TUCKED away on a private property in Barwite, in a paddock that houses a couple of friendly geep (that's a goat/sheep hybrid for those in the know) is one of the fanciest water tanks in the Southern Hemisphere.
Painted by renowned artist Geoffrey Carran, Geoffrey made the pilgrimage from his Surf Coast home to mountaintop to painstakingly and lovingly hand–paint a pair of pied currawongs on a tank for his good friends, Greg and Sarah O'Shea.
Owners of Grace Hill, Greg and Sarah relocated to the shire in 2021, with Greg a picture framer by trade and craftsman at heart spending his time between city and country, transforming the five hectare property into their dream home.
Both Greg and Sarah have a keen eye for detail and an artistic bent, which is evident across the entire property.
Geoffrey's painting on what was previously a rather unassuming tank is just part of the couple's greater vision for Grace Hill, with the currawongs commanding attention from both the street front and varying aspects around the property.
Nestled on the south–easterly aspect of the incline, winding up to the Tolmie plateau, the property looks across to Buller with views of forest and mountain, with birdlife aplenty.
It is this birdlife, and the currawongs in particular, that Sarah wanted to celebrate when the couple decided to have a mural painted on the tank.
Now Geoffrey Carran loves currawongs.
In fact he has one painted on the side of his house and so he was particularly thrilled to learn that Sarah also shared his love of this Australian bird with its iconic, haunting call.
"You hear them across the valleys and in the bush," said Geoffrey.
"The Currawong just suited the stunning location with its amazing outlook.
"They're not your standard Australian bird to depict, so to paint something featured less often than your king parrots or gang gangs or cockatoos was really rewarding.
"An elegant bird with a bright yellow eye, I also like the elusive and seasonal nature of these birds as they move from highland to lowland as the weather turns cold," he said.
Geoffrey has been concentrating on painting birds for the last eleven years, an endeavor that began as an exploration of Australian identity.
A New Zealander by birth, Geoffrey has lived in Australia for the last two decades, yet he is still blown away by our native birds.
"It's a phenomenal place for birdlife," he said.
"They are a very obvious and noticeable presence, and I wanted to explore the connection that we as Australians had with our native feathered friends.
"I had a notion, but wasn't prepared for how deeply entrenched this connection and association would be.
"Painting birds opened me up to these really personal stories and created this dialogue.
"Whether it was a parrot that visited a campsite on a particular vacation, or the kookaburra that held a daily vigil from a fence post or the cockatoo that visited an inner city balcony, people would start sharing their stories.
"Not only do birds provide endless subject matter and are technically quite challenging, it is this human connection to these creature that make them such a rewarding subject.
"It became as much about people's relationship to place, nostalgia and memory, and all these things came about from painting a bird," said Geoffrey.
As a result the birds that Geoffrey paints capture an emotion; many of his larger murals are quite joyful and colourful, a celebration of all things avian.
The unassuming tank on the O'Shea's property has become a tribute to our native currawong; a four day process that saw the artist immerse himself in his task, and are careful and considered placement create a mini–masterpiece, a source of joy in the paddock.
