Rochester

Rochester is a small country town in Victoria approximately 180 km north of Melbourne. The Campaspe River runs right through the town which forms part of the Murray-Darling basin

The waters of the Campaspe River have been disrupted. Environmental flows are important to maintain threatened vegetation communities, aquatic life and habitat for many terrestrial species, such as the threatened swift parrot and squirrel gilder. The ongoing effect of declining river flows causes loss of habitat for many species of flora and fauna resulting in a decline of population for many forms of wildlife.

Jimmy D’Vate, one of Australia’s most well-known mural artists was chosen to paint the GrainCorp Silos at Rochester. Whenever Jimmy takes on a commission, where possible he will always try to feature local endemically threatened species and in this case, he chose the Azure King Fisher and the Squirrel Glider.
The GrainCorp Silos at Rochester were painted in July 2018 and were the 22nd silos to be included in the Australian Silo Art Trail.

Stage two began in 2021, and Jimmy chose to showcase an endemically threatened species showcasing the large Duck-Billed Platypus. The Duck-Billed Platypus is often just referred to as the platypus since it is the only living platypus species today in Australia.

Located in certain parts of Australia only, platypus numbers are drastically low, and this unique creature is now at risk of extinction.

Additional Links:
Drone footage
Australian Silo Art Trail Page