Outback freight trains

Freight trains sit still in a small city on the edge of the outback. Quiet but not silent a land of movers and shakers, miners and makers. Broken Hill a frontier working class town built on its wealth of minerals. The towns sits in NSW, with Sydney a distant 14hr drive away, it seemingly has more in common with neighbouring South Australia sharing its time zone. Its a harsh climate cold winters nights and baking hot in summer, where an elderly lady in a opp shop overheard repeating a conversation with her husband oblivious to the wintery chill "turn the fucking heater on!" North of here is a pinch of people sprinkled in tiny towns with a pub and not much else. Despite its remote isolation its stays well connected to rest of Australia by hwy and train. Make no mistake as Gangajang said this is Australia don't beat around the bush, go visit it instead.       

 

Newcastle Freights

Artwork from New South Wales third biggest city. Newcastle is a industrial town claiming the world's largest coal port. Abundant coal made prime position for BHP establishing steelworks that dominated the local economy until its closure in 1999. What's left, well an town that has a history of infrastructure embedded in the prosperity coal. As most countries in the world shift away from fossil fuels a diversified future comes with certainty. The transport of coal to Newcastle plays backdrop to the city as it dominates the city landscape with this bleak dystopian undercurrent. 

Trains have always been prized as the top spot to display a piece. Passenger trains are the ultimate steel canvas. Whatever runs on metro trains gets buffed and cleaned quick, whereas freight train pieces often run for years. 

 

Byron Bay

Bryon Bay is possibly Australia's most cliched town. It promotes itself as a progressive alternative laid back destination. Upon entry you greeted with the "Welcome to Bryon Bay, cheer up, slow down and chillout" sign. Which is a total joke, given you need spare 2.8 million dollars just to reach the median house price. This hype town is guarded fiercely with exclusivity. Its symbolic of the growing divide wedging the working class in Australia. Go no further to find the housing crisis, a classic situation replicated throughout coastal regional towns. The same issue found when searching for rentals in places like the Surf Coast in Victoria. Bryon maintains a larger than life status catering primarily to visitors, with a small population nudging 6,000 people. Everyone in Australia knows about Bryon even if they've never been. It's long departed from its counter-culture roots transformed from a sleepy surf village. The rich and famous of Bryon in 2025 chase clout as the modern form of currency. 

Bryon Pay

Source

   

But now to the graffiti and street art culture. There is potentially no other town in Australia quite like it. Small towns of this size rarely have a graffiti scene or culture. However Bryon's different. Despite the few privileged multi-millionaire residents it still pulls creative types as travellers. It's known as a hub for arts and music. Graffiti seeps through the town on back walls and onto industrial buildings. Comparable towns elsewhere in Australia might have a few scruffy tags on a back-alley way or a mural on a silo if they're lucky. Bryon however, holds its own and fortunately the scene remains organic and not over-run with street art murals.  

Sitting on the highpoint in the landscape the Bryon Bay water tank is a prominent standout feature. The tank was originally painted Ian Walker in 1989. For three days a week for a whole year he painted the water tank. It contains the depiction of Bryon Bay through many elements of coastal lifestyle and history with quirky character. 

Sofles

Getnup known for reaching up to paint blockbuster rollies

 

Original mural

Water tank in 2007

now

Tuns stomper Newcastle

Local writer Tuns producing two double size stompers next to Beresford Lane (Newcastle's equivalent of Melbourne's Hosier lane). Simple yet effective the large throw-ups sit opposite the prominent Newcastle Interchange.