(Hill St) 2024
The first curved mural in Kapunda showcases the sporting history of the area. It is located at the entrance to the driveway into the Sir John Franklin Hotel from Hill St and adjacent to the public toilets.

Many significant sporting personalities appear on the mural, covering a range of sports and decades.

Thanks to the clubs and events that sent in photos, Danny Menzel (DM Graphics) for putting it together, Gadget Graphics for printing, Brenton Diener and Danny for installing with assistance also from Light Regional Council.

(Main St) 2024
The Family Life mural is erected on the walls of Light Community Church, facing Main Street.

Contributing artists were: Alannah Cheshire, Maxine Donald, Jim Dunstan, Cathy Julien-Jaeschke, Roger Kalleske, Alice Tilley and very young artists Jacob Salmon and Oscar Tilley.

Their original works were digitised and printed on to the panels which were then affixed to the Church walls.

It was all put together by Kapunda graphic artist Danny Menzel who has been involved in many of the Kapunda Mural projects.

Right hand panel

The right hand panel was originally conceived and executed by Cathy Julien-Jaeschke with additional artwork by Maxine Donald. It portrays the Christian heritage of the Kapunda area featuring various church buildings around the district, with the words of The Lord’s Prayer in the centre.

Churches featured in the right hand panel (in a roughly anti-clockwise direction) are:

1. St John’s Lutheran Church
Opened in 1908.
23 South Terrace, Kapunda

2. St Roses Catholic
Foundation stone laid in 1938.
6 Branson Crescent, Kapunda

3. Former Baptist Church
Built in 1867.
Now a museum.
11 Hill St, Kapunda

4. Kapunda Congregational Chapel
Opened in 1858, sold in 1976.
Now used as a theatre by Kapunda Musical Society
3 Chapel St, Kapunda

5. Former Little Glory Church
Built in 1864, originally a Primitive Methodist church which then became St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church until the congregation moved to St John’s.
Now a studio, framing business and nursery.
3 Whittaker St, Kapunda

6. Bethel Lutheran Church
Originally a Moravian Brethren church which changed to Lutheran in 2007.
Church Rd, Bethel

7. Christ Church Anglican
The foundation stone was laid 28 April 1856 by Dr Blood, enlarged in 1868.
4 Branson Crescent, Kapunda

8. Light Community Church
Formerly a fitnes centre including squash courts
73 Main St, Kapunda

9. Kapunda Uniting Church
Built as a Wesleyan Methodist church in 1858.
2 Church St, Kapunda

Left hand panels

The left hand panels are the work of various artists.

(Hill St) 2023

The “TOWN HISTORY MURAL” is a re-creation of one of Kapunda’s original murals. The original, created in 2002 was specifically designed to be placed on an external wall of a supermarket on the corner of Main and Crase Sts. Kapunda.

When the supermarket was demolished to make way for the ‘Town Square’ the ageing and discoloured mural was carefully dismantled and stored in the basement of the Kapunda Community Gallery in the hope that it would be re-created at some point to once again adorn, inform and educate the public about Kapunda.

Three volunteer artists accepted that challenge in 2021. Tony Hersey (creator of the Kapunda Military mural), Maxine Donald (co-creator of the mural on the Metro Fire Station stable door) and Jon Povey.

After logging nearly 950 hours of volunteer time the mural was completed and installed in Hill Street at the rear of the Thompson Building (Visitor Information Centre and Library).

An Interpretive sign adjacent to the mural explains the original concept (2002) and the re-creation (2021-2023).
Interpretive Sign – Click to download

KMTP gratefully acknowledges the voluntary installation of this mural by Brenton and Anthony Diener.
The materials for this mural were funded by Light Regional Council, plus business and community donations to the KMT Project fund.

In January 2024, this mural was given the Council’s “Community Project of the Year” award. See story in this Post.

(Cnr Main & Lucas Sts) 2019

This is the largest mural contemplated thus far. Painted directly onto a prepped besser brick wall, KCG volunteers joined designer and supervisor DANNY MENZEL to assist with the lower part of the design. MAL CRAIG assisted with the early concept design.

The design is in two seamlessly integrating scenes – Left side depicting portraits of four prominent figures in the area’s history with a Kapunda minesite scene from early days.

These were taken from old photographs and paintings. On the right hand side of the mural the Lord Palmerston Hotel is depicted, the building which originally stood on the site but was demolished in 1968.

Scenes, again taken from old photos have been montaged to create an incredible ‘old’ street effect. Just to the left of the hotel is a recreation of an 1871 photograph of store owner Robert Brewster and his family. To the right is a local family enjoying a car ride circa 1910.

The central roller door created a problem, and it was decided that is was not practical to paint a mural on it.

Painting the mural onsite was a challenge, especially in extreme weather conditions. Scaffolding was necessary for the upper section of the mural. For this reason, that section was painted solely by graphic artist/designer DANNY MENZEL.

The judges at the 2020 Australian Street Art Awards judged Danny Menzel’s mural the “Best External Mural”.

The judges said that “The mural is contributing significantly to making Australia a more vibrant, creative and interesting country – somewhere visitors will want to explore more keenly”.

They went on to say “We love that tourists can look into the eyes of people who made significant contributions to South Australia…. The fact that 15 local volunteers pulled together to create this sizeable mural under the experienced guidance of an artist is witness to the pride Kapunda residents obviously feel about the place their town placed in forging an economically triumphant South Australia”

You can watch a video montage of the painting of this wonderful mural here.

(Cnr Main, Mildred and Clare Rd.)

This mural was done off-site on panels by artist TONY HERSEY. It was supported by a ‘Saluting Their Service’ Grant through the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

The mural is on the southern wall of the Prince Of Wales Hotel bottleshop, behind the War Memorial and across the road (Kapunda St) from the RSL clubrooms.

