Golden Bay Murals and Mailboxes
Below is a montage of much-loved murals adorning Golden Bay. The yellow mural on the side of the Playhouse near Takaka is the work of Tracy Newman and friends. The other murals are Chris Finlayson’s designs and are the result of many people’s volunteer efforts, with a variety of abilities and understanding of art.
Murals are effective in allowing people to get involved and take pride in developing their environment. It's about contemporary community culture at work. Mural work comes from a variety of sources and although they have individual motives for a result, they form a collective that pushes the front lines of arts awareness into a public arena. For more information about Chris's art visit http://www.finlaysonart.co.nz/
Alex writes on his blog "Alex's Great Escape":
"I have observed, during many hours of driving the wrong way down rural side roads (sometimes twice), that the residents of this area often have really ornate, characterful and/or unusual mailboxes- statement boxes if you like. Some depict the family name, others the name of the house, others are brightly coloured, shaped like giraffes and birds or covered with jade stones, If I wasn't map reading or trying to work out where on earth we were half the time, I would have taken some pictures. I appreciate this quirkiness and sense of humour."
Facts and Footnotes
The Bay's Most Recent Mural
January 2011 
"Arohanui Golden Bay" mural grew from the site after the building was consumed by fire. For many years it serviced the community as the district library and people were devastated by the loss of the building. When the site was cleared it exposed neighbouring walls and an idea surfaced to paint a community artwork in an effort to put some love back into the site. Funds were acquired from local council and businesses to cover production costs and artist Chris Finlayson donated his time and equipment to the project. 28 people of all ages joined in on creating individual segments of the mural during 10 days in January2011. Using spray-paints and stencils the community of ideas surrounded a central theme and statement: Arohanui Golden Bay.
As this saying suggests, lots of love was indeed put back into this location in an effort to heal a loss and reflect on our colourful community.
February 2009
The latest community mural being worked on is this one at Rototai, near Takaka.
Chris Finlayson has sketched this historic scene on the southern side of the Blyth shed and the community have been invited to participate in its creation. NgAng, the co-ordinator says "No skills or experience required. It's a kinda paint-by-number thing."
Do you have a Mailbox of Distinction that you'd like to share?
If so, send a photo to anita@gbeebird and I'll include it on this page.
GB Promotion Assoc.
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