Native flora and fauna feature strongly in vibrant murals funded by the City of Cockburn in projects coordinated by motivated groups and schools in the local community, with more to come.
In the past two years the City has contributed more than $62,000 in grants to help create four large murals in Hamilton Hill and Bibra Lake.
Artists have included talented students from Port School and local environmental educator and artist Laura Folan (aka Lora Flora) whose compelling representations of Perth wildlife appear on murals throughout the metropolitan area.
Depictions of flora and fauna in local murals have included Quenda, Black Cockatoo, Rainbow Bee-eater, Red-necked Avocet, Magpie, Djiti-djiti (Willie wagtail), WA’s 28 Ringneck Parrot, Southwestern Snake-necked Turtle, the Blue-banded Bee, and even a friendly neighbourhood dog well-known to Bibra Lake locals.
The most recent mural was completed at Bibra Lake Community Centre at the end of May, with the $17,000+ project coordinated by Bibra Lake Residents Association and featuring artwork by Lora Flora.
Mural projects valued at more than $19,000 planned for coming months include Manning Park soundshell coordinated by Spearwood Progress Association, a bus stop in Bibra Lake on Parkway Road featuring artwork by Cameron Allen and another at the Harvest Lakes Community Centre in Atwell, coordinated by Harvest Lakes Residents Association.
City of Cockburn Community Development Lead Simone Sieber said the mural projects were highly valued by local communities.
“Our active community associations love to get involved in these projects and they encourage local residents to choose the artists and art themes for each mural, usually via social media and community meetings,” Ms Sieber said.
“Once the community groups put out a call for artists, the community votes for which artist they want to commission and then the artist consults with residents to find out what kind of artwork they want to see in the murals.
“This has resulted in some hyper-local artwork which is much-loved by the communities where they appear, because the people who live there have had a big say in the end result.
“Unsurprisingly, many locals love nature and that has been a popular theme so far.”
City of Cockburn Arts and Culture Coordinator Cassandra Cooper said large form public artwork in communities helped engender pride in place.
“When people get involved at a grassroots level, public art creates magic, a feeling of connectedness and inclusion, where they feel pride in beautifying their surroundings.”
Mayor Logan Howlett recently inspected the mural at Bibra Lake Community Centre and had high praise for the completed artwork.
“Lora Flora’s artwork depicts the yaakin, or snake-necked turtle, and lots of birds and plant species commonly seen in the local bushland, especially around Bibra Lake itself, and the many parklands,” Mayor Howlett said.
“Bibra Lake residents also love to walk their dogs in the local parks and bush and that came through in the artist’s interpretation of what they wanted to see in the mural on their local community centre.
“The depiction of the young girl walking her dog on a lead is a quirky and very honest local reference to the personality of the suburb of Bibra Lake. It’s a fantastic piece of art and the community is rightly, very proud.”
See the completed murals at:
- Forrest Road shopping centre, 95 Forrest Road, Hamilton Hill – two murals completed by Port School students and Loral Flora in 2023. Coordinated by Hamilton Hill Community Group
- Southwell Crescent shopping centre, 1 Southwell Crescent, Hamilton Hill – mural completed by Lora Flora in 2024. Coordinated by Hamilton Hill Community Group
- Bibra Lake Community Centre, 132 Parkway Road, Bibra Lake – mural completed by Lora Flora in May 2025. Coordinated by Bibra Lake Residents Association.
To find out about applying for a grant to beautify your community, visit the City’s
website for information about cultural grants. Cockburn resident groups that want to find out about grant applications for a community mural can email
[email protected]
Caption l-r: Artist Laura Folan (aka Lora Flora), Bradley Zarins (Bibra Lake Residents Association), City of Cockburn Community Development Lead Simone Sieber, Felicity Bairstow (Bibra Lake Residents Association) and Cockburn Mayor Logan Howlett at the recently completed Bibra Lake Community Centre mural.