Australia’s best street art tours in Frankston

Street art doesn't stop in Melbourne's CBD or to its inner suburbs. Some more distant neighbourhoods also have their share of splendid murals. But none of them does as well as Frankston! About one hour south of Melbourne, this outer suburb is a real hidden gem for anyone who loves street art. To discover the stunning artworks that adorn its walls, the visitor centre organises guided tours which have been awarded the best in Australia in 2021, 2022 and 2023. I took part in one of these tours for you!

A hidden gem for street art lovers

Summary

The Big Picture Fest
Australia's best street art tours
The other murals of Frankston
Things to know before your visit

The Big Picture Fest

The history of street art in Frankston is closely linked to that of the Big Picture Fest. This festival dedicated to street art had its first edition in 2018. Seven new murals were painted on this occasion. Since then, every year at the end of March, around ten new monumental artworks decorate the walls of the city. There are now more than 70 murals in Frankston! The festival gained popularity as well, and it was voted second best street art event in Australia in 2023 (full list of winners on streetartawards.com.au).

The artist Smug at work during the Big Picture Fest 2023

Australia’s best street art tours

With the growing popularity of street art, the Frankston visitor centre has decided to organise guided tours to allow people to discover the city's many murals. They have been awarded Australia’s best street art tours in 2021, 2022 and 2023! I already went to Frankston during the 2023 Big Picture Fest, but my passion for street art pushed me to come back and follow one of these tours. And I can tell you that they deserve their reward! Here is the description of what you can expect during the tour. You can also find all the practical information at the bottom of this article.

The second stop of this tour is one of the most spectacular. The guide takes us to Park Lane, to the rear of the Hoyts Cinema building. Three monumental murals were painted there. Two date from the Big Picture Fest 2024: a woman with her cat Frank on her shoulder by the Dutchman Gomad, and the splendid portrait of Lauren YS (a street artist herself known as Squid Licker) by the American muralist JEKS. But the artwork that attracts all eyes is this extraordinary skeleton with a splendid fairywren on its finger. Painted by the Australian artist Smug, this mural was the emblem of the very first Big Picture Fest in 2018. It is also one of the works that can now be observed in augmented reality! Download the Big Picture Series app, hold your phone up to the wall and watch the skeleton come to life.

Edit from December 2024: sadly the building on which this skeleton was painted has recently been destroyed. Street art is by nature ephemeral, but it's always sad to see such a stunning mural disappear!

After a detour to the Nature Café Bar (the tour includes a complementary hot beverage), our guide takes us through Thompson Lane. Two groups of Frankston students contributed to paint the walls of this narrow alley, in collaboration with the renowned artists Melanie Caple (right side), and Ghostpatrol (left side).

The tour begins in front of the library. The walls of the courtyard have been entirely painted by the artists Brigitte Dawson and Melissa Turner, who formed the Melbourne’s Murals crew. They were inspired by the classics of literature Alice in Wonderland and Nutcracker. Our guide points out that they skilfully took advantage of the environment, such as painting tree trunks on columns. These artworks were created as early as 2014, before the first Big Picture Fest.

Our group then comes to a small square where almost every wall has been painted. Smug’s inimitable photo-realistic style can be instantly recognised. There is also a large mural by George Rose, the portrait of a crimson rosella by Dvate, two blue banded bees by Maxine Gigliotti, and an intriguing black and white work entitled Submerge by CLAP Meataxe.

A little further to the right on Thompson Lane are two of my favourite murals in Frankston. On one side a woman lying with two dogs next to her, by the Peruvian born now St Kilda based artist Bronik. On the other, a monumental artwork by Hayden Dewar, a muralist from Melbourne. Our guide gives us details about its particular symbolism. To create it, Hayden carried out research at the Frankston historical society. He was notably inspired by the photo of an 18th century mangle (clothes wringer). He also integrated into his design a lowland copperhead snake, which used to be abundant in the region.

