Wooroloo Bushfire Art Trail 

Resilience and recovery through art

The devastating Wooroloo Bushfire started around midday on 1 February 2021 in Wooroloo, and quickly spread to Gidgegannup and surrounding areas destroying 86 homes, 2 fire trucks, countless outbuildings and scorched 27,000 acres of land all the way through to Bullsbrook.

The Wooroloo Bush Fire Art Trail project was established by Bendigo Community Bank Mundaring to honour the resilience of those impacted by the Wooroloo bushfire and the recovery of the community and landscape.

Inspired by the inaugural Australian Rustic Farm Art Awards, held at the Gidgegannup Agricultural Show in 2022, the trail features seven of the 38 artworks featured at the awards.

As a project partner since the Art Awards inception, Bendigo Bank invested $13,000 to acquire the works that make up the trail.

It is proudly supported by the Shire of Mundaring and City of Swan.

Explore the trail 

The Art Trail guides you through key locations connected to the Wooroloo bushfire, telling a story of recovery and community effort. It begins at the Community Bank site in Mundaring, which played an important role in raising funds through the Community Enterprise Foundation for those impacted by the fires.

The trail continues to Wooroloo Hall, a central gathering place that hosted pop-up morning teas after the fires and became home to the Wooroloo Connect group, which now supports local events and meetings.

Next is the Wooroloo Jump Track, built during the recovery phase as a symbol of rebuilding. The trail then moves to the Gidgegannup CWA building, where members provided key support to fire-affected residents.

At the Gidgegannup Recreation Club, which served as the Wooroloo Bushfire Recovery Centre, the fifth artwork reflects the strength of the community. The sixth stop, Bells Lookout, marks the fire’s path through Walyunga National Park towards Bullsbrook. The final piece, at the Bullsbrook Community Centre, acknowledges the efforts of firefighters in protecting the town.

Each location along the trail highlights a chapter in the recovery journey, showcasing the community’s resilience.

Artwork locations

Explore the map below to discover the artwork along the trail:

The artworks

Squawky Hollow  

LEIGH SHERSBY 

Recycled materials, scrap metal and machinery parts
Year made: 2024
180 x 50 x 50 cm 
Location: Bendigo Community Bank Mundaring

My artwork aspires to celebrate my great respect and affection for our extraordinary Australian native fauna & flora. Wildlife and habitat conservation is close to my heart therefore it was an instinctive process that my sculpture ‘Squawky Hollow’ would represent a perspective that reflects the challenges faced by nature in relation to devastating bushfires.Ultimately, my goal as a metal artist is to transport the viewer to a place of wonder and awe, to inspire a sense of connection and reference for the natural world. It begins with an inspirational spark, and I work instinctively to create a sense of depth and importance. For me, the process of creating a sculpture is both meditative and intuitive. A favourite quote of mine is a constant source of inspiration & hope for mother nature and our relationship to the environment that we all inhabit:

"if we can revise some of the attitudes to the land under our feet, if we can accept the role of steward and depart from the role of conqueror, if we can accept the view that man and nature are in several parts of the unified whole, then Tasmania can be a shining beacon in the dull, uniform, and largely artificial world." - Olegas Truchanas

In the southwest of Western Australia there are three species of threatened black cockatoos: Baudin’s cockatoo (Zanda baudinii), Carnaby’s cockatoo (Zanda latirostris) and forest red-tailed black cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii naso). Squawky Hollow portrays a forest red-tailed black cockatoo family and reveals feathers emerging from the tree trunk to symbolise the consequential and imperative relationship these birds have with the eucalyptus tree. A birds wings provide flight and transit, the eucalyptus tree provides a food source and shelter for nesting….survival and well-being!

These majestic birds nest in the natural hollows of mature Eucalyptus trees which take more than 120 years to develop hollows that are of a suitable size.When bushfires and tree clearing decimate the natural habitat of the land these birds lose vital food sources and mature tree havens which are essential to facilitate breeding, nesting and population growth.

For these vulnerable and threatened bird species to rise out of the ashes they need our attention, consideration and help.The Black Cockatoos are the spirit of our sky and forests and their future is in our hands if we dare to care enough to make a difference to ensure their survival in an ever changing and challenging environment.

 

A Little Magic

DARRYN WALKER

Old galvanised chain, mild steal square tube.  The actual term for holding everything up is tensegrity.
Year made: 2022
180 x 50 x 100 cm
Location: Wooroloo Jump Track

The chain bike is to represent the fire taking the glamour away from everything and down to its bare skeleton for all to see while non-welded chain holding everything together represents a bit of magic from all the sprouting greenery that came to life just after the fire; ready for the rebuild of everything.

Resilience

GLEN HENDERSON AND HUGH BURGES

Rustic steel pipe and wire
100 x 200 x 100 cm
Year made: 2024

After the fire one of the first things to recover were the grass trees which started resprouting within weeks. Their resilience in such a hostile environment inspired this creation of grass tree's ability to be able grow nearly anywhere.

Life Finds a Way

BRETT CHRIMES (MR LUGS DESIGNS)

Recycled materials
Year made: 2022
180 x 50 x 100 cm
Location: Gidgegannup CWA

After the devastating bushfire of 2021, it was astounding to see how versatile nature can be, so Life finds a way was created.

 

Reborn Community

ALISON ARCHER

Recycled and fire damaged machinery parts
Year made: 2022
200 x 200 x 10 cm
Location: Gidgegannup Recreation Club

Reborn Community signifies the new beginning and friendships between the people affected by the devastating Wooroloo fire. So many people’s lives were affected, and we wanted to portray the rebirth of spirit and the rebuilding of lives as this community gets back on its feet.

 

Re-Leaf

CHRIS DOLBEL

Scrap metal and Rio Bar
Year made: 2022
200 x 200 x 10 cm
Location: Gidgegannup Recreation Club

The ever-evolving rusty patina & pitted skin of the metal resembles the variegated veins of a Eucalyptus leaf. Individually they show the beauty found in every leaf. Together they are a story of re-growth, signifying the shared & differentiated beauty of the Australian flora that emerges out of the bushfire ashes. 

 

 

New Pasture

MATT BONSACK

Cypress Pine and recycled tin
Year made: 2023
200 x 200 x 10 cm
Location: Bullsbrook Community Centre

Out of the ashes comes new pasture, sustaining life again to the weary heard.