Many Rural Shows around the country have a 'yellow brick road trail'. These are fun for the kids as they follow the trail around the showgrounds and learn things along the way.
Now imagine something similar in Rainbow. Footprints painted on the footpaths for tourists to follow... They would direct people to the Silo, but also showcase some of Rainbow along the way.
More...
In a FaceBook Private Group? Then you won't have a share button.
Please share this story with your family and friends so that they can read about the Rainbow Township, its history, and what it has to offer tourists.
Thank you very much, Don...
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Add suitable signs coming into town.
Don McKenzie. The Yellow Brick Road.
The ramblings of a crazy old man, or a reasonable idea with some merit. As long as it gets people thinking about this or similar ideas.
This is just a suggestion. I am also looking for alternatives, and comments.
The aim is to direct tourists and visitors from Rainbow's incoming roads to tourist attractions in the simplest and cheapest way possible.
The Basic Plan
A system of simple footprints that can be easily painted on road surfaces with yellow paint and a basic stencil that is made out of plastic, tin or timber.
This will be set out as three brick courses including mortar, with an obvious head and tail that looks like an arrow pointing in one direction.
Plan Execution.
Stencil Size:
Standard house brick size looking at the face view. Three courses of six bricks, so that a head and a tail is formed.
Spacing:
These stencils can be spaced out so that they are either equidistant (like a dotted line) between each footprint, or at selected intervals, such as three metres or say 10 metres.
Left Margin:
Selection of either .5 or 1 metre from the curb, or possibly dead centre of the left hand carriageway.
Intersections:
Run straight through intersections or not?
Pros:
Easy, inexpensive, low maintenance. Can be done by local labour and not expensive out of town machines.
Cons:
Would need Local Authority and Traffic Authority approval.
SCOPE
This Yellow Brick Road can split up into various paths and destinations.
For instance, as soon as you turn into Federal Street, you can have an arrow offshoot pointing into the "Turbo Gallery" then perhaps the Bakery.
In fact with several paths you could pick up every tourist attraction that either chooses, or is selected to be on the Yellow Brick Road.
The Brewery, The Oasis, The Pot of Gold, Yurunga, Llew's Silo, The Caravan Park, all of the Town's Murals, and the approach paths (not all the way, just the lead in, or pointers) to the out of town Murals, including the Albacutya Silos.
My response to "RtFAT" FB Group
I posted this question to the FB group
This is just a suggestion. I am also looking for alternatives and comments.
The aim is to direct tourists and visitors from Rainbow's incoming roads to tourist attractions in the simplest and cheapest way possible.
A system of simple footprints that can be easily painted on road surfaces with yellow paint and a basic stencil that is made out of tin or timber.
This will be set out as three brick courses including mortar, with an obvious head and tail that looks like an arrow pointing in one direction.
I got some extremely interesting answers back, so I responded
Firstly, thank you to all of the members that took the time and responded to my question.
Some answers were lengthy, but the passion showed through on all of them
Quoting myself:
"This is just a suggestion. I am also looking for alternatives and comments".
"Be careful what you ask for, you may well just get it". Appears that many authors are credited with this saying, however, I asked for and received some great results.
Please bear in mind that the "RtFAT" FB Group, now has 1,700-ish members. This means that 2/3rds of them are not living in Rainbow, and rely on FB group information to be informed. I have subscribed to the Rainbow Argus since 1969 and read it for many years before that of course.
Even so, we don't always pick up on local events, and not always aware of the district and local committees, the working groups, and what individuals have done almost invisibly for the local community, but I generally pick up on any new major developments such as the Albacutya Silo project, and the BOM Radar installation.
That is why Llew's project came as a complete surprise to me. None of my family or friends had heard of or at least mentioned a whisper of it. Was there a previous article posted in this group that I missed? I was amazed that it was so advanced in the planning stages of the "Silo Art Reimagined Project". Reimagined, love that word.
Regarding the "Yellow Brick Road" concept. It was designed to create healthy discussion. The two hours it took me to design a roadside sign and add some words to it, is possibly double the time my average photo colourisation project takes. Thank you to the members that did support it, and thank you to everyone for being involved. It was also suggested that we have enough Rainbow Websites, and this alternative was suggested:
This a treasure-trove of information, and is grouped into local menu selections. Well suited to PC, Tablet, and Phone.
I have visited this site numerous times over recent years, and always suggest this site if others ask me about Rainbow. My site isn't competing with "Discover Rainbow", or even trying to.
My main aim is to colourise the old Rainbow B&W photos, which I enjoy doing. There is no sign-in, and no membership. I have kept as many of these images at full resolution so that they can be downloaded, printed out, framed, or whatever you want to do with them. I ask that you leave the photo ID on them so that at least my site gets some credit for the colourisation. I ask nothing in return.
So I will ask another set of questions. Do we have too many sites about Rainbow? Am I overdoing it by posting too many images and stories? Have members got sick of me and just wish I would run away?
BTW
I can't help myself with Llew's dream. It is one story I have to follow through with.
Don...
You can read the "RtFAT" FB group thread at the link below:
"Rainbow the Famous Australian Town" Facebook ADMINs has deleted this Facebook message and thread also.
How would you like it if you posted to the Facebook Group, and ADMIN kept deleting your messages?