Tony’s design includes people and events from the various theatres of conflict in which Australians, and in particular local service personnel have been involved.

(105 Main St) 2019

Robertstown artist Jim Dunstan has completed the mural on the North wall of the Clare Castle Hotel, depicting farming past and present.

It makes reference to J.T. Johnson & Sons, Kapunda’s largest employer (and a Platinum supporter of the Mural Town Project) and the ‘Advance Harvester 1903’ made by the local company Hawke & Co.

Also featured are the history of shearing and the trusty sheepdog.
The mural was partially funded by the History Trust of SA.

(67 Main St) 2019

The Kapunda Community Gallery Mural is now completed.

Local artist and Gallery Chairperson, Maxine Donald, birthed the concept, while the design was created by Danny Menzel from DM Graphics.

Painting was completed by Volunteers from the Gallery and community under direction of Maxine and Danny.

It was installed by Gadget Graphics and funded by the Kapunda Community Gallery Inc.

(5 Hill St) 2019

The mural on Hill Street celebrating many years of Celtic Festivals is in two parts, one on the gate of the Professionals property and one on the galvanised shed.

This design was done by Danny Menzel, and is a long lasting photographic print made by Gadget Graphics. The mural on the gate required modifications to the gate frame to ensure a properly aligned and stable base for the mural.

The mural was installed on 26th September, 2019.

(Post Office building, 62 Main St) 2019

This is on the southern (side) wall of the Post Office and is a celebration of various Rotary projects done over the 60 year life of the club. The Mural was created by local Artist Stuart Hoerisch, and erected by Rotarians Frank Ware and Brenton Diener (who also made and donated the supporting frame).

Kapunda Rotary projects depicted in the mural include:- Map the Miner (Sculptor Ben van Zetten); Kapunda Helipad (with extensive community and Council assistance); Davidson Reserve walls, part of a joint Rotary (Led by wall building expert Frank Ware)/Council development of the Reserve; Rotary Youth Driver Awareness; Rotary Achievers Awards for Primary students and Rotary Citizenship Awards for High School Students; numerous other youth support programs; a building in a Uganda village for storing grain so villagers could get more for their grain, also used as a school building; disaster aid via Shelter Boxes; and the Picnic in the Pines (with Lions and the Pines Committee).

(Town square, corner of Main and Crase Streets) 2019
Although not strictly part of the Mural Town Project we are proud to record this mural, having given some advice for its delivery but more importantly recognising its historical significance to the area.

The mural is a complex steel cut out design of the ‘charge’ by the horsemen finished in a black powder coat. It is surrounded by information about the foundries familiar in Kapunda in earlier times. Sidney Kidman’s contribution to the war effort by way of horses, is well documented and also forms part of the history of this mural. The mural was supported by funds from the (former) Kapunda & Light Tourism Inc.

(40 Main St) 2020

This mural is dedicated to the memory of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

It is placed in Main St, on a section of fence next to Landmark, on the eastern end of the zebra crossing.
Amongst other things, Mary MacKillop was instrumental in setting up a school in Kapunda and classrooms nearby.

The mural was conceived and painted by Laura Gully and was funded by the Kapunda Mural Town Project. The Kapunda Men’s Shed constructed the frame and installed the mural.

The text attached to the mural reads:

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop
1842-1909
Mary established the Sisters of St Joseph in Penola in 1866
They contributed to the educational, spiritual and cultural life of many pioneer communities by establishing schools throughout Australia, including a number in this area
A school began at St Rose’s, Kapunda in 1868, at St John’s in 1869 and Baker’s Flat in 1876
Sister Mary also established a Girls Reformatory at St John’s in 1897
Sister Mary was recognised as Australia’s first Saint 2010

(62 Main St, Kapunda) 2018

This was the first mural attempted on Aluminium sheets. This required considerable preparation by the Kapunda Gallery volunteers and mural supervisor and creator, DANNY MENZEL.

The design was drawn onto the panels and the initial painting done off-site by volunteers, under Danny’s supervision. He then ‘finished’ the painting and it was installed on-site, attached to a pre-fabricated steel framework.

For an account of the opening, see post Three New Murals Unveiled

In 2024, this mural was awarded the Best Community Art award in the 2023 Australian Street Art Awards.

You can find the listing at: https://www.streetartawards.com.au/copy-of-2023-finalists-map

Congratulations are due to Danny Menzel and the many volunteers who contributed to the mural and the award applications.

(Crase St. Doors and Windows) 2018

The doors and windows (on both levels) of the original STABLE Building of the Hotel had been boarded up.

The concept and artist for these set of murals was MALCOLM CRAIG,

For an account of the opening, see post Three New Murals Unveiled
with the intention to suggest corridors and windows from a past era of life at the stables.

(93 Main St, Kapunda) 2018

The design and research for this mural was done by LAURA GULLY. Laura took news articles and photographs from the original Kapunda-based newspaper ‘The Herald’ (located in Hill St, the building is now a mining museum known as Bagot’s Fortune), added more recent articles and photos to create a ‘wrap-around collage’ for the Council Offices. The concept was professionally printed onto aluminium panels and installed onto the walls.

Working from left to right, beginning in the carpark area, one can trace the ‘history’ of Kapunda through articles and photos, from earliest times to 2018, when this mural was installed.

(MFS Building, 5 Main St) 2018

Kapunda artist Bill McGowan created the concept, a depiction of the stable door with horse, bucket and fireman in vintage fire uniform. The painting was completed offsite by Bill McGowan and Maxine Donald.

For an account of the opening, see post Three New Murals Unveiled