More local history with the next mural! At the end of Thompson Lane, this huge artwork by Brigitte Dawson and Melissa Turner from Melbourne’s Murals pays homage to Don Charlwood’s classic book ‘All the Green Year’. Born in Melbourne, Don Charlwood grew up in Frankston in the 1920s, just before the Great Depression. This is where he sets the action of his novel, published in 1965. It depicts the journey towards adulthood of a boy called Charlie Reeve. You can see him on the left side of the mural, holding the book in his hands. Our guide also explains that the two other children on the right are sitting on the branches of a Norfolk pine, typical of the region. He shows us that some of these trees can even be seen from that exact spot, on the crest of Oliver’s Hill in the extension of Thompson Lane. Another clever attention to details by Brigitte and Melissa.

After almost an hour and a half of walking, this street art tour is soon coming to an end. But first, the guide takes us along the aptly named Gallery Lane. There’s a second black and white mural here by CLAP Meataxe, entitled Emerge and echoing the one seen earlier. On the opposite wall, the artist of Mongolian origin Heesco has depicted two fierce-looking warriors. Along the alley, Mike Makatron painted a purple platypus swimming among human rubbish, highlighting the tragedy of plastic pollution. Can you find the subtle way he signed his work? Hint, start with the M from McDonalds.

Just above Gallery Lane, along the ramp leading to the car park, the Melbourne artist Adnate painted a stunning mural. It depicts the Wamba Wamba/Bunurong Elder Aunty Elaine Taylor and her granddaughter Justine Taylor, 7 years old. This artwork shows the sharing of knowledge through generations.

It was again these two artists who painted the following artwork. Entitled ‘Fearless’ and painted in 2020, it represents a lion symbolising the courage that everyone had to show at the very beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic. There are three other murals nearby. The modernised portrait of the Greek philosopher Epicurus by the Spanish artist duo PichiAvo, a woman lying in the grass painted during the very first edition of the Big Picture Fest by Loretta Lizzio, and a fascinating abstract work by Order55.

The final artwork of this tour was created by the same artists it began with, Brigitte Dawson and Melissa Turner of Melbourne’s Murals. In front of the entrance to the Bayside shopping centre, they painted the 15m-by-15m portrait of a girl holding a bouquet of native flowers. Her face is deliberately hidden so that everyone can imagine what she looks like or how old she is. The guide gives us some more details about the Aboriginal patterns of her dress, designed by Brianna Webster, a local Bunarong artist. After a well-deserved round of applause, this street art tour ends here!

See also: where to find the best street art in Melbourne

The other murals of Frankston

If this street art tour allows you to discover around thirty gorgeous artworks, this only represents half of the murals in Frankston! To discover them all, you can get a map at the visitor centre, or download it online (only the 2023 version was available when publishing this article, without the murals painted during the Big Picture Fest 2024). Here is the list of my favourites that the tour does not cover:

• two huge works on Arthurs Lane: on the left, ‘The Messenger’ by Julian Clavijo, on the right ‘Coexistence’ by Camilo Delgado.

The artist Hayden Dewar at work during the Big Picture Fest 2023

• several monumental murals on Plaza Lane. My favourite, ‘The Embrace’ by Jason Parker.

• finally, three other artworks around the Bayside shopping centre: a splendid portrait by Sofles, a woman with flowery hair by Maria Peña, and an 'Intergalactic Space Owl' by Vexta.

• right next to the library on Playne Street, the very colourful portrait of a young girl by Katherine Gailer.

Things to know before your visit

These street art tours are organised by Frankston’s visitor centre, Imagine Frankston. You can book online here. The price is $15, for a one-and-a-half-hour walk accessible to all. A hot drink is included, offered by the Nature Café Bar. The meeting point is in front of the library on Playne Street. Parking is easy nearby, and Frankston train station is only a 5-minute walk away, with direct trains to Melbourne’s CBD. Two other options are possible, slightly more expensive. The first also includes a free pastry at the end of the trip (for $22.50), the second a glass of beer or wine and two bao buns (for $35).

I've had the chance to meet two of the guides, Rose and Steve. Steve was the one who accompanied us the day I took this tour. He is a true street art enthusiast, who knows how to make this visit extremely lively and exciting with dozens of anecdotes. It was a great pleasure to follow him, thank you again Steve! No wonder that with guides like him and Rose, this street art tour has been awarded the best in Australia in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The guide Steve Jager during the Wall to Wall festival in Mordialloc

Now you know everything about street art in Frankston! So when do you book your ticket?