Dare to dream

Five thousand cars pass through Coonalpyn on the Dukes Highway every day, but few have felt the need to stop. Until now.

Images of five local children beautifully rendered by artist Guido van Helten on the thirty-metre high Viterra silos, make it difficult for drivers not to slow their vehicles. Indeed, since March this year, one in three of those whizzing cars not only stops, but spills its phone-wielding, food consuming occupants out to goggle at the huge, eye-popping images. This of course occasions thousands of social media posts and feel-good news stories locally and internationally, which in turn generate more visits.

But this is just a small part of a much larger story.

After many years of decline, exacerbated by drought, Coonalpyn was in dire need of a facelift to draw people back and provide a pick-me-up to those who