Lake Knox mural paid for by environmentalist Darren Wallace
A stunning mural featuring a much-loved duck that could lose its home if a Knox lake is removed is catching the eye of passers-by. And it was a gift from one of the area’s leading environmentalists.
Outer East
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A striking mural in Boronia is drawing the community’s attention to the fight to save Lake Knox.
Environmentalist Darren Wallace paid $2000 for the work, with graffiti artist Jimmy Beattie, aka Dvate, creating the mural of a blue-billed duck with the words Save Lake Knox on a wall in Manuka Drive Boronia.
Protesters fear for the survival of the duck if the lake is removed.
The community has been calling for the lake, near the corner of Burwood Highway and Scoresby Rd Knoxfield, to be saved.
The lake is set to be turned into a wetland area under the State Government’s plans to develop the former Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DELWP) site.
Mr Wallace said he decided to pay for the mural because he was passionate about saving the lake.
“I wanted to raise the profile of the campaign a little bit further and I’m a lover of birds and bird murals and when I was introduced to the artist Jimmy and saw some of his other work, which to my surprise was also in other locations in Knox, I felt it was the right thing to do,” he said.
“Talk is cheap so I thought ‘Let’s do it’ and put my money where my mouth was.”
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He said the mural was close to the Lake Knox site and adjacent to Fairpark Reserve where there was normally a lot of activity.
“I was delighted to engage with the property owner who agreed for us to do it on his wall,” Mr Wallace said.
“The upside of community art is if it’s done well generally it doesn’t get tagged – there’s a bit of an unwritten law about tagging somebody’s art work.”
Mr Wallace said the mural had generated discussion about the fight to save the lake.
“With more people out and about and walking we timed it perfectly,” he said.
He said due to the COVID-19 crisis, he was unsure when discussions with Development Victoria would continue about the lake.