Cobargo repaints main street telegraph poles, a vibrant step towards the town's recovery

The project was initiated by members of the Cobargo Creators Centre and the Lazy Lizard Gallery, two member owned galleries both located on the main street of Cobargo.

Thanks to the help of the Cobargo Community Bushfire Recovery Fund, they were able to secure a grant in order to support the artists and provide the materials needed for the paintings.

Some of the funding will also go into creating an arts walking tour which will acknowledge the name of the artist and the story behind their design.

Marilyn Banfield from the Cobargo Creators said the aim is to have a hard copy pamphlet but that they would try to work towards the possibility of having a QR code which will display this information.

"Part other of the project is to try and connect the visitors to the town. It's a nice talking point and they're lovely to look at and it's just another little added feature because we are sort of short of features at the moment," she said.

Australian disaster recovery charity GIVIT also donated some monies towards the project through their collaboration with their corporate partner Taubmans Paint who ran a paint drive in April.

READ ALSO: Cobargo community groups to get formal meeting space thanks to donations

After seeking permission from the Council and having their designed approved by Essential Energy, the artists have since been able to commence their work on the poles.

They also sought the blessing of the Cobargo Tourist and Business Association, which was the former Chamber of Commerce and the supporters of the original pole painting project.

There are around 30 poles which will be repainted over the coming months.

Ms Myers is one of the artists who has been tasked with repainting one of the telegraph poles along the street.

She said that the galleries have attempted to contact all of the original artists who designed their poles in order to either invite them to repaint their telegraph pole or alternatively to request permission to allow someone else to redesign and repaint their original work.

All of the artists have been asked to represent an aspect of the village of Cobargo. Ms Myers chose to represent the Cobargo Folk Festival through her painting of musical instruments and a range of bright colours.

She had permission from the original artist Margaret Opie to redesign the pole, "that's the fun thing of doing it, we all bring our own ideas and view to the poles."

READ ALSO:

The poles are being painted with an outdoor all purpose undercoat and then an exterior weather acrylic paint. "It will be very durable and I think it will be very long lasting," said Ms Myers.

There was a lot of positivity and enthusiasm from community members as they walked by during her time painting, "I really got a sense from people as though we are moving forward and it will just be so good to give the streetscape such a lift," she said.

"The main thing is to bring colour back into our street, it will give it a lift and it all helping towards recovery and I think it's putting a message out there that we care about our community and we are trying to do something about the look of it," she said.