A Tasmanian council will immortalise a local waterfall and native wildlife on the side of its chambers building, fulfilling the wish of a long-serving alderman who died last year.
The Glenorchy City Council will vote on Monday to commission street artist Trent Fischer to paint a $25,000 mural depicting Humphreys Rivulet and local fauna on the west-facing wall overlooking the local bus mall.
The project was championed by Alderman Jan Dunsby before her death in November 2024 as “a lasting gift to the people of Glenorchy and to enhance the vibrancy of the CBD”.
Fischer is known for large-scale works such as the Tea Tree water tank mural and the artwork outside MyState Bank Arena.
He will paint a scene featuring a spotted quoll, a wallaby with a joey and a magpie against the backdrop of the waterfall beside Chapel Street – unofficially known as Glenorchy Falls.
The mural ties in with a $1.7 million federal government grant to rehabilitate Humphreys Rivulet.
“The concept proposed … became significantly timely and relevant due to the mural’s alignment with a project that council is about to undertake,” the council report states.
The remediation works will stabilise creek banks, remove invasive weeds, replant native vegetation and establish picnic facilities and interpretive signage at the Chapel Street waterfall.
Council officers say the project aligns strongly with the ‘Glenorchy – City of Arts 2040 strategy’, which positions the city as an arts hub neighbouring the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).
Painting is expected to begin in early December if councillors approve the proposal.
The mural will be treated with an anti-graffiti coating and maintained under the council’s cleaning program.
“It is envisaged that this project will be the first of a program that will be complimented by a number of other murals on prominent buildings around Glenorchy,” the report states.
