They remind me of my nana’s wooden clothes pegs. A few of them are a little shifty looking. Others seem strangely familiar. All of them are detailed recreations of real people and events. Geelong’s wonderful, whimsical bay walk bollards have become enmeshed in the fabric of the city and one of the most recognised, and most photographed, attractions of regional Victoria. And I love them.
Artist Jan Mitchell (1940-2008) created the bollards in the 1990s from timber pylons salvaged from a demolished pier. Each bollard stands around two metres tall. The massive street art project tells the story of Geelong’s history by depicting real people and events that shaped the city and its character.
As Executive Director of the Regional tourism board, Roger Grant has been involved with the bollards since the get go more than 20 years ago.
“The bollards were designed to encourage that old fashioned word of promenade.” Roger says.
“What I love about them is they have such broad appeal. There is an obvious connection with a wide range of people, locals and visitors.”
More than 100 of the colourful characters line Geelong’s waterfront from Limeburners Point to Rippleside park, a distance of just over four kilometres, providing for a lovely street art themed stroll.
The installation of the bay walk bollards was a key part of the revitalisation of Geelong’s waterfront in the 1990s. As part of a massive urban renewal project, unwanted industrial buildings were removed while others were repurposed as trendy restaurants and cafes.
Mitchell had first used bollards for an art installation in the Bellarine Peninsula town of Barwon Heads as part of a project to encourage children to walk to school safely. A trail of bollards would lead the way to school. She envisaged a similar trail of bollards along Geelong’s foreshore and successfully pitched the concept to the City of Greater Geelong.
Geelong’s bollards are painted with intricate detail illustrating costumes, activities, toys and products that would have been used by a person the era represented. This great detail ensures that the bollards are not only whimsical but accurate.
“Each one tells a real story about a real person or real event in Geelong’s history,” Roger says. “Jan was a meticulous researcher who made sure everything was correct.”
For example, the music being played by the volunteer rifle band is the correct polka music that such a band would have played.
Bollards pay tribute to key characters that influenced the development of Geelong beginning from koori hunters, early Portuguese explorers and Matthew Flinders. Other bollards acknowledge Geelong’s love of Australian Rules Football; the original curator of the botanic gardens; the town surveyor responsible for the Eastern beach bathing complex; and a local woman who made legendary lemonade.
If you find yourself thinking that you have seen some of the group of five bollards representing the Western Sea Bathing Co. somewhere before you are right. The faces of this group depict influential politicians including former Prime Minister John Howard and former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett who were both in office at the time the bollards were installed. I don’t think Mr Howard ever tied his glasses on his head with knicker elastic while Prime Minister.
Rabbits sit at the feet of a number of bollards. They create a trail for children to follow at their own height. They also represent a notorious moment in Geelong’s, indeed Australia’s history.
Sometimes our industrious forebears came up with really good ideas. Sometimes they came up with really stupid ideas. The idea that came to a Mr Austin from nearby Winchelsea was a particularly poor one. Homesick for his native England, Mr Austin thought some rabbits hopping around the countryside would remind him of home. So he had his nephew send two dozen of the heartiest variety available to him through the port of Geelong.
Well, those rabbits did what rabbits do and soon became 62,000. They did what rabbits do too until bunnies just about overran the country with devastating consequences. You can learn more about the the impact those rabbits – and other introduced animals including sheep – have had on the landscape at the National Wool Museum, just a short stroll from the waterfront.
While just over 100 bollards line the foreshore trail, bollards can be found further afield. Bollards welcome visitors at both Melbourne international (Tullamarine) and Avalon airports where provide a subtle hint to visitors to check out their friends at Geelong.
The final bollard created can be found in the National Wool Museum. It depicts the artist herself and is a fitting tribute to creator Jan Mitchell who passed away in 2008.
“Jan created something much more than simply carved wooden posts,” says Roger. “They initiate a response from local people and visitors. They are a bit tongue in cheek too and give people a laugh.
“Local people take a great deal of pride in them.”