Roxburgh in the Teviot Valley

Now we live in Tapanui it’s not far to drive to Roxburgh in Central Otago, an inland rural town we’re fond of (wouldn’t mind living there). It’s right by the Clutha River and the town is surrounded by farms and orchards. There’s also a hydro dam at East Roxburgh (its 60th anniversary was in 2016).

Early this year I read that mural artists would be doing a mural there, then I forgot about it … until we were in town the other day and there it was!

Here’s my photos of the mural and the interpretation panels – these are particularly well done – interesting and informative. Photos taken 05 August

The Arrival –by Auckland artists Flox and TrustMe

Click on any image below to enlarge.

(All bigger than I usually post so that you get better detail and info)

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Further Reading

Artists Project Page for The Arrival – some paragraphs plus two good photos.

Otago Daily Times article with video about the mural and community engagement.

Roxburgh hydro dam. Otago Daily Times article from 2016 with three videos – one with old photos, two with staff discussing the construction of the dam, maintenance, how things have changed over time.

Text and photos by Liz; Exploring Colour (2020)

17 thoughts on “Roxburgh in the Teviot Valley”

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  2. The mural itself is impressive, but it adds so much to have interpretive material nearby, and at least some record of the process. It’s so much more than really good graffiti. It was interesting to learn that there are seasonal workers there, too, and so good to hear that they were supported when they got caught up in the Covid chaos. I don’t know why the thought of workers moving from island to island should seem so odd to me, but it does. Of course, we’re used to thinking of islands as being as isolated as Hawaii is from the U.S. mainland, and that’s not necesarily so.

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  3. This is wonderful, and really rather moving. Not just the artwork itself, but also the positive values that underpin it – inclusivity, cohesiveness, celebration of the natural world. A great project, truly inspiring.

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  5. Now that we regularly travel south rather than through Central to visit Robert’s mother, we miss out on keeping up with our lovely Central Otago.

    Thanks for these photos and the info. The mural is just glorious.

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    1. It is really well done Robert, I was so impressed with both the art and with the thought that went into the ideas for it. Wonderful inclusiveness of everybody who’s contributed or still contributes to life in the valley. (There were seasonal orchard workers from the Pacific Islands who actually got stuck there for winter this year due to the Covid lockdown.) From an article I read it appeared that the community had rallied around them – the workers weren’t prepared for a winter stay as they’d have normally left for their home.

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  8. Wonderful artwork 😍 As someone who is from the UK (actually I’m from Roxburghshire in Scotland and the river Teviot runs through my town!), I am always so amazed by how much street art there is over here in NZ. Even the smallest towns seem to have lots of street art which I think brings so much colour and character to the towns. The UK towns could do with more of this! It’s great also to see native wildlife being celebrated in the murals so often 😊

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    1. I’d noticed the info on the interpretation panel about Roxburgh and Teviot in Scotland but never imagined a person from there picking up on my post so quickly! Delighted you’ve made contact.. thank you. I love the names! I’ve done some other posts on colourful murals with wildlife, reasonably near where I live. If you click on this link you’ll see a selection of posts and perhaps enjoy them: https://exploringcolour.wordpress.com/?s=bird+mural

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    2. Yes, large scale murals (and other street art) were an unexpected pleasure during our visits to NZ and Oz. Can’t help thinking that here in the UK – England, anyway – would fall victim to mindless graffiti.

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