More than $17,000 has been budgeted to repair mosaic tiles on Gunnedah’s Rainbow Serpent Water Fountain – some which have been damaged deliberately.
The award-winning eight-metre long, 600mm high, elevated concrete water installation is located outside the tourist information centre on Chandos Street.
The shape and design of the art installation symbolises and pays respect to the traditional Gamilaraay/Gomeroi/Kamilaroi story of the Rainbow Serpent.
The Gunnedah Shire Council project was completed in 2020 with assistance of grant funding and has since won several, nationally-recognised art and cultural awards.
Five years later, the serpent’s mosaic tiles are showing signs of wear, primarily due to its west facing position and exposure to the elements.
Damage was also due to misuse of the art display by the public, sometimes intentionally.
A report to council this month said “a significant number of tiles have been lost as a result of this exposure, with all 29 mosaics experiencing loss over time, ranging from 3 per cent to 60 per cent.
“The interactive nature of visitation to the feature and its use as a walking platform, seat and table for equipment has also accelerated tile deterioration.
“Tiles have on occasions been observed and reported to be deliberately ‘picked at’ and removed.”
Gunnedah Shire Council director community and development Andrew Johns said work is ongoing with specialists to determine the extent of repairs required.
He expected that work would also include new measures to help prevent the water feature being used for the purposes it was not designed for, such as a seat or table.
The Rainbow Serpent Water Fountain Restoration Project was allocated a budget of $17,530 in May 2025, with funds drawn from within the 2024/25 Social Planning budget. A total of $2530 was committed in the current financial year. With further works to be undertaken in 2025/26, carrying forward the remaining budget of $15,000 was required to support the project.
Shirley Talbott, whose mother Shirley Long was among the Kamilaroi women who brought the project to fruition, said it would be a great honour for her mum’s work to be restored. – Sam Woods
Background of Serpent Fountain:
Nine women in the Kamilaroi Women’s Group created a total of 29 individually designed and handcrafted glass mosaic artworks that are approximately 500mm in diameter. These artworks explore and reflect traditional motifs, totems and stories. The Gunnedah Rainbow Serpent Water Fountain Project is a key cultural initiative that has significantly supported the promotion and preservation of Indigenous storytelling in the Gunnedah shire.
In 2018 an application for $152,725 under the Regional Cultural Fund round two was successful, with a further $150,000 contributed by council towards the project.
The Rainbow Serpent Water Fountain was completed in 2020 by Sydney-based and acclaimed Waterforms International, and its location at the front of the Gunnedah Civic Centre represented the realisation of a 20-year journey of determination and cultural expression by the Kamilaroi Women’s Group, several of whom have sadly passed before the realisation of the dream.
In 2020, the fountain won the Local Government NSW Leo Kelly OAM Arts and Cultural Awards and was selected as a case study for engagement.
The fountain captured national attention again in March 2021, taking home silver in the 2020 Australian Street Art Awards in the category of Best Rural Art.
