An initiative of Brisbane City Council

Artforce Brisbane
An initiative of Brisbane City Council

Sarah Sparks & Tom Hilton

Mooroonga Magic Mile

Ipswich Rd & Beaudesert Rd & Bohain St, Moorooka QLD
The ‘Magic Mile’ is a mainstay of Brisbane – people come from far and wide to buy a car from dealers along the iconic strip. The opening in 1974 coincided with the time when Indigenous Australians first marched for rights to their land. I created this piece to celebrate the roots of the suburb, with the inspiration it took for the Aboriginal term ‘Mooroonga’ meaning ‘ironbark’. I hope the vibrant colour palette draws attention and the incorporation of ‘Mooroonga’ draws intrigue for people to look into the Indigenous history of the area.
Box ID: B0667 (View Map Below)
Painted on: December 2022

I Prefer Living In Colour

Sarah Sparks, with the help of Tom Hilton, recently painted two traffic signal boxes for Artforce, both in the Moorooka area: ‘Mooroonga Magic Mile’ and ‘Mooroonga Magic’.

Sarah loves to express herself through colour, in both her appearance and her artworks, and she’s proud to be doing her part to add to Brisbane’s vibrancy with her artworks which celebrate the heart of the suburb. The iconic ‘Magic Mile’ put Moorooka on the map in the 1970s, and it was also an era in which Indigenous Australians first marched for rights to their land. She hopes her vivid design and use of the original place name ‘Mooroonga’ inspires people to look into the Indigenous history of the area.

Register your interest 
to paint a traffic signal box

TO BE ELIGIBLE

You must be a resident of Brisbane ie. living within the Brisbane City Council area.
You must not be an employee of Brisbane City Council.
You must not have painted more than two traffic signal boxes in a four year period and not in consecutive years.

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