Bunyip Mural 2021.
This beautiful Mural was created by Simon of Simon White Art
Well, who would have thought that throughout the COVID lockdowns, we could have achieved this result, a beautiful Mural for Bunyip, but here it is, right there on the IGA West wall to stay, for all to enjoy. An idea was born from seeing a cousin's water tank mural.
Cherie and Davina were made aware of a very gifted artist, Simon, from Simon White Art. He is a very talented chap, and we were fortunate that he was kind enough to offer his services to our town. He has been extremely busy creating his magical murals throughout the countryside.
Around the early 1900, Pearson and Co., a timber yard, iron monger, and seed and grain store, was built on Pearson Street. The mural is based on the 1905 picture found in Denise Nest's 1990 Call of the Bunyip book
The timber yard, grain and ironmonger was a much needed business for Bunyip and surrounding towns, Pots, pans, kettles, timber for houses, sheds and buildings, fences, grain and seeds for produce, it was all there at Pearson and Co
The Pearson family were early settlers of Tonimbuk, Charles Pearson was a carpenter by trade, around 1893 he set up an orchard on 320 acres of land, this property was later know as Ern Nash’s orchard, the house that can be see there now was built in 1896 after the original house burnt down in 1894 , It was likely that the Pearson family lived in the first house for only about a year and then lived in a tent or hut for a year waiting for the new house to be built, Charles and Blanche Pearson were both born in 1863,
they came to Tonimbuk in 1893 with four small children Charles Stewart 1886, Ida Ellen 1887 (married Henry Gordon Virtue 1915 ) , Frederick Francis 1889, Herbert George 1891 (married Ivy Towt 1914,) were all born in Melbourne, two more children were born at Bunyip, Stanley Percy 1903 and Arthur Vincent 1907 Frederick was killed at Gallipoli in World War 1, he died like many others on 25th April 1915,
A memorial notice in the Age Newspaper of April 1917 recorded this Anzac hero’s
In fond memory of Private Frederick Francis Pearson who was killed on Gallipoli 25th April 1915 Second son of Charles and Blanche Pearson age 26 years , I cannot Say, I will not say, That he is dead, he is just away.
it is fitting that the mural was placed on the west wall of IGA facing Pearson street and the old site After 1926 the Pearson family moved back to Melbourne Pearson and Co was eventually owned by Permewan Wright and more currently it was known as Bunyip Home Timber and Hardware
Sadly, those buildings have disappeared. The site was home to the Gippsland Line upgrade; now, the block is vacant again.
Thank goodness there are ways we can save our history,
The Bunyip Mural project was totally funded by the Community.
Thank you to all who have supported this project in any way,
Cherie Johnson
Davina Veenstra
Bunyip Social Hub