Exploring the street art in Victoria Park proved to be too much for just one visit/blog so I have posted in two parts: Victoria Park and East Victoria Park.
Learning from the East Victoria Park walk this time we planned to start at the midpoint which proved to be a great idea as the Victoria Park Shopping Centre carpark on Duncan street was a perfect start point. Be aware that the above ground parking is limited to 1 hour so we parked in the undercover car park which has a 3 hour parking limit - although be careful as some sections are 90 minutes.
We diverted along Duncan Street towards the Victoria Park Train Station as we wanted to see the private home which has art work on the corner of Duncan Street and Kitchener Street. It is only a 5 minute walk each way and the artwork, created by Idol Motions, ArtByDestroy and Konfucius, was worth the visit, as was Duncan Park across the road which has a small traditional playground but also features public art work.
Backtracking along Duncan Street we found a lovely mural at the hairdresser next to Dominos Pizza which features a massive Straker mural. After admiring Penny and Pounder - the black swan and kangaroo in front of the Post Office and named after pre decimal coins, we headed south along Albany Highway to Read Park.
Read Park is home to the Victoria Park Community Garden (unfortunately closed at the time of our visit), two playgrounds and the poignant Empty Arms - Broken Lives memorial to mothers forcibly separated from their children by adoption. The public toilets here might give you a buzz!
From Read Park we headed back north on the western side of Albany Highway. Coming to the old Masonic Hall we wandered to the rear along Temple Street and were rewarded with a peek through the fence at the murals on the car park wall.
From here we passed the heritage Police Station before spotting the Korean BBQ king on MacMillan Street. We came across the After the Rain public artwork across the road from Fieldey's Jumping the Shark.
Passing the magnificent Broken Hill Hotel we found a little Hayley Welsh magic Just around the Corner before finding the lovely star lady at the little parklet next to Social Manna on Mackie Street.
We crossed the road to explore the laneway behind The Dutch Trading Company which is home to several artworks. The Dutch Trading Company was closed so we were unable to view the mural inside.
From the Dutch Trading Company we passed the beautiful murals inside the grounds of Victoria Park Primary School before discovering the Brisbane and Wunderlich Windmill and Wishing Well in the triangle where Albany Highway and Shepparton Road split from the Causeway.
Heading to the rear carpark behind Causeway Kawasaki we found some massive murals. Access is from Colombo Street as the Oswald Street access was gated (on the weekend).
We made a short detour to Raphael Park playing fields and discovered some magnificent mature trees including the bunya bunya pine which has really sharp serrated leaves. The Moreton Bay Fig trees have roots that have made a natural fort for the kids to play on. There is a traditional playground on the western side and toilet facilities at the club rooms during matches.
Back at Albany Highway we walked the eastern side heading south past Brando's Pizzeria where we checked out Fieldey's work featuring a four-armed Marlon Brando receiving pizza from Saint Calamari (one of Fieldey's trademark characters). We wandered through Memorial Park and into the carpark behind the Broken Hill Hotel to look for Heart of the Sea.
Our map wasn't clear and we were looking for more street art as we walked down Shepparton Road past Ursula Frayne Catholic College which used to be St Joachim's School and the Convent of Mercy. We didn't find any more art as we rounded the corner back onto Duncan Street to complete our loop.
Wandering into Victoria Park Central shopping centre we found the community mural painted by students from Ursula Frayne Catholic College with artist Paul Deej and representing the multicultural aspects of the community. We backtracked along Albany Highway to see a seat sculpture reflecting the cinema and movies on the original site of Broadway Theatre.
We asked at a number of shops for The Urban Gallery map but no one knew what we were talking about and on a Saturday the Victoria Park Collective inside the shopping centre was closed. Luckily we hadn't relied on The Urban Gallery map.
We walked for about two hours but extended beyond the main area. If you stuck to Albany Highway between Read Park and the Dutch Trading Company you should manage this walk in about 60 minutes. There are plenty of cafes, restaurants and small bars to visit as well as some unique shops along the way. Public toilets are located inside the shopping centre.
From Victoria Park we drove the short distance to Carlisle to find a few more artworks and to discover Tom Wright Park which has a fabulous nature based playground including picnic and barbecue facilities. We then crossed over into Lathlain to explore Rayment Park and Lathlain Park which adjoin Mineral Resources Park, the West Coast Eagles training ground. Read all about it at https://www.outandaboutfnc.com/post/playgrounds-and-parks-lathlain-and-carlisle or head to G.O. Edwards Park at Burswood.
To read more blogs go to:
https://www.outandaboutfnc.com/blog-1
or for an overview of all Urban Art blogs click on Art and About in Perth
and for East Victoria Park:
https://www.outandaboutfnc.com/post/street-art-east-victoria-park
In the spirit of reconciliation Out and About- Family Nature Connection acknowledges the traditional owners of the Wadjak boodjar (Perth land) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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