Popular pet mural to be whitewashed
A STRIKING piece of North Hobart could be lost with plans to remove one of the area’s most famous pieces of art.
For almost 20 years the animal mural painted on the front and side of 273 Elizabeth Street has been a part of the furniture of the North Hobart strip but the popular mural is set be removed with the current owner of the property planning to paint over it in coming weeks.
The mural was painted on the heritage listed building in the early 2000s but the current owner, Dr Wilhelm
Koch, said the change was needed given the business was now a dental clinic and no longer a veterinary hospital. He said some in the community still thought it was a vet.
“When I purchased the building in 2019 I originally thought I’d keep the mural but unfortunately people are still bringing sick pets to the building late at night thinking it’s still an after-hours veterinary hospital,” Dr Koch said.
“We are very aware that people love the mural but due to the confusion that it’s causing we decided it’s best to paint over it.”
Valerie and Geoff Baxter were the owners of the property for 35 years and Mrs Baxter said wanted to make the public aware the mural could soon be gone.
“Having put so much effort into preserving the mural in the past, when I was recently told it was possibly being painted over I knew I had to bring it to people’s attention,” Mrs Baxter said.
“Although we don’t own the building anymore, we still live in the area and we drive past it all the time and we see people stopping and photographing the mural.”
This is not the first time the couple have fought to protect the popular artwork after previous tenants attempted to paint over it in 2013.
Tasmanian artist Peter Gouldthorpe created the mural and said the Hobart community had a sense of ownership over the artwork.
“When I was painting the mural people would constantly come up and take photos with it and over time there has been a real sense of ownership from the local community,” he said. “It’s a little bit sad to see your work go and I’d say it’s still got many good years left in it.”
Dr Koch said he planned to honour the mural by displaying images of it in his new dental surgery and he had plans to commission a new piece of art on the building by the same artist.
Dr Koch said there was no date set for the removal but noted it would be in the near future.
WE STILL LIVE IN THE AREA AND WE DRIVE PAST IT ALL THE TIME AND WE SEE PEOPLE STOPPING AND PHOTOGRAPHING THE MURAL. FORMER BUILDING OWNER VALERIE BAXTER