Since the first appearance of silo art in 2015, regional and rural towns across Australia have been transformed by these large-scale public artworks.

And now, thanks to the local Lions Club, the small town of Katamatite is on the map for their mural on the Silo Art Trail.

Katamatite silo art mural by artist Tim Bowtell.

The Silo Art Trail has been turning heads on dusty regional roads since 2016 with its 700km-long collection of massive street artworks celebrating the people and culture of Victoria’s northwest.

Adding to the popularity of the existing North East Silo Art Trail, the Katamatite Lions Club spearheaded a fundraising campaign for their own silo art project, creating a great opportunity for visitors to enjoy their town.

They have been fundraising for the project since 2019 with kite festivals, raffles, markets and even opening their own Op Shop.

Benalla artist Tim Bowtell is the creative talent behind the Katamatite silo art, taking 32 days to complete the mural.

Artist Tim Bowtell ready to get to work.

“A big congratulations to the Lions Club of Katty for many years of hard work, and to Tim for making our vision a reality,” she says.

The Silos are owned by GrainCorp, who along with Moira Shire, have provided a great deal of work and support towards the project.

Julie says they have also worked closely with the Katamatite Historical Society, local indigenous community members, the local Katamatite community and the North East Art Trail Group to form the brief for the artwork.

Katamatite silo art project in progress.

“Artist Tim has blended together several components to the design to form a cohesive composition,” she says.

“The artwork features an eagle which links to the metal eagle in the Lions Park in town. Wedge tailed eagles are native to our local area, but can be elusive to spot.

We pay homage to our traditional owners, noted in our local history book as the Kwat Kwat/ Bangerang. 

The left Silo shows indigenous figures camped along the Boosey Creek. A Scar Tree runs down the centre which links the two silos together. These trees still exist in the Broken Boosey State Park surrounding the silos.

The design also features the first passenger train engine built in 1857 which serviced Katamatite in the early days of settlement.

The image that runs across the bottom of both silos is of horses pulling a scoop to form irrigation channels; irrigation opened up the region to farming.”

This project is injecting new life into rural towns and encouraging tourism to the areas, along with gifting Victoria one of the most unique road trip routes in the country.

Julie says she now hopes more people will visit the silos and take in everything the small community of Katamatite has to offer.

You can see more from the project on the Katamatite Lions Facebook Page.

Original story by Joan Tufvesson

The Lions Club of Yarrawonga and the Lions Club of Lake Mulwala joined forces to host the inaugural walk for diabetes awareness at the Yarrawonga Showgrounds on Saturday 20th May.

Support for this event from local businesses and professionals was fantastic and very much appreciated by both Clubs.

The weather behaved itself, providing cloud cover for the 70 walkers and two dogs. A total of 280 km was walked; which equates to approximately 459 laps of the oval.

There was a “Pit Stop” provided halfway around the oval where snacks, fresh fruit, and bottled water were handed out. At the final “Pit Stop”, held at the Yarrawonga Lions Wool Pavilion, a selection of diabetic-friendly food was cooked for walkers – chilli con carne and wholemeal pancakes – which was included in the $10 registration fee. All produce and snacks were generously donated by Woolworths and Midland Fresh.

The starting line. Image: supplied.

Advice was given free of charge and the Clubs’ thanks go to Credentialed Diabetes Educator Janet Lagstrom; Accredited Practising Dietitian at Yarrawonga Health Liza Black; optometrists Sandra Heaney and Andrew Banks; and Lions District Diabetes Chairperson Robyn Harrison.

Posters with QR codes were placed on the fence which linked to a website with relevant information about diabetes.

A pizza oven was donated by Bunnings with the winner being the President of Finley Lions Chris Horne.

All funds raised from the registration and sale of raffle tickets was forwarded to Lions Australia Diabetes Foundation, which will go towards prevention, awareness, and research in the fight against diabetes.

Without volunteers and sponsors, these events could not happen. So, a very big thank you to everyone involved in this event.

You can learn more about the Lions Australia Diabetes Foundation here.

Lions in Gilles Plains have brought the Lions Recycle for Sight Project to Papua New Guinea (PNG), helping small communities see and read better for the first time.

As they make their way through the townships, Renee has the public try on glasses until they find the ones that suit them.

Most of the time, Renee also takes food to give to those who need it (sometimes security for Renee is required).

“I am so proud of the work Renee does to help those less fortunate,” says Gilles Plains Lions Club President, Lance Crook.

Lance shares a special connection to PNG, having spent time there in 2011 to help with his mental health after falling off a roof and ending up on a disability pension.

It was during this time that Lance met Lion Renee, who lives in the Northern Province town of Popondetta.

“Renee was in the village I visited, where after many years I was accepted as a white chief of Papua New Guinea, a very honoured position,” says Lance.

“I returned in 2015, taking 54 solar lights into the village.

That enabled 54 families and around 160 children to do their homework with light, as this village has no running water or electricity.”

It was on Lance’s next visit, that he took some recycled reading glasses to the village.

“Everyone was amazed to be able to see and read the bible,” he says.

This was a turning point to officially bring the Lions Recycle for Sight Project to PNG with Lance’s club routinely collecting and sending boxes of glasses to Renee.

Lions Recycle for Sight Australia is an initiative of Lions Clubs International, recycling used glasses for re-use in remote and impoverished communities.

The collected glasses are cleaned and prepared for distribution locally, to places where eye care is often unaffordable and inaccessible.

Do you have a pair of unused glasses sitting around? Click here to find out how you can donate them to this life-changing project.