Hillvue Public School students' new Indigenous mural to feature in display at city's new fire station

Girls from Hillvue Public School completed the artwork on Friday last week.

The mural is now all ready for pride of place at the new Tamworth Station 448, where it will join other artworks including totem poles by Tamworth High School students.

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Teacher Renee Callaghan said the school's Gaay Yinarr Girls Group had worked on the mural for about three or four weeks.

She said they hoped to be able to be there when the final product is put up on the wall, in NAIDOC week.

"I like that we've used different colours. You don't need to necessarily use those traditional red, black and yellow colours which students seem to think that's what you have to do and that's what Aboriginal art is, but it's not," she said.

"There's a lot of contemporary Aboriginal artists using lots of different colours now. We've actually, for the term we've been doing an artist focus on contemporary Aboriginal artist Sally Clark. The year six girls were sort of all over it."

Aboriginal Education Officer Mel Craigie said the painting featured foot tracks by the river, burned off trees growing back and the region's hills and rivers.

"In our nation we're connected by the Peel, Mooki and the Mehi rivers which connects all our communities together. That's what we've based our mural around," she said.

Student Sophie Dawson said it was an incredible experience.

"It means that it's contributing to my culture and the town I live in and the school I attend," she said.

Murals painted by students at Tamworth South Public School, and by the Bumbara arts group will also feature at the newly-opened fire station.

Fire and Rescue Superintendent Tom Cooper said they will all be unveiled in July alongside another mural to be painted that day by members of the community.

The $5.4 million new station was completed in 2020, but coronavirus precluded any community events to mark the opening.

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