GUNNEDAH-born artist Tanya Bartlett has unveiled her dream of a Koala Capital of the World with a collection of quirky bronze koalas on town street corners.
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Visiting tourists in Bowral have their photo taken alongside a life-sized Mary Poppins, or Sir Donald Bradman.
In Tamworth, country music fans can sidle up alongside Slim Dusty and Joy McKean, and proud Aussies can visit the bronze Australian Light Horse Memorial.
And in Singleton, Tanya Bartlett’s life-sized “Pioneer” pays tribute to European settlers.
But in Gunnedah, where Ms Bartlett was born, there is no bronze sculpture that bears her name.
The Work of Art Community Gallery currently has an exhibition including a journey of the artist’s work.
Ms Bartlett has now announced it has been a long-term dream to pay tribute to Gunnedah’s koalas through public art.
While Gunnedah bears the title of “Koala Capital of the World”, there is currently no public artwork where tourists can boast – through photos on Facebook or Instagram – about their visit.
Ms Bartlett said she had already received a “really good response” to the idea.
“I have had the idea for many years but I have been so busy with big jobs,” she said.
She has still found time to make sketches and make small plasticine models of koalas that could be suitable, including a line-up of cheeky koalas she hopes would be the first sculpture to go ahead.
“They would be the most ambitious of the entire project,” Ms Bartlett said.
“There are quite a few possible sites where it is not going to pose a risk for kids.
“They would be life-sized and definitely realistic characters, not caricatures.”
Ms Bartlett said she could picture this sculpture near the newsagency, with Gunnedah then able to sell linked tourism items from keyrings to miniature bronze koalas.
But her long-term dream is to populate the town’s street corners, one by one, with cheeky koalas.
She said the idea is like the bronze pigs in Adelaide which have proven to be popular with tourists.
There is currently no funding for this project, but Ms Bartlett is likely to seek some funds through Gunnedah Shire Council art programs and possibly public fund-raising.
She said Adelaide’s pigs cost about $80-$90,000 each, but Gunnedah’s project could be “much more low key to begin with” with smaller sculptures costing significantly less.
The sculptures would also be interactive, with children able to scramble over them and people encouraged to take photos with them.
