Previous find of the month
February 2015
The Urban Environment Enhanced
The ACTION/Montone Bus Shelter Painting Competition
1993: the end of an era, celebrated with pizza
David Lamont MLA launched the 1993 ACTION/Montone Bus Shelter Painting Competition in August 1993. This ultimately became the final shelter painting competition when the major sponsor Montone Paints was taken over by Amazing Paints in late 1993.
Once again, Ken Thornton from the NGA was the competition judge and was very impressed by the high standard of the entries. He said, "The designs were varied and covered topics as diverse as Mawson's expedition to the South Pole, indigenous art, a cartoon design and a Central American motif."
The 1993 winning murals
'Untitled' by Hawker College (Design by Anita Smart) (1993 Overall Winner) - Fullagar Crescent, Higgins.
Click here to view a larger version.
'Antarctica, Mawson' by Mawson Primary (1993 Winner Primary Schools) - Ainsworth Street, Mawson.
Click here to view a larger version.
'A Seascape at Dusk' by Daramalan College (1993 Winner Secondary Schools) - Cowper Street, Dickson.
Click here to view a larger version.
The Butterfly That Sneezed by St Paul's B.K.s (1993 Winner Community Groups) - Captain Cook Crescent, Manuka.
Click here to view larger version.
Minister for Urban Services, Terry Connolly, presented prizes to the winners at the Albert Hall on the 6th December 1993. The file 'A93/0357: Community Relations - Events - 1993 Bus Shelter Painting Competition' includes the catering details for this event:
"We require approximately 200 pizzas comprising a combination of Supreme, Hawaiian and six Vegetarian pizzas. Fruit boxes should be available for the guests to drink."
Decorated bus shelters remembered
Prior to the 1993 competition, ACTION compiled a list of all the decorated shelters. The list included the location, title and artists for most of the shelters. With another thirty-six entries received in 1993, Canberra now had over 200 colourful bus shelters decorating its suburbs.
You can download the bus shelter list (amended to include the 1993 entries) here: ( PDF 1.98Mb)
Archives, a communal memory
In recent years, aluminium and glass structures have replaced many of Canberra's "bunker" bus shelters. Those shelters that do remain have long since had their colourful murals covered with plain cream paint. This leaves a few newspaper articles and these images as our only visual reminders of these murals.
You can view all our scans of the painted bus shelters at ArchivesACT's Flickr account: ACTION/Montone Bus Shelter Painting Competitions.
Files used:
- A92/0347: COMMUNITY RELATIONS - Events - BUS SHELTER PAINTING COMPETITION 1992
- A93/0106: COMMUNITY RELATIONS - Events - BUS SHELTER PAINTING COMPETITION
- A93/0357: COMMUNITY RELATIONS - Events - 1993 BUS SHELTER PAINTING COMPETITION
Links to Canberra Times articles:
- By the Way. The Canberra Times, 19 June 1983, p.3: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131850141
- Bus-shelter muralists. The Canberra Times, 9 July 1983, p.11: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116417021
- In Brief: Civic pride aim of art at bus stops. The Canberra Times, 26 September 1987, p.14: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122124559
- Paint competition to brush away scars. The Canberra Times, 28 September 1987, p.3: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122124886
- Graffiti shelters contest for youth. The Canberra Times, 3 December 1987, p.9: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122413774
- Bright new look for bus shelters. The Canberra Times, 15 December 1987, p.9: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122416174
- Introducing a range of useful products. The Canberra Times, 8 January 1988, p.13: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article101968405
- More bus shelters to be painted in contest. The Canberra Times, 10 November 1988, p.4: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110612656
- Graffiti spoils college's effort to beautify shelter. The Canberra Times, 15 November 1988, p.5: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110613902
- Beauty in eye of the commuter. The Canberra Times, 3 December 1988, p.3: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102035586
- In Brief: Bus shelter competition. The Canberra Times, 6 April 1990, p.5: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122098145
- Waiting for ACTION turns into a trip through imagination. The Canberra Times, 22 October 1992, p.3: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126950564
- At this gallery, admission is free, seat provided. The Canberra Times, 13 November 1992, p.4: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126955118
- In Brief: Shelter art. The Canberra Times, 30 August 1993, p.12: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127229689
- As pretty as an ACTION bus shelter. The Canberra Times, 7 December 1993, p.5: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127252705
- Advertising: Bus Shelter Competition Winners. The Canberra Times, 18 January 1994, p.5 Supplement: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126923385
Additional Links:
- ACT Bus Gallery: http://actbus.net/gallery/index.php/Infrastructure/Shelters/Bunker
- ACT Government putting a 'stop' to the Concrete Bus Shelters? The RiotACT, 1 August 2012: http://the-riotact.com/act-government-putting-a-stop-to-the-concrete-bus-shelters/78886
Page: 1 2