Indigenous Mural – Yarram Bakery

MURAL Indigenous Mural - Yarram Bakery

MURAL LOCATION – 222 Commercial Rd, Yarram VIC 3971

ABOUT THE YARRAM BAKERY – Liem Nguyen came to Australia in 1983 as a refugee from the Vietnam war. He has never forgotten the welcome he received from the then Fraser Government as a boat person fleeing persecution. He remembers vividly the warm welcome into Australia, people with open arms. It was quite a different time!

WHY I BECAME INVOLVED – “I commissioned Heesco to paint my first mural to say thankyou to Australia for welcoming me as a refugee, but I really wanted to also let people know what was in my heart, what I had imagined Australia was going to be like. I thought a lot about it and asked Wayne Tindall to design a mural that would capture the vision I had in my head as I arrived . I wanted to capture the colour, the wide open spaces, the wildlife and the original owners of the land.” Liem Nguyen – Yarram Bakery

THE MURAL DESIGN – “Liem really wanted to honour the original owners of the land and asked if I would know any Aboriginal Elders that might want to be portrayed on his wall. It just so happened that I had been working with the Lakes Entrance Aboriginal Health Association (LEAHA) for several years creating a number of media campaigns for them and had gotten to know Uncle Tom Perry very well. I asked Tom if he would be willing to be painted up ‘larger than life’ as part of the project and straight away he agreed. Tom also sat down with Anne and I and told his harrowing story on camera, relating that as a child he was tricked by authorities to leave his home and was then snatched away from his parents at a very young age as part of the stolen generation. This portrait is life like and Tom is very proud to be part of Heesco Town.” Wayne Tindall – Artist/film maker“.