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Ashhurst Murals
The idea of the Ashhurst murals is to enhance the large area of blank wall on the Sports Field Changing Rooms at the Ashhurst Domain. The Ashhurst Action Group organised approval and limited funding for paint from the Palmerston North City Council, which enabled Enid Roberts to begin her work. The initial mural, depicting the Ashhurst Wetlands, has since grown to three, with another two about to begin. These murals can be viewed at the Ashhurst Sports Domain, via the Cambridge Ave entrance, from the internal grounds car park. Other prominent sites around the village, which have been an eyesore in the past, have also drawn attention and are now part of the artistic trail in Ashhurst.
Future plans More information Pictures
The creation for the first mural coincided with the opening of the wetlands reserve viewing platform. This central mural depicts a stylised wetlands area, with the Manawatu Gorge in the background and a variety of birds, seen in the area, in the foreground. Enid Roberts and Elizabeth Knapp completed this project in 2001.
The positive comments received and the blank wall of the adjoining wings of the changing rooms prompted Enid to design anther two panels depicting leisure activities in and around the Ashhurst Domain.
This panel reveals a range of recreational activities played on the grounds with players sporting local colours. The fourth and fifth panels of the Ashhurst murals at the Ashhurst Domain depict historical scenes of the area.
The fourth panel depicts a view of the Ashhurst Village Green as it was in 1910, with the original band rotunda. Also the Domain area when it was the Ashhurst-Pohangina Racecourse, in 1900.
The most recent panel shows firstly the Manawatu River Punt, which ferried passengers across from the Woodville (Manawatu Gorge) side of the Manawatu River, in 1855, before a permanent bridge was built. The small centre section shows "Russian Jack", a well known local character who travelled around the district. The right hand section depicts the busy Ashhurst Railway Station which opened in 1892.
A large noticeboard on Cambridge Ave, just past the railway humpback bridge had been a target for bill posters and graffiti for some time. This site provided an ideal site for a cartoon map of Ashhurst and surrounding district, depicting local activities and places of interest. This was painted off-site by John Tidball and Enid Roberts and erected in early 2002. Pictures are artist Enid Roberts (left) and local city councillor, Marilyn Craig.
Local school children from Ashhurst School were also inspired to completely cover the kiosk at the local transfer station with a bright landscape mural, which has lifted the dreary aspect of piles of rubbish.
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