Silo Art Trail North East Victoria

Silo Art Trail ~ North East Victoria

The North East Silo Art Trail is a fun road trip through Victoria’s rolling countryside and interesting small towns. Huge grain silos have been transformed into stunning works of art that feature the people, culture, and landscapes of rural Australia.

It is Australia’s most extensive outdoor gallery, with eight amazing murals painted onto the silos by world-renowned artists. 

During our road trip in our Motorhome, we explore small country towns, see 8 incredible painted silos and other unique sights.

Benalla

We start our road trip from Benalla, located 212 kilometres north east of Melbourne. 

Benalla is a charming regional City on the Broken River and is recognised as one of Australia's leading street art destinations. It has a wonderful variety of colourful murals created by talented street artists from around the world.

There are more than 50 large-scale murals on walls, laneways, and buildings. You can pick up a brochure from the Visitor Centre, which has a map of the murals and information about the artist and artworks.

Click here to Explore Benalla.

On Day 1, after exploring Benalla, we head to Tungamah, stopping at four fantastic silos along the way. The total distance is approximately 55 kilometres.

Goorambat 

Goorambat is a small rural town 16 kilometres north of Benalla.

In 2018, Australian artist Jimmy Dvate painted a Barking Owl on one of the tall concrete Goorambat silos. The Barking Owl is now considered to be an endangered species.

In 2019, Jimmy returned to paint three Clydesdale horses, Clem, Sam, and Banjo, on one of the shorter silos. Jimmy has captured the motion of these horses in gallop as they travel side by side in harness.

Inside the quaint country Uniting Church is Sophia, a stunning mural that was created by renowned artist Adnate in 2017.

Sophia was commissioned to reflect the church's values of faith, community and inclusion, and Adnate's signature style brings her to life with stunning realism. This lovely church is still used as a church and is open daily to see the stunning mural.

We then drove 12 kilometres to Devenish.

Devenish

Devenish is a small rural town surrounded by farmlands in country Victoria.

The GrainCorp silos painted by Melbourne artist Cam Scale and officially unveiled on Anzac Day 2018 are a powerful tribute to the town’s military history. 

These towering murals depict a World War I nurse and a modern-day combat medic, honouring both the vital role of women in the war effort and the ongoing service of the Australian Defence Force.

Fifty young men and women from Devenish enlisted during World War I, and Cam Scale wanted to honour the seven diggers who didn’t return home.

A second silo, unveiled in 2019, celebrates the Australian Light Horse and their mounted service during the Second Boer War and World War I. 

Local artist Tim Bowtell has painted a stunning mural on the Devenish public toilets that echoes the same themes of courage and sacrifice.

Near the toilets is an interesting collection of old farm machinery in a covered shed.

Tim Bowtell has also painted another mural on the side of the old stables down the side the Railway Hotel. This colourful mural features the town’s former train station and an old steam train.

After admiring the silos and murals in Devenish, we drove approximately 9 kilometres to St James.

St James

St James is a tiny country town surrounded by farming land in north-east Victoria.

The four Silos have been painted by artist Tim Bowtell, and they pay tribute to St James rich history.

On one of the silos is Sir George Coles, the founder of the Coles supermarket empire, with his family’s original store also featured on the silos.

The other murals depict the region's wheat-growing past and the grain-transporting history. 

The tiny town of St James is the home of the first Coles store. Sir George Coles grew up in the St James township and took over the St James General Store from his father, expanding it to the empire it is today. You can see the original store on St James Road, a short walk from the silos.

After seeing the original Coles Store, we drove 24 kilometres to Tungamah.

Tungamah

Tungamah is a small town on the banks of Boosey Creek in the Goulburn Valley region of northern Victoria.

The Tungamah Silos were painted in 2018, and they were the first in north-east Victoria. Sobrane Simcock, a Western Australian street artist, painted colourful Australian birdlife on the silos. The initial mural featured dancing Brolgas alongside the iconic Australian

Kookaburra.

In September 2019, Sobrane returned to enhance the artwork, adding a Pink and Grey Galah, a Hummingbird, a Cheeky Owl, a Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo, two small Wrens, and a White Ibis.

Across from the silos, there is another lovely mural by Sobrane on the wall of the Information Centre.

After admiring the colourful murals, we headed to the Tungamah Lions RV Park to stay for the night.

Camping at Tungamah Lions RV Park

This lovely campground is situated on the banks of the Boosey Creek and is one of our favourite places to camp in Victoria.

