Bowen’s murals preserve local history, but keeping the legacy alive is a challenge

Glenn Gillard has been painting the walls of Bowen for 35 years, preserving local history with every brush stroke. When you see blank walls around the place, you can always think. Now that needs a mural. The North Queensland town boasts a colourful collection of dozens of murals. Brings a lot to the town. People come especially to see them not just from Australia themselves, but overseas as well. Most as snapshots of an era gone by. Stories of pioneering families, farming, industry and innovation. It's good for teaching everyone our history so it's not lost. Exposed to the elements. Some of the artwork has seen better days. Bowen locals consider their town the original mural Capital of Australia. But preserving the artworks and commissioning more costs time, money and hard work. It all depends how long we last. If we can keep it going, we will. I know we've got two more planned but we've got to raise the money for them. After decades of volunteering, the local mural society has just four members left. Many organisations hold up because they can't get volunteers or people involved and that's a bit sad. It could happen here. We we hope it doesn't. Artist Martin Jegu recently restored one of the town's older walls. He's eager to help keep Bowen's mural legacy alive. It's a great way to bring joy and to bring happiness to people you know in such a simple way.