Gunnedah, Walgett and Lightning Ridge works win at Australian Street Art Awards

It was one of six awards honouring the outback and bush life.

A tribute to indigenous music legend Jimmy Little, an 18-metre-high emu, and a cast of cute native animals were among other winning street and public art experiences. Three of the award wins can be explored in the emerging art hub of the Walgett Shire.

Gunnedah's 'Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Mural', painted by internationally renowned street artist Heesco Khosnaran, won the Best Mega Mural Gold Award and the Best Rural Art Bronze Award. In addition to the second verse of 'My Country', the striking mural also includes a portrait of the legendary Australian poet together with rural scenes of local wheat harvesting in the early 20th Century. Mural organisers, the Gunnedah-based Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society, are keen to ensure that the strong ties between Dorothea's family, which once owned the local 'Kurrumbede' property, and the Gunnedah community are recognised and celebrated.

The Australian Street Art Awards encourage Australians to explore the world-class street and public art that is accessible all year round and found in every corner of the country.

With rigorous judging by tourism and public art leaders from across the country, plus second-tier auditing and due diligence, a win has the credence of the art tourism sector.

In addition to the Dorothea Mackellar mural, New South Wales public and street art prowess shone through in other ways with four silver awards and a bronze:

Standing sentinel on the southern edge of Lightning Ridge is 18-metre-tall steel 'Stanley the Big Bird'. Emus hold a significant place in the lives of Aboriginal people and this one from scrap metal is John Murray's acknowledgement of this truth.

Turning into the main street visitors will then find a vibrant mural of whimsical characters bursting with colour right in the heart of Lightning Ridge. Alongside the stylised emu heads for which the artist has become famous are handprints of dozens of local children - an inclusion that has imbued the whole town with a sense of pride and ownership.

The judges said, "While both these pieces are impressive, it's the inclusive way in which '2 Kool 4 Skool' evolved with assistance from children that makes the artwork truly unique. We love that John Murray is determined to continue playing an active role in furnishing north west NSW with numerous public art attractions that are promoting the outback and bringing in visitors."

Awards Director Liz Rivers said, "All these winning pieces are contributing significantly to making NSW a more vibrant, creative and interesting state - somewhere visitors want to explore more keenly".

Arts tourists from within Australia are high value visitors. They stay 42.8 per cent longer and spend 55.9 per cent more when travelling than domestic tourists overall, according to the Australia Council for the Arts' Domestic Art Tourism: Connecting the Country Report.

Ms Rivers added, "Australia has a long history of creating superlative public art that captivates visitors. Until these awards were launched three years ago there had never been a way of rewarding and supporting destinations like Gunnedah, Lightning Ridge, Walgett, Corowa and Newcastle, that create these stunning art-related experiences for travellers".

"Public art has now come into its own with people journeying hundreds or sometimes thousands of kilometres to experience a silo art trail, see a mural town or photograph a sculpture in an extraordinary landscape," Ms Rivers said.