Magnificent mural

Stefan Bradley

OVER acouple of weeks, aseries of mostly orange outlines have become anew street art mural to be enjoyed by Gippslanders diningnexttoawonderful seaside view.

Local café TheGeneral,atLake Tyers Beach, commissionednotable Melbourne streetartist Kaff-eine to transform their large wall with an image that reflects the character of the area.

Kaff-eine is one of the official Silo Art Trail artists;she hasalsopainted publicmurals around Australia,and throughoutEurope, the USA, Philippines, and Mexico.

The mural,titled Lakeside Serenade,was started by Kaff on Thursday, January5,and completed on Sunday, January 22.

Kaff relished the ocean breeze, the sun and good coffee over thoseweeks -aperfect start to 2023.

“Lakeside Serenadeisapeaceful mural that combines my ownmemoryofrelaxingonthe warmsandatLakeTyers Beach, with an homage to Borun (pelican) the Tuk (musk duck), the parents of the five Gunnaikurnai clans,” Kaff told the Gippsland Times

“The image was one of aboutsix drafts Idrew for my dear friends Steven and Rommel, who (own) The General cafe. Theychose the imagebecauseof the warm trustingrelationship between sunbathing adults and the pelicans and ducks, who rest nearby listening to alazyukulele.

“They chose the right image! It’s aquiet way to publicly honour the Gunnaikurnai people, given the history of the area; and beachgoers here really do chillout for hours quietly on the sand bar, sometimes in exactly the same bright yellow straw hats as the one Ipainted!" Husbands Steve Franklin and Rommel Canoy, owners of The General Lake Tyers beach café, gave Kaff free rein to design amural that would speak to locals and visitors.

“From when we first saw that wall when walking by the beach two years ago, we knew it needed a special mural and because Kaff-eine is afriend we knew it had to be her,” Mr Canoy said.

“It seemed like along shot back then, but all we could do was put it out there and we could say the universe aligned magnificently for us."

Mr Canoy said Kaff’s mural was a“completion of avision” they had for the café.

“Steve and Iare elated about what she’s created. We feel she has trulyembodied LakeTyersBeach’s past and present charm through her street art," he said

“Every local and extendedlocals from far down Traralgon have expressed how great the mural is and expect LakeTyersBeachtotruly become a landmark destination.”

Kaff is no stranger to painting in Gippsland, with acouple of muralscompleted on Toora’s sports centre last year. For one of these, she received help from Leongatha-based artist Melanie Caple as Kaff was on crutches and “hadn’t re-learned to walk” yet after an accident 15 months ago.

“I also painted apoignant mural inside Berry Street’s Morwell facility in early 2014, for our collaborative coffee table ‘Heartcore’ book,” Kaff said.

Bird of the Month

wetlands and swamps with dense aquatic vegetation. Theycan be seen locallyatMacleod Morass or the Lakes Entrancesewage pond, whereit is thought they seek the rich invertebrate life they offer.

DESPITE being named the Blue-billed Duck, only the males have the distinctive sky-blue bill.

Asmall and compact duck, during the breeding season the male’s bill turns bright blue. They are wholly aquatic, seldom seen on land, swimming low in the water along the edge of dense cover. If they do go onto land, they walk like apenguin, but in water they are known to be excellent and speedy swimmers.Ifdisturbed, they will dive deep underwater to escape danger, rather than flying away.

Theyfeed in waterbydivingbelow the surface and foraging for food in the mud. Their diverse diet includes seeds, buds, stems, leaves, fruit and small aquatic insects such as the larvae of midges, beetles and dragonflies. Foundinsouth-easternand south-western Australia, they preferwater in largepermanent

They sometimes congregate in large flocks of a thousand birds, but during the breeding season, they are solitary nesters and bonds between breeding pairs is short term. They prefer secluded locations making their nests in cumbungi beds found over the water, or in flattened vegetation of sedges or rushes.

Breeding from August to November, they build abowl-shaped nestfrom reedy materialand line it down. The male takes no part in either nest building or incubation. Acommon clutch size is five or six.

The Blue-billed Duck is currently listed as endangered in Victoria. Habitat destruction and modification such as clearing, croppingorburninghas contributed to this endangered status. BirdLife East Gippsland meetweekly for Monday morning outings. New members are always welcome. For more information, visit the official Facebook group.