A mural on the railway line at Wingen in the Upper Hunter is turning heads.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation commissioned the artwork on a signal and communications box.
"It features a range of local wildflowers and wildlife, including birds such as the king parrot and wrens," said Wayne Johnson, of ARTC.
"Horse-riding culture and the grazing heritage of the region are also captured."
Wayne said the mural was inspired by the Upper Hunter community and "the spirit and history of Wingen".
Artist Dan Bianco said murals give the community a "sense of pride".
"A lot of people don't like graffiti, so murals act like a bit of a security blanket in a way.
"Also they're an escape from the 9-5 and beautiful to look at. They can raise awareness and tell a story of the region they're in."
Dan has been commissioned to do several murals of wildlife.
"It's something I keep getting asked to do - paint nature and its surroundings.
"A lot of people just want the mundane - banksia, wattle - stuff like that. So if there's a specific species known to the area or endangered, I try to use that."
He hopes this informs people that "the flora and fauna around us are quite fragile".
"They depend on us just as much as we depend on them."
Dan has long been interested in street art.
"I'd have to wind back seven years ago when I was living overseas. I was always into art," he said.
"I'd lived in east London for a couple of years. Street art is quite prevalent in that culture."
He often had the experience of "coming across a mural and getting that big stupid grin on your face".
"It was like 'wow, this feeling is amazing, I think I'm gonna try and do this'."
He did some murals overseas when he lived in the Greek Islands, Prague and London.
"Once I came back home, it was a long-term goal to deliver the same feeling I got and still get whenever I see a mural."
While researching this story, we realised that "Wingen" is apparently pronounced as "whingen".
Apologies to the good folks of Wingen, but we have to say that no one will be whinging about Dan's mural.
Joke of the Day
Port Stephens butcher Steve Barnett says he has "remastered the old classic horse walks into a bar joke".
"So here goes, straight from the horse's mouth!" he quipped.
A horse walks into a bar and the bartender says, "why the long face?"
The horse replies: "Somebody stole my sandwich!"
Perplexed, the bartender says, "Do horses eat sandwiches?"
The horse replied: "Only thoroughbread ones".
