Sail Captains
ozimage
Geelong is Victoria’s second biggest city. The Financial Review (Feb 2014) wrote that the Ford Company was closing its Geelong manufacturing works, ending many hundreds of jobs, as would Alcoa’s aluminium smelter at Point Henry closed costing 800 jobs. Shell’s refining-retailing business was sold, Qantas had already axed 300 maintenance jobs at Avalon Airport and Target had sacked 260 from its Geelong head office. For a city that had only 253,000 citizens, this was disastrous. Manufacturing was fading away.
Australian Jan Mitchell (1940–2008) was working overseas for 20 years as a graphic artist with the Irish National Television Network when she decided to return. Jan first presented a carved bollard in Geelong, offering the concept of a waterfront bollard-walk in 1994.
Increased tourism had already become Geelong’s goal! Mitchell was soon commissioned by the City of Greater Geelong in 1995 to transform reclaimed timber pylons from a previously demolished city pier into remarkable works of art. She created her first bollard art as part of an artist-in-schools programme.
There are 104 bollards stretching along our waterfront that are made out of huge wooden pylons, many recovered from the Yarra St Pier which was destroyed by fire in the 1980s and later removed. The wood was first sculptured, then painstakingly hand painted. The bollards depict many of the events and history of the Geelong region, until today.
Research went into every detail of the bollards’ design: clothes, artefacts, faces and highlights all about Geelong. They were produced in a huge warehouse in an old wool store on the waterfront, near Cunningham Pier. The programme ran from 1999.
It took 5 years of hard work to create the bollards along the waterfront, although they can also be spotted welcoming visitors at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. The bollard sculpture walk is 4km long on a path from Rippleside Park in North Geelong en route to Eastern Beach Sea Baths. Today the Bollard Walk has 48 clusters spread over 4 ks, taking 2 hours walk one-way. The bollards stand nearly 2 m tall, from Limeburners Point in the east, the trail runs across Eastern Beach and Botanic Gardens, past the central waterfront precinct, then along Western Beach to Rippleside Park.
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The groups of Mitchell’s bollards are all caricatures of unique local people or famous local jobs, from the original Indigenous inhabitants to modern characters. They explored the key characters who’ve shaped Geelong throughout history, from English explorer Matthew Flinders on.
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Australian Jan Mitchell (1940–2008) was working overseas for 20 years as a graphic artist with the Irish National Television Network when she decided to return. Jan first presented a carved bollard in Geelong, offering the concept of a waterfront bollard-walk in 1994.
Increased tourism had already become Geelong’s goal! Mitchell was soon commissioned by the City of Greater Geelong in 1995 to transform reclaimed timber pylons from a previously demolished city pier into remarkable works of art. She created her first bollard art as part of an artist-in-schools programme.
There are 104 bollards stretching along our waterfront that are made out of huge wooden pylons, many recovered from the Yarra St Pier which was destroyed by fire in the 1980s and later removed. The wood was first sculptured, then painstakingly hand painted. The bollards depict many of the events and history of the Geelong region, until today.
Research went into every detail of the bollards’ design: clothes, artefacts, faces and highlights all about Geelong. They were produced in a huge warehouse in an old wool store on the waterfront, near Cunningham Pier. The programme ran from 1999.
It took 5 years of hard work to create the bollards along the waterfront, although they can also be spotted welcoming visitors at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. The bollard sculpture walk is 4km long on a path from Rippleside Park in North Geelong en route to Eastern Beach Sea Baths. Today the Bollard Walk has 48 clusters spread over 4 ks, taking 2 hours walk one-way. The bollards stand nearly 2 m tall, from Limeburners Point in the east, the trail runs across Eastern Beach and Botanic Gardens, past the central waterfront precinct, then along Western Beach to Rippleside Park.
Early Geelong Footballer
uniform from c1890s
My personal favourites were Bathing Beauties where the beach front was the venue for beauty competitions from the 1930s and the Town Baths Swimmers Club, a line of lifesavers displaying the changing styles of men’s swimming trunks. The most endearing was the Early Geelong Footballer from a nearby field used for football practice. And see a Koori family, celebrating the nation’s aboriginal culture.
Volunteer Rifle Band
Trip Advisor
The Volunteer Rifle Band represents Geelong’s first band concerts, which were held way back in 1861. They are pictured here playing The Geelong Polka, as the musical score shows. Another scene portrays Billy Coyte, a local from the Eastern Beach Life Savers, who taught generations of Geelong kids how to swim. And see the sail captain of the steamship S.S Edina, which operated from the late C19th until the mid-20th century. The sail captain was bringing live birds ashore, going to Botanic Garden aviaries.
Many of the bollards are painted as historic people, including many of our founders and even former Premier Jeff Kennett and former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, both in office when the bollards were being designed and installed. Favourites include explorer Mathew Flinders overlooking the bay he discovered in 1802, the historic Geelong footballer near the old Hi-Lite Park site and the sailor and floozy near Cunningham Pier. Other tributes to historic moments in Geelong’s history include the Speed Trials bollards in Ritchie Boulevard, 1920’s lady swimmers on the sandy foreshore nearby and various sea captains and the rustic fisherman at Fisherman’s Pier.
Many of the bollards are painted as historic people, including many of our founders and even former Premier Jeff Kennett and former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, both in office when the bollards were being designed and installed. Favourites include explorer Mathew Flinders overlooking the bay he discovered in 1802, the historic Geelong footballer near the old Hi-Lite Park site and the sailor and floozy near Cunningham Pier. Other tributes to historic moments in Geelong’s history include the Speed Trials bollards in Ritchie Boulevard, 1920’s lady swimmers on the sandy foreshore nearby and various sea captains and the rustic fisherman at Fisherman’s Pier.
Life savers
Weekend Notes
I had no idea why rabbits were an occasional motif on the bollards, found squishing closely to a foot. Ten rabbit pairs were introduced for sport through the Port of Geelong in 1859 (see Bollard Shop), but ruining the natural ecology via the rabbit plague.
Jan was honoured in 2006 when she was awarded the Order of Australia for transforming the Geelong Waterfront. The Zonta Club of Geelong celebrates International Women's Day with the Women: a Celebration art exhibition, presented by Geelong artists using different media. The first prize is the Jan Mitchell Memorial Art Award.
The bollards have become an important and very well recognised icon of Geelong over recent years. Geelong’s tourist body installed 2 of them outside Melbourne’s International Airport to catch people’s attention and prompt them into thinking about seeing Geelong.
Jan was honoured in 2006 when she was awarded the Order of Australia for transforming the Geelong Waterfront. The Zonta Club of Geelong celebrates International Women's Day with the Women: a Celebration art exhibition, presented by Geelong artists using different media. The first prize is the Jan Mitchell Memorial Art Award.
The bollards have become an important and very well recognised icon of Geelong over recent years. Geelong’s tourist body installed 2 of them outside Melbourne’s International Airport to catch people’s attention and prompt them into thinking about seeing Geelong.
Geelong Baths Swimming Club
Cunningham Pier in the background
Trip Advisor
Happily Mitchell produced the colourful and quirky bollards in 1994-9 but sadly died from cancer in 2008. To honour the late artist, a bollard portrait was made of her which accompanied a special commemorative exhibit of her work.