Artist John Noakes (1938-2006) painted murals on 65 bus shelters in Dunedin. The photos below were taken as we drove around Otago Peninsula. The bus shelters got me thinking about how creativity can be applied to necessary and functional structures in our environment. Why do bus shelters need to be so uniform when they can be a canvas for flying pigs?
Love those flying pigs
Mr Noakes had the idea to paint bus shelters when he was on a bus travelling to work, it was raining, and he saw children huddling in the Company Bay shelter. The children looked miserable and he thought their lives needed brightening up. This is the same thoughtful man that put a fresh flower in a vase every day for his wife – John Noakes – The Bus Stop Artist Documentary.
Portrait tribute to Mr Noakes at Company Bay
I read that some of Mr Noakes’s original murals have been restored or replaced so the photos may not necessarily all be of his work. The talented Daniel Mead replaced the mural on the bus shelter at Burkes, as well as painted the portrait of Mr Noakes at Company Bay. The Company Bay mural was officially opened in April 2012 as a fitting tribute to the ‘innovative painter of Dunedin’s unique bus shelters’.
The foliage almost looks part of this vivid mural
Painted by Daniel Mead, the sailboat a reminder of the original mural
Locals were consulted about mural design & murals often reflected the history of the area
The albatross – it’s been said that each pair add $2million annually to Dunedin’s economy
See Dunedin Street Art on Facebook for more street art.
Sad to here the passing of John Noakes. We were friends and worked together at Earls Court Exhibitions in the 60s. I still have paintings of what John’s idea of Australian life would be. John always laughed ! And loved to come to our parties we regularly had, he loved being with the ” Colonials”. Enjoy your journey. Ray Heylbut.
John Noakes sounds like a man who was both a privilege and a pleasure to know. I love the story of how he painted the bus shelters to brighten them up for children, and how he put a fresh flower in a vase every day for his wife. He obviously brought pleasure to a lot of other people as well, thanks for stopping by and sharing your memories.