Sheffield, the Town of Murals in Tasmania

On my first trip to Tasmania, I was expecting to see plenty of sweeping landscapes and stunning nature, and I did. That’s what Australia’s southern island state is known for.

However, I certainly wasn’t expecting to come across a whole lot of street art, especially since I wasn’t staying in any of Tasmania’s cities. But it turns out you don’t need to go exploring down alleyways to find street art in Tassie, you just need to add the small town of Sheffield and its murals to your travel itinerary.

Where is Sheffield in Tasmania?

Located a little inland from the island’s north coast and the city of Devonport, Sheffield is as low-key as it comes. We only stopped through there as it was on our way home from nearby Devil’s Gate Dam and close to where my relatives live.

Most people, though, come through Sheffield on their way to Cradle Mountain, the popular national park’s nearest town. While Sheffield is a convenient place to visit while sightseeing, you’ll still need a car or a rental car to get there.

It sits in a peculiar part of Tasmania where many towns have their own “thing” that sets them apart. In Sheffield’s case, it’s murals. The next town over that we drove through, Railton, had a topiary theme, with all sorts of animal and people shapes cut into people’s hedges. Safe to say, it’s one of the best places to visit in Tasmania, or at least in the island’s north.

The Sheffield Murals

But back to Sheffield. The town has slowly become a popular spot for those driving the north coast, as there are some cafes and bakeries to eat lunch at, and when you’re done eating, you can take in its murals. Through this post, you’ll see many of the town’s murals, but while I tried to capture as many as I could, I didn’t get them all.

Before I get to the murals themselves, a little history of Sheffield and its murals. During the 1980s, the rural town of Sheffield was going through some hard times, as was the wider municipality of Kentish. It was at a public meeting in 1985 that the idea of painting murals around town was proposed, after hearing of a similar program’s success in the Canadian town of Chemainus.

From this idea, a mural by John Lendis called Stillness and Warmth was commissioned, becoming the first of now over 50 murals in the town of Sheffield. There is even an annual festival, Mural Fest, held in town, with a mural painting competition.

The murals of Sheffield don’t have a single particular theme, which is nice as it means you get to see all sorts of different artwork around town. One of the more common subjects is the rural life and history of Sheffield and the surrounding region.

Wildlife Street Art

Another popular theme in Sheffield is the beauty of local nature and wildlife. While it also popped up in many of the rural landscapes above, Tasmania’s fantastic geography is a ready source of inspiration and captured perfectly, especially in the “sardine tin” mural below. It also wouldn’t be Tasmanian without a nod to its wildlife like the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger below.

Murals for Local Businesses

With a theme like murals, it only make sense that local businesses would capitalise on this and use them to attract potential customers. The local greengrocer actually had multiple murals like the waterfall above and the eagle below, but my clear favourite was the Blacksmith’s Cafe just because of the level of detail and extent to which they went with the idea.

Community Murals

The murals in Sheffield aren’t just used for commercial advertising, but also to honour those that serve the community. There’s a mural honouring the work done by the local Tasmanian police force and a great wide mural commemorating the ANZAC soldiers who have fought and died for Australian and New Zealand. Yes, that is a mural below and not a digitally created image, it’s that good.

Local Life in Sheffield

One of my favourite creative uses of the murals in town was when they were used to show what might lie inside the building. This was done either with cross-sections fully showing an interior scene, or through fake doorways and windows. I particularly like the little girl painted peering in the also painted window, giving it a real sense of depth. There’s also that last one with the man standing in the doorway, that out of the corner of my eye looked real in person.

Mural Fest Winners Collection

With my first visit to Sheffield, the rain really soured our enthusiasm to explore too much. That’s why I was so glad to return to Sheffield last year and see more of “Tasmania’s Outdoor Art Gallery”. Tucked around the corner behind the Sheffield Tourist Information Centre is a collection of past winners of the annual Mural Fest competition. Basically, these are the best of the best!

Not only was it great to see all the best Sheffield murals, but I also learnt another interesting fact about Sheffield’s popularity. Visit the town and you’ll notice a surprising number of Chinese tourists there, far more than in other destinations in this part of Tasmania. You see, one of the murals was created by Eason Chan, a famous singer and celebrity from Hong Kong. He is so popular that people will come to Sheffield solely to see that one mural. Strange but true!

Visiting the Town of Murals

Sheffield is located almost 30km due south of the city of Devonport on Tasmania’s north coast. It makes a good stopping point for those travelling between the coast and either Mount Roland or Cradle Mountain National Park. Tasmania is very much a place where you need your mode of transport, however I did manage to find a bus here that linked Devonport with Sheffield and even Cradle Mountain.

Which is your favourite mural from the Town of Murals in Tasmania? Do you know of any other towns that have lots of great street art like Sheffield? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.