Patchewollock is bit off the beaten track but while looking for Silo’s … we also came upon another interesting bit of art & history.

Patchewollock is 40km south west of Ouyen in north-west Victoria, you can get to it from the Sunraysia Highway to Mildura or the Sturt Highway at Walpeup near Ouyen

The Big Mallee Fowl are one of the other things we saw on our visit to Patchewollock. The giant corrugated birds stand next to a fine example of silo art by artist Fintan Magee and the well preserved Patchewollock Station Precinct. There’s antique farm machinery on display in the same park and the Patchewollock Hotel is just across the road….. where J bought a bottle of Red to have with dinner 🤩

The big Mallee Fowls are constructed from corrugated iron and painted to give the impression of feathers.

The sculptures which were installed by artist Phil Rigg in 2013.

Every where I go I find so much of beauty and history come to life. Outback Australia never disappoints 🥰

The GrainCorp Silos at Patchewollock were the fourth set of silos to join the Australian Silo Art Trail Collection and the second to be painted in the Wimmera-Mallee region of Victoria.

They were painted by a Brisbane artist by the name of Fintan Magee. For inspiration for his silo mural and to get to the know the people of the area, Fintan booked a room at the local pub so he could mix among the local community.

It wasn’t long before he met the subject for the Patchewollock Silos. A hard working lanky local by the name of Nick “Noodle” Hulland who exemplified the no-nonsense, hardworking spirit of the region.

This twin silos were built in 1939 and was transformed in late 2016.

Another beautiful Silo …. Fills my heart with joy 🎶

The artwork is a celebration of the still and silence found in outback Victoria, and the associated feelings of wholeness and freedom. The young girl, swinging from a Mallee Eucalyptus, looks over Lake Tyrrell and reflects on her Indigenous heritage.

The Indigenous name ‘Tyrille’ means ‘space opening to the sky’ as the colours of dusk and dawn are reflected in the shallow saline bowl. The Boorong People were known to have more knowledge of astronomy than any other tribe, and their stories are rich in culture and connection to the lake. The artwork aims to connect and bring the viewer closer to some of the relatively ordinary and overlooked elements of the outback landscape and allows viewers to see these elements from a new perspective.

Again another Silo done to perfection… each one better than the last.

Nullawil is a small country town in the Wimmera – Mallee region of Victoria with a population of approximately 300 people on a good day.
On the 5th of July 2019, the local silos in the middle of town became the new centrepiece when artist Sam Bates, aka Smug, took to a cherry picker and commenced painting. Just 14 days later, they were complete.
Prominently featured on this silo is Jimmy the kelpie dog as he sits with a close companion; could it be his owner Darren?

The Dog Tag
As a ‘nod’ to the history of Nullawil the registration disc worn by Jimmy has a ‘galah’ and ‘stick’ engraved on it. The name of the town is derived from two Aboriginal words, ‘Nulla’ which means killing stick, and “Wil’ derived from the term “willock’ meaning Galah.

Nullawil is now the 32nd silo to be included in the Australian Silo Art Trail,

We first saw this in 2019 on our trip across the continent on the motorcycle and had to stop again to see it as it is spectacular 🤩