A corrugated-tin mural at the Merriwa Visitor Centre, made from local materials to celebrate the district's farming history.
This corrugated tin mural at the Merriwa Visitor Centre celebrates the district’s farming history. It was made by Murrurundi sculptors Fran Wachtel and Charlotte Drake Brockman, who often work with found materials. The tin came from around the district, including the sheep dip from Collaroy Station (established 1829), Denman’s blacksmith shed and the original garage at 118 Bettington Street.
Covering a large section of wall, the mural uses corrugated iron, a material found everywhere in Australian building and a favourite of Fran Wachtel’s. Drawing on rural life, her work features cows, chickens, sheep, utes and dogs, and her corrugated iron shed workspace is itself an extension of her art.
At the centre is a dray piled with wool bales and pulled by bullocks. Nearby, kelpies herd a mob of sheep led by a ram, galahs wheel overhead, and a windmill, a horse and a shearing shed complete the scene.
The mural was officially unveiled in 2008.