Thallon Silo art revealed

Breathing new life into town using ingenuity, talent and spraypaint

LOOKING up at the almost-complete Thallon silos, Leanne Brosnan is filled with a great sense of pride and excitement.

It’s been two years of planning, paperwork, phone calls and meetings to see paint finally spray against the surface of the four, 30-metre-high, GrainCorp towers in south-west Queensland.

Watching the art literally come to life will be something the Thallon Progress Association secretary and project manager will never forget.

“I am just so pleased,” she said.

“It’s an amazing, spectacular and colourful mural; it’s a statement for the people of Thallon, for them to say ‘we love the town we live in and it’s beautiful out here’.”

While the silos are aesthetically pleasing, it’s hoped the mural will bring more than just a spark of colour to the local landscape. The people of Thallon are hoping the striking picture will save their town.

Rail closures during the past 20 years, including passenger and freight services, came as a blow to the small community’s population.

“We are hoping the silos will have a two-fold effect: it will boost community morale and draw more tourists into town,” Leanne said.

“It’s a very special town and we believe it deserves to survive.

“We feel these little towns

the effect it was having on towns down south.”

The Thallon community will always hold a special place in Leanne’s heart.

Despite dedicating the last two years to the silo project, and a previous 10 as secretary on the Thallon Progress Association, Leanne doesn’t actually live in the town anymore.

She moved to Thallon in 1987 after securing her first teaching post, where she met

a local lad who she later married.

However, her husband

Stuart had an accident in which he became a quadriplegic, so in 2000 the

couple moved to Bundaberg so he could have access to an even climate, be in closer proximity to services and have greater employment opportunities.

“I think it’s the people and the community that keeps drawing us back,” Leanne said.

“I was born in between Goondiwindi and Toobeah, so this whole landscape – I think it’s in your blood and you feel at home here.”

PHOTO: CHANTEL RENAE PHOTOGRAPHY ALMOST DONE: The Thallon silo art will be unveiled at a grand reveal on Thursday, July 20. Artist Travis Vinson (Drapl,) Thallon Progress Association secretary Leanne Brosnan, Grain Corp Thallon site manager Darren Kelly and artist Joel Fergie (The...

Artists Drapl and the Zookeeper have been a working up to 10 hours day on the project.

PHOTOS: CONTRIBUTED The transformation of the Thallon silos starts to take shape.