign.

Carran is a contemporary artist based on the Surf Coast and has family property at Apsley. 

He is developing a reputation for his bird and plant paintings across Australia. He has also produced a design range for The National Gallery of Victoria.

He has previously exhibited in Australia and internationally, with his work extending to New Zealand, Turkey, London and New York. His murals also often feature in rural and remote regions of Australia as a way to bring art and cultural engagement to those communities.

More of his work is on website geoffreycarran.com.au.

Fencing at the Goroke site is underway and the council has stressed anyone planning on visiting the silos must abide by safety rules, including staying out of exclusion zones.

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