Sometimes you stumble upon something that stops you in your tracks, and the silo art at Walpeup did exactly that. Lisa and I had been following Victoria's silo art trail, each one impressive in its own right, but this tribute to Harold Thomas Bell—a local WWI Light Horseman—struck a particularly deep chord.
The silos loom large against the Mallee sky, transformed by artist Julian Clavijo into something far more significant than grain storage. Against sunset hues of pink, orange, and purple, young Harold's face looks out with the quiet resolve you see in so many photographs from that era. Blokes barely out of their teens, heading off to a war they could never have imagined.
What makes this work so powerful is how Clavijo has woven Harold's story through the landscape that shaped him. Native birds—including a galah, which feels so quintessentially Australian—share space with his silhouette on horseback. These weren't just soldiers; they were bushmen, farmers' sons, young men who knew how to survive in harsh country. Those skills served them well in places like Beersheba and Gaza, though at a cost we can barely fathom.
The plaque tells us the project was completed in 2023 and officially opened in January 2024. It's heartening to see these communities finding ways to honour their local heroes, making sure their stories aren't forgotten. Harold Thomas Bell came from this small Mallee town, and now travellers from across the country pause here to remember him.
Standing there in the late afternoon light, with gum branches framing the silos and the endless Mallee stretching away in every direction, I thought about all those young men who never made it home. The ones who did return carried burdens we'll never fully understand. These painted tributes—scattered across our rural communities—serve as both memorial and reminder.
Lisa took my hand as we walked back to the Ram. Neither of us said much. Sometimes silence feels more appropriate than words. Another town, another tribute, another young Australian who answered the call. Lest we forget.