Mildura Art Walk - December 2020

Conditions were a little grey and overcast in Mildura tonight.

Sam and I found ourselves spending some time in Mildura in December 2020. In what had been a Corona plagued year we were meant to be heading up to Broken Hill for a few days, however a Covid outbreak in Sydney had meant that all the state borders had started to slam shut to New South Wales and we weren't keen to get stuck on the wrong side. So we decided to sit tight on our side of the border for a few days while we waited to see if things would become clearer in relation to the border restrictions. Now Mildura in Summer is normally stinking hot and super dry, so I was pretty confident I'd find plenty to keep me occupied for a few days while we waited. Being 2020 things weren't exactly going to plan though, yes we got stuck in our (admittedly, very nice) apartment as some unseasonal rain passed through. By 5pm I was going a bit stir crazy sitting inside so with the rain looking like it might of stopped for awhile Sam and I decided to head out and do a short walk around the Mildura Arts Precinct.

We started this evenings stroll at the western end of Langtree Mall.

Langtree Mall, Mildura.

A nod to their agricultural history in Langtree Mall.

Langtree Mall, Mildura.

We started our little stroll in Langtree Mall, a couple of minutes from our apartment on Deakin Avenue. Surprisingly the mall was pretty well deserted as we meandered through this afternoon, so I was able to take a few photos without being self conscious that I was getting other people in them. I remember talking to my friend Skye over in Sweden, her thing was taking candid photos of people, there was no way I'd be able to get away with pointing the DSLR at strangers and snapping away being a fat old white bloke though. Anyway, with Mildura appearing to have gone home for the night it didn't look like people in my photos was going to be an issue this afternoon. After leaving Langtree Mall we dropped down Eighth Street before turning left onto Deakin Avenue and heading for the grassy bank of the Murray River.

Eighth Street, Mildura.

There was a little bit of street art around if we looked for it.

Deakin Avenue

Deakin Avenue, Mildura.

There's a nice fountain...

... and public art, in the small park at the end of Deakin Avenue.

Arriving at the Murray River we looked up stream a few hundred metres and could see the traffic banked up across the Sturt Highway bridge over the Murray River, everybody caught up in the sudden border shutdown as they tried to get into Victoria... what a prick of a year it had been. Instead of heading towards the road bridge Sam and turned left and headed downstream towards Mildura Weir. The walk down here was mostly along shared paths just above the river and it was very easy going, my main concern was with keeping my camera dry in the persistent light rain. With Lock 11 coming into view Sam and I left the river bank and headed up through Rio Vista Park, a park where the local primary school kids have spent a lot of time revegetating it. Arcing around the park the rain was starting to get a little more annoying as I stopped to get a photo of The Hut sculpture.  

We arrived on the Murray River at the Mildura Rowing Club.

The restrictions on crossing the state borders were constantly changing on this trip away, these guys are trying to get through the roadblock into Victoria from New South Wales on the Sturt Highway.

There is nice parkland lining the south bank of the Murray River here.

We had a sealed shared path to follow along the river bank.

The old pumping station on the banks of the Murray River at Mildura. The mural on the bottom of the building marks the maximum flood height. With so much irrigation and so many dams upstream, along with the elephant in the room that is climate change, the river doesn't really get any big floods downstream this far anymore.

I'd come prepared with my hiking Havaianas for this stroll!

Red Gums in the river side park.

The Mildura Weir on the Murray River.

Rio Vista Park was rehabilitated by the local primary school kids.

Rio Vista Park.

Leaving The Hut we climbed a staircase up to Cureton Avenue and the Mildura Arts Centre. This would of probably been the best section of the walk I'm thinking however our visit corresponded with some serious  rain setting in. So instead of taking photos of the great installations on the grounds Sam and I were sheltering under the buildings awning, planning out how we would make it back to the CBD without getting soaked. After studying the BOM radar we picked bit of a break in the weather and headed off to finish off our little stroll.

The Hut.

There is an old amphitheatre just above Rio Vista Park that looks like it would of been a nice space back in the day.

Leaving The Hut we climbed up to the parkland beside Cureton Avenue.

There is a high concentration of public art along Cureton Avenue.

The Mildura Arts Centre.

It was good weather for ducks tonight.

The grounds of the Mildura Arts Centre have a lot of nice installations to check out.

Following Cureton Avenue a bit further we passed some nice old heritage homes sitting beside some equally nice modern jobs before striking out across Jaycee Park. This nice park featuring what seems a bit of a staple of some of these country towns - a steam train on display. Thankfully I've never seen a train that I didn't like so I was happy enough to try and get a photo of this one, although the fence around it (which I assume is to stop the kids climbing on it?) made the photos a little tricky. Passing the Riverfront Art Gallery and then the local theatre we climbed another impressive staircase to cross the railway line and finished our little stroll beside the Art Deco Grand Hotel, an appropriate enough finish for our art walk I suppose.

There are a few heritage buildings along Cureton Avenue...

... and a few more modern jobs.

We dropped down through Jaycee Park.

Jaycee Park even has its own steam train.

The Mildura Riverfront Arts Centre.

The Mildura Theatre Company.

Passing through more parkland as we headed towards the Grand Hotel.

The rain had eased off a bit again.

Mildura Railway Station. Back in the ye olde days there was an overnight train called the Vinelander that ran between Melbourne and Mildura. Those day have long gone now unfortunately.

There is an interesting sculpture featuring the names of indigenous clans near the railway station... although perhaps my crappy photo taken in the murk doesn't do it any favours I don't think.

The Art Deco Grand Hotel was an appropriate spot to finish our Mildura Art Walk I thought.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS Sam and I walked around 3.9 kilometres and climbed about 37 metres on this very easy stroll. Now reading my waffle and looking at my photos I think this walk comes across as being fairly underwhelming, although to be fair that was more to do with the rain and my frame of mind than the walk itself. Under blue skies with your Feral correspondent feeling a little less melancholy I think this walk would of come out looking and reading a lot better, still this is what I found and felt today. There are plenty of opportunities to eat and drink in the Mildura CBD before or after the walk if anyone reads this and decides to follow in our foot steps. I was roughly following a walk that I found on the Victoria Walks website although Google Maps will safely get you through. 

Relevant Posts.

Psyche Bend, Kings Billabong Park Walk, 2018.

Hattah~Kulkyne Drive, Hattah~Kulkyne National Park, 2018.

On this visit to Mildura Sam and I stayed at Indulge Apartments. If anyone considers staying here then be aware that there are only 2 off street carparks here and there are 4 apartments. 

The apartment featured its own art.

I suppose I'd call this apartment Industrial Chic.

Indulge Apartments, Mildura.

One of the quirky things about this apartment was that the bathroom was effectively in the kitchen...

... although that did have its advantages!