Community
17 January, 2024
Welcoming backdrop celebrates community
SIMPSON residents turned out to help officially open the town's new mural.
Located at Jaycee’s Park, the mural creates a colourful and welcoming backdrop for residents and visitors alike.
The mural which has been dubbed ‘Community Spirit’ was completed by Gunggari artist Emma Koplick.
Ms Koplick said she was pleased with how the mural had turned out.
“I started at the end of October and I finished at the end of November,” she said.
“It’s about 70 hours work.”
Ms Koplick said her main goal with the piece was to make sure the blue stood out.
“It is my story; but it’s based on the community,” she said.
The artwork represents the community helping each other out with all the activities and events in and around Simpson and includes the Simpson Tigers colours.
The blue centre represents the proximity to the Great Ocean Road and contains symbols of community, with handprints from local youth who are the future of the community.
The two gold sections in the design feature people working together and then the brown outside the borders are the Heytesbury soil with symbols of those travelling or passing through.
Simpson and District Community Centre coordinator Debra Smith said the mural came about following a brief discussion with Ms Koplick after the Heytebsury Show.
“Emma usually paints canvas and had some successful entries in the show,” she said.
“I asked if she would be up for a mural and she said yes so I went looking for funding and she started thinking about a design.
“I approached council and asked where other communities funding had come from and council had some funds that could be utilised if youth were involved.”
Mrs Smith said the project received support from Wattyl who supplied the paint and Parlour Home Hardware who donated brushes, rollers and tape.
“Thank you to the Corangamite Shire, Wattyl and Parlour and Home Hardware,” she said.
“We hope to do more art projects in the community next year.”