The campground is suitable for motorhomes, caravans, camper trailers and tents. It is pet-friendly and has toilets, hot showers, drinking water, a playground, picnic tables and BBQ’s. 

It is run by volunteers, and you can camp here for a donation; the donation box is located on the wall outside the toilet block.

On day 2, we travelled from Tungamah to Aysons Reserve Campground, Katamatite, stopping for a lovely morning tea in Numurkah and seeing 3 wonderful silo murals. The total distance was approximately 180 kilometres.

Katamatite

Katamatite is a small rural town in country Victoria, 22 kilometres from Tungamah.

Tim Bowtell painted the GrainCorp Silos at Katamatite in July 2023. This stunning silo art features a Wedge Tailed eagle, and portrays indigenous figures camped along the Boosey Creek, with a Scar Tree connecting the two silos.  It has also features the first passenger train that serviced Katamatite and horses pulling a scoop to create irrigation channels.

After admiring the silo art, we stopped at the Katamatite Lions Park on the lovely Boosey Creek.

The Lions Park has a fun story trail and a stunning life-size metal sculpture of an eagle that artist Andrew Whitehead created from farm materials. There is also some interesting chainsaw art created by Robby Bast. 

We then drove 26 kilometres to Numurkah for morning tea.

Numurkah

Numurkah is a small country town on Broken Creek along the Goulburn Valley Highway.

Numurkah’s town centre has a great selection of cafes, traditional hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and specialty shops to browse in.

We popped into Cherish Brews and Bites, a lovely cafe that is open daily for a delicious morning tea.

The cafe is next to a colourful 20-metre-long mural painted by well-known artist Sobrane and features local birds, including a superb blue wren, an azure kingfisher, and a budgie.

We admired the mural while enjoying coffee and muffins from the cafe.

Click here to Explore Numurkah.

Then we drove 40 kilometres to see the Picola Silo Art.

Picola

The Picola Silo was painted by Melbourne- based artist Jimmy D’Vate and features a Superb Parrot, with the Barmah National Park in the background.

In the past, Picola was known as 'the hook' because it was at the end of the railway line, so D'Vate has hidden a hook in this painting. 

Please be aware that these silos are still operational and are on private property. They can be easily seen and photographed from the road.

We continued on our road trip, driving 75 kilometres to Rochester.

Rochester 

Rochester is a lovely country town on the banks of the Campaspe River. It has lovely heritage buildings, cafes, supermarkets and other interesting shops to browse in.

The Rochester Silos were painted by renowned mural artist Jimmy D'Vate.

in 2018 and 2021.

On the tall silo is a Squirrel Glider, a small, nocturnal marsupial that is native to eastern Australia. On the shorter silo is an Azure Kingfisher, a colourful bird with bright blue and orange plumage that is found near rivers, creeks, and wetlands.

On the back of this silo is a Platypus mural. The duck-billed platypus is one of Australia’s most unique and fascinating animals and can be seen swimming in the Campaspe River. There is also a mural of the New Holland Honeyeater with its bold black, white, and yellow plumage.

As we wandered around the streets of Rochester, we saw lots of large colourful murals down laneways and on the sides of buildings.

After exploring Rochester, we drove 12 kilometres to Aysons Reserve Campground.

Camping at Aysons Reserve Campground

Aysons Reserve is a great bush camping area along the Campaspe River. 

It is a large area with numerous flat camping spots suitable for motorhomes, caravans, camper trailers, and tents.

The Campaspe River features a boat ramp, numerous swimming spots, and is a popular destination for fishing and birdwatching. 

There is a toilet block with flushing toilets (bring your own toilet paper) and a dump point available. It is dog-friendly, you can have a fire if there is no fire ban, and we had good Telstra reception and internet.

Aysons Reserve is maintained by the Campaspe Shire Council, and it is free to stay. 

After a lovely overnight stay at Aysons Reserve, we drove back to Benalla via Colbinabbin, a total distance of approximately 140 kilometres.

Colbinabbin

Colbinabbin is a tiny town located 28 kilometres from Aysons Reserve and features stunning silo art.

Renowned Victorian artist Tim Bowtell has created a series of outstanding murals across six silos that tell the story of the town’s history.

Some of the themes and subjects of the paintings are: Colbinabbin Tractor Pull, a Farmers Picnic on the Hill, Steam train and railway station and Lulu the Fire Truck.

After admiring the amazing silo art, we wandered around the small town and found another mural on the Colbinabbin Hotel.

We then drove back to Benalla, the distance from Colbinabbin to Benalla is 114 kilometres.

Looking for another road trip?

Check out Victoria's North West Silo Art Trail.