Leading
the WaySubiaco, 1952

This mural began with old photographs of a city celebrating itself.

When the City of Subiaco approached me about the wall at The Third Place, the 1952 celebrations offered a starting point. Looking through the archival photographs, I was drawn to the people gathered along the streets, the band and the shopfronts behind them. There was a whole scene to explore.

The Salvation Army photograph became the heart of the design. That connection mattered here: The Third Place continues the Salvation Army’s presence at this address, so the history in the painting is tied to the building it lives on.

I wanted to bring those separate moments together so you could stand in the laneway and feel part of the street. The finished mural stretches about 27.5 metres, giving the people and their stories room to unfold.

— Jacob Butler, Shakey

The street behind the people needed just as much consideration as the procession itself.

The composition combines material from different photographs. The band, crowd and architecture had to work together at the scale of the wall, with a consistent sense of space. Recreating the scene meant making decisions about viewpoints, figure sizes and how one reference would connect with the next.

The Subiaco Hotel

The hotel became a key historical anchor in the design. Rebuilding its place in the street from old photographs helped make the setting recognisably Subiaco. Its façade and the surrounding shopfronts give the procession a particular place to move through.

Historical images preserve details that can be difficult to read in the present-day street. A circa-1950 view in the Subiaco Museum collection shows Hay Street looking west towards Rokeby Road, with the hotel’s spire, tram lines and vehicles. It offers a useful view of the setting around the period represented in the mural.

Getting the direction right

During the design development, I corrected the parade direction to come down Hay Street, turn the corner and continue up Rokeby Road. That changed how the scene needed to fit together, with the hotel helping establish the corner.

Making it work on this wall

A composition on a screen still has to work on a building. During installation, I adjusted the design around the wall’s proportions, windows and other interruptions. Viewing angles, the placement of people and their scale all needed attention so the separate parts read as one continuous scene.

Working in the laneway meant people could stop for a look and a chat. Some came back regularly. They shared memories, recognised details and suggested people with connections to the area. The staff at The Third Place were generous with their support throughout.

Those conversations added something the photographs alone couldn’t provide: the experience of people who knew the place and cared about its history.

A chance meeting, and one final addition

Towards the end of the project, I met Professor John Newnham AM. Our conversation led to the addition of Matron Agnes Marion McLean Walsh beside a cot, bringing the history of King Edward Memorial Hospital and its work with mothers and babies into the mural.

John later referred to the mural in his speech for the hospital’s 110-year celebrations. He also knew Peter Nattrass—another connection between people whose stories had found their way into the painting.

From references to brickwork

I developed the research and design and painted the mural with Joseph Boin, Art by Destroy, as second artist. The wall was cleaned and primed, then built up in greyscale, with aerosol used for the detailed artwork and portraits.

From a distance, the figures and architecture need to hold together. Up close, you can see the individual faces and the brick surface underneath. Both are part of experiencing the work in person.