Windmill captures Mallee's spirit, pride

Murray Valley Standard
Tuesday 17/7/2007 Page: 23

THE spirit of the Mallee has been captured with a bold new art feature of a windmill in central Karoonda. The sculpture, appropriately titled `Spirit of the Mallee', has been made out of railway and farming machinery to provide a tribute to the history of wind energy. Sculptor Donato Rosella said the windmill played a significant role in the Mallee and the feature would almost be like a shrine to wind energy. "If we didn't have the windmill we wouldn't have water... without water for the sheep and humans the Mallee couldn't exist," Mr Rosella said. "This is our history." A group of community volunteers has contributed to the construction, giving the structure a sense of community ownership and something, as Mr Rosella said, to be proud of. "You can call it tourism, but also local pride," he said.

District Council of Karoonda East Murray mayor Kevin Burdett said the feature would be an interesting part of the town's appeal. "It's going to certainly be a talking point," Mayor Burdett said. "The travelling public will have something to talk about besides the rain." The funding for the structure was supported by the Country Arts SA through the Regional Arts Fund, an initiative of the Federal Government, and Australia Council for the Arts.

Lameroo and Pinnaroo are also in the process of building an artistic structure under the `Spirit of the Mallee' theme. Mallee arts and health community development officer Judy Schroeder said the structures represented the amalgamation of the Mallee Health Service between the three communities and would be recognised as an icon in each of the towns. It is expected all the structures will be completed in the near future.