07 May 2025
Orford mural unveiled as final touch to major infrastructure upgrade
A vibrant new mural celebrating Orford’s natural beauty has been unveiled on one of the
town’s new sewage pump stations — marking the completion of a $17 million upgrade
project.
A visual tribute to the town’s connection to water and nature, the artwork depicts the
water cycles of the river and bay, the daily comings and goings of local birdlife, insects
and animals, and the landscape of the Orford area.
It is the latest installation as part of
TasWater’s award-winning Asset Art Program.
TasWater Community Program Manager Louis van Ek said the community was deeply
involved in the design process and had embraced the mural following its completion.
“The community has loved being a part of this journey. We had two stages of voting to
decide on the final design,” Mr van Ek said.
“We voted on an initial theme and gave people the opportunity to share ideas. Then we
asked the community to choose their favourite design, with the theme ‘animals with
plants and a stylised landscape’ emerging as the winner.”
The mural features threatened native species in the foreground, including the Fairy Tern,
Blue-tongued Lizard, native grasses (Kangaroo, Wallaby and abstract types), Sea
Lavender, Hooded Plover, White Gum, Forty-spotted Pardalote, Swift Parrot, Kelp,
Weedy Sea Dragons, Gunn’s Screw Shell, Pigface, Sheoak, Oyster Bay Pine, Eastern
Barred Bandicoot, and Broad-toothed Stag Beetle.
“Hobart artist Bec Adamczewski, also known as Becski, painted the mural over the
course of 10 days. We were lucky the weather was kind to us,” Mr van Ek said.
“The community feedback on the mural has been nothing short of excellent. It’s
something the community can be proud of.”
Following on from the latest installation at Orford, TasWater is about to embark on a
project that will create an East Coast Art Trail, which will transform 15 sewage pump
stations between Orford and St Helens into captivating public artworks.
The mural was the final deliverable in a major upgrade to the sewerage network in
Orford. The project which involved upgrades to sewage pump stations and the
construction of new rising main in the coastal town has boosted capacity and
performance to benefit both the environment and the community.
TasWater Project Manager Janitha Senavirathna said previously, the system struggled
with high rainfall bringing stormwater into the network, and this resulted in overflow
events to the local waterways and the environment.
“We’ve upgraded five of Orford’s sewage pump stations, added underground storage
tanks at most sites, and installed a new rising main to split the network into two
systems, all of which will minimise the risk of future overflow events and also ensures
the network can meet the needs of the community for years to come.
The 12-month project involved simultaneous works across five active construction sites.
Mr Senavirathna acknowledged the patience and support of residents throughout the
works.
“We’re very grateful for the community’s cooperation during this time, and the mural
provided a great opportunity to finish the project on a positive and creative note.”
TasWater is investing $1.9 billion in its network over the next five years to ensure it can
continue to deliver exceptional water and sewerage services for a thriving Tasmania