At Nambucca Heads, on the NSW mid north coast, one of the cultural attractions is graffiti – of the mum-and-dad-and-the-kids variety – applied in house paint to the twin breakwaters called the ‘Vee-Wall’. It all started in the 1960s and now photographs of the wall are featured on postcards and tourist brochures
Read the messages and you will find stories of people who have enjoyed their holiday at Nambucca and want others to know it. Honeymooners who have returned to find they still love the place (and each other). Families who come back year after year, adding the names of new babies to the family rock. Overseas tourists who want to leave their mark on Australia. Teenagers who reveal their current crushes. Names, dates, tributes to Nambucca and thanks to God are all here, many decorated with pictures of family members or the fish they caught.
Dear Megan, very intersting to see the Nambucca Heads paintings as the same thing can be seen at Port Macquarie. At first I thought this the most ghastly graffit (particularly since the rocks appear to be painted with house paint) but having now walked along the breakway numerous times I have to admit it is a fascinating social document. The names, details given and designs all give a good idea of the range of people coming to Port Macquarie, their love of the place for different reasons and even how often they come back (some rocks are added to as family and friends return). So thank you for reminding me of them and of putting them in a larger context.