English’s Bridge Campaspe River

This painting reflects the quiet beauty of English’s Bridge on the Campaspe River, while acknowledging the pressures carried beneath its surface. The river faces ongoing threats from water extraction, pollution, climate change, and increasing demand from farming, alongside concerns about the safety of tailings dams associated with gold mining operations. The potential impact of these structures highlights the vulnerability of the river system and downstream communities.

Major flood events, such as those in 2022, have further exposed the river’s fragility. At the same time, strong community and catchment management efforts continue through restoration, revegetation, and waterway protection.

This painting sits between appreciation and concern, honouring our beautiful waterways and the fauna and flora so vital to our environment, which too often come second to industry and jobs. It affirms that water is our most precious resource, deserving care and protection above profit, so it may remain pristine not only for this generation, but for those who follow – our children and grandchildren.