THE Southern Aurora Memorial in Violet Town has been chosen as a finalist for the Australian Street Art Awards, an exciting achievement for the entire community.
The award recognises the spectacular art work surrounding the memorial garden, with the mural being added in 2022 by Tim Bowtell alongside further contributions from Lach Cumming and Chris Mann.
Bruce Cumming of the Southern Aurora Memorial committee was thrilled with the news and that it was the collective work of several individuals and groups that helped earn the recognition.
"It is pretty exciting for a tiny town with a big national story to tell," he said.
"There has been a lot of input from many creatives since 2018.
"Without the range of creative people with ideas and actions we would not have this evolving garden space being a finalist in a national street art awards."
Mr Cumming spoke about the art within the garden and how it truly conveyed the stories about the Southern Aurora tragedy, a railway accident in Violet Town that claimed the lives of nine people in 1969.
"The artworks created for the Southern Aurora Memorial Garden are fundamental to telling the true stories of a significant national event in Australian history," he said.
"There is no event of national importance similar to this when a regional community rallied to respond quickly and effectively to save and protect lives and support people in so many ways.
"Nor is there a memorial where local community and external stakeholders especially railway fraternity decided that the kindness of strangers be well remembered using unique ways, particularly art and design, and ones which help bring healing and celebration of positive human attributes.
"Perhaps most significantly the artwork in the Aurora Garden has allowed art to subtly be used to tell a story which focuses on humanity, generosity and kindness as opposed to the distress, drama and chaos associated with a disaster of national importance."
Founded in 2018, the Australian Street Art Awards charter is to "provide Australian communities, including those in remote and regional areas, with a means to be recognised for outdoor art that is being promoted to make their destination and our collective country a more attractive place to visit and explore."
Awards director Liz Rivers said communities that promote their street and outdoor art understand that it is a unique landmark – an attraction that visitors can see in only one place – and that makes their destination immediately identifiable, highly attractive and a drawcard for art–loving tourists.
"Being shortlisted in these awards further cements the reputation of these destinations as aspirational destinations for everyone who loves to discover visually stunning experiences," Ms Rivers said.
The award winners will be announced at an online ceremony on Friday, February 10.
