Have you ever noticed this blank and featureless wall (on the left, below) when travelling north along Glebe Point Rd?

Probably not! It has little to recommend it to the aesthetic eye, but there may be a way to remedy that.

What if it could look like this? (on the right). The Glebe Society has a project in its infancy to do just that!

Current wall and proposed mural
Current wall and proposed mural

The proposal is to create a very large mural, duplicated from an historic photo, on a large wall near the end of the ‘tram lines’ that are visible in the bitumen in Glebe Point Rd, near the corner of Bridge Rd. This would ideally be accompanied by first-hand audio accounts of Glebe residents, recalling tram usage, accessible by electronic devices through QR scanning codes embedded in the mural.

The objectives of such a project are:

  • To celebrate Glebe’s history
  • To create an aesthetically pleasing mural to enhance Glebe Point Rd
  • To create an interesting feature to complement the preserved tram tracks.
  • To create an audio record of some older Glebe residents who recall tram usage in Glebe.
  • To engage selected Glebe residents and record their memories, which ideally would be stored in the Glebe Society website’s audio files.

The chosen site of the mural is the two-storey, blank windowless wall of the terrace on the north-east corner at the intersection of Glebe Point Rd and Marlborough St. The property owner has already given his in-principle agreement for the project. This site has the advantage of being clearly visible to anyone travelling north along Glebe Point Rd, and clearly visible from the remaining tram tracks.

What is needed now is a group of enthusiastic Glebe-ites keen to join a committee to bring this vision to fruition. If you are such a resident I’d really like you to contact me, Janice Challinor on community@glebesociety.org.au. I really need your help on this!