Street Art

The District is known for its striking silo art and vibrant murals, along with some other amazing public art. We’re going to profile it here. Please keep checking back.

Bill Scott Murals

Waimate’s old buildings are an evolving canvas for artist Bill Scott. Take a stroll around town to spot his amazing brushwork of scenes from the past. Bill uses historic photos to inspire his murals.

ANZAC Mural - Lest We Forget

This spectacular mural is a fine example of Bill Scott’s work. It was commissioned by the Waimate Town and Country Club as an acknowledgment of the New Zealand RSA and can be found on the club’s wall on Victoria Terrace.

“They shall grow not old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”

A&P Sheep Mural

This mural at the Waimate A&P Showgrounds on SH82 (on the road to Kurow) is a tribute to farming in general, and sheep farming in particular.

The strong intelligence of the “eye dog” and the way it uses its fixed stare and crouching posture to control sheep is the focus of this work.

 This is the first in a series of murals celebrating the rural background of the Waimate District.

Waimate Rugby Club Grounds Mural

Painted on the juniors’ shed at The Waimate Rugby Club grounds, this mural is in recognition of JAB junior rugby and depicts small children transitioning from Junior to Senior Rugby.

It also recognises the growing number of girls playing the game and the contribution of players from Samoa and Tonga.

Stella Chamberlain Mural

Another remarkable local has been immortalised by Transport Waimate and artist Bill Scott.

At the base of the silos is a mural tribute to Stella Chamberlain. Stella spent 39 years washing the Waimate senior rugby jerseys. The Chamberlain family were dedicated members of the club; playing, coaching, supporting.....and making them look presentable.

Stella was the first women to receive a life membership of the Waimate Rugby Club in honour of all her years of work. A beautiful tribute to a much loved local.

In this mural she is about to hang up jersey no.2 – the hooker’s jersey proudly worn by her son Barry.

March Hare Mural

Bill Scott’s March Hare tribute adorns a wall by Waimate Motorcycles on Queen Street, Waimate.

Waimate 50 Mural

The Waimate 50 mural is located on the corner of Queen and Paul Street’s and depicts the famous Waimate 50 Street Race. Local artist Bill Scott created the mural to commemorate this famous street race which draws crowds from all over New Zealand for a weekend of motor racing action.

Waihao Downs School Mural

The colourful mural running along the Waihao Downs Tennis Club wall is the finishing touch of the recently resurfaced Waihao Downs Tennis Club Courts project. Visible on Stage Highway 82 at Waihao Downs School.

The mural reflects the historical and environmental history of the Waihao River plays as it runs through the Waihao Downs district.

The eels celebrate the role eels played our local Waitaha iwi history. The swirling water is to remind us to look after our local environment. The children reflect the students from Waihao Downs School and its 5C school values of growing our students to become Curious, Conscientious, Confident, Considerate and good Communicators.

Our local artist Ajhonai dDree designed and painted the stunning mural with the help of her family members, and some of our keen school students.

The mural was funded in conjunction with the Waihao Downs Tennis Club, Waihao Downs School and the NZ Creative Communities Grant.

Sean Duffell Murals at Waimate High School

Sean Duffell was contracted by the school to paint the locker containers and key parts of the school.

Sean is a graphic artist and illustrator and said that he was first inspired to try aerosol painting by the street art in Melbourne. His profession has taken him all over New Zealand, across Asia and Australia. 

During the two weeks Sean was at Waimate High School the containers that house the lockers took on a life of their own with fantastic scenes and characters. Art work murals were also painted on the canteen and around the beach volleyball area. 

Small groups of junior students thoroughly enjoyed participating in workshops with Sean. They provided ideas for what they wanted in the murals and also had a hand in creating some of them. Sean said that “the students have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic and receptive during the workshops and have consistently surprised me with their ideas and questions. The students have taken ownership of the murals we have created.”

The High School welcomes members of the community to come and see these murals for themselves.

Private Ted d'Auvergne Sculpture

Ted d’Auvergne, a Waihao Forks soldier famously left an unopened bottle of beer behind the bar of the Waihao Forks Hotel, which he told the publican he would drink when he got back from war, however he was killed in action in Crete in 1941. The bottle of beer remains today as a unique memorial to Ted and all the young New Zealanders who lost their lives, thousands of miles from home in WW2.

The Ted d’Auvergne sculpture has been unveiled to honour all rural soldiers who left small town New Zealand for war and never returned, and is located outside the Waihao Forks Hotel.

The life-sized sculpture was commissioned by a small group of locals, including Mayor Rowley, with former Oamaru-based artist Donald Paterson behind the work.

Information on the plinth beside the platform tells the full story of Ted, as well as other stories during the war of local men. 

The Bushman Sculpture

In 2006 Christchurch artist Donald Paterson took a year to sculpt him. He's constructed of marble-based filler, resin-coated clothing and bronze hands, head and hat.

The sculpture is a nod to our early saw milling heritage. In the mid 19th century Waimate was a small village surrounded by about 1200ha of native forest. By the 1870s hundreds of men were employed at five sawmills operating in the bush. In 1878 nor-west winds fanned a fire which burned for eight days. Five sawmills were destroyed and 70 houses burned, but no lives were lost.

The bushman is a hit on Instagram, making an appearance in countless selfies.

You'll find him quietly observing the passing traffic on Queen Street near the Council buildings.