Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. Today I’d like to share a little about the fourth piece in my Buildings of the Cassowary Coast Collection. It was a couple of months ago that I finished this artwork. It’s my portrayal of a relatively unknown little building that’s an absolute treasure; the historic El Arish Railway Station and Museum, located in El Arish, Queensland.
Why this collection
With this collection, I am very focused on portraying buildings that are overlooked, unknown, forgotten or abandoned. I want to bring focus to the remote and rural communities of northern Australia; so many of them feel overlooked and forgotten by Governments and the wider corporate sector. Services continue to close in these communities. People are being left with limited access to health providers, employment and educational opportunities and recreational facilities. This shift in social structure is contributing to increased rates of depression, suicide and anxiety.
I have lived in rural and remote communities all of my life. And I have lost friends because they believed there was no longer any hope for them or their community. I believe that the way we fight against hopelessness, is to bring, and carry hope. And that’s what this collection is all about. It’s about showing the beauty of small communities through their buildings.
These are buildings and places where people gather, where memories are made and where problems are solved. They may seem insignificant, but they are actually something to someone. And if I can help you see that, then I’ve changed the narrative for these small communities in a tiny way.
Why this building
If you’re a Cassowary Coast local you might be aware of the old El Arish Railway Station, but you might not be aware that it also houses a museum. This building is a treasure. It’s such a good representation of the reality of many rural and remote communities in Australia. People may know about the community, but have no real knowledge of the treasures that exist within it. And until this narrative changes, I don’t believe we’ll see a shift in the social structures of our communities.
The historical El Arish Railway Station and Museum is a small building situated on Chauvel Street in El Arish. It was moved to the site in June of 1992 and the Queensland Railway relinquished their hold on the building to the community of El Arish.
Since then, a museum has been established on site. It’s called the Digger’s Museum and is houses an incredible collection of memorabilia about the town’s history, particularly its military history.
If you are in El Arish on Friday mornings between 9am and 12pm, please stop by the El Arish Railway Station and Museum for a cuppa, everyone is welcome. You can enjoy this wonderful Building of the Cassowary Coast and learn about the extensive history of this great little town.
For any further details, please contact Marie on 0438 288 412 or ELARISH.HISTORICAL@GMAIL.COM.
The focal point for my composition of the Historic El Arish Railway Station and Museum
This was another building that took me a little while to find the composition for. Initially I was drawn to paint the walkway to the railway line through the building, but then I found this mix of lines that was too good to pass up.
This final composition has so many lines meeting in the one area, I found it a perfect representation of community.
The other elements from inside and outside the building
The township of El Arish is named after the city of Arish which is located in Egypt. In December 1916, the Australian Light Horse saw action there and afterwards a hospital and major base area were established there.
As you approach the Historic El Arish Railway Station and Museum one of the first things you see is a sign spelling the town’s name in Arabic. I wanted to include this in my painting and have done so on one of the upper rafters in my composition.
I also fell in love with a historical speed sign that was displayed in the museum. The way it had weathered was something I loved. This wasn’t something I replicated in my painting, but I did feature the sign in the bottom left hand corner of the composition.
And the last internal feature I included in my composition, was an ornamental vent located on the ceiling in the walkthrough area. I loved the pattern of this old ceiling vent and wanted to incorporate it in my design. You might recognise the pattern as the blue weatherboarded area in the centre of my composition.
Painting of the Historic El Arish Railway Station and Museum
I used Ateliers Oil Paint on stretched canvas for this artwork. It measures 56cm x 77cm and I also incorporated work with oil pastels and paint pens.
Modelling paste was used on the base layers in varying places to help build tactility into the design. I used oil pastels to create stronger line definition between elements. And paint pens were used at the end of the process for highlighting and mark making.
Where is my artwork now?
This painting was a Finalist in the Cairns Art Society 77th Annual Art Awards. It was exhibited as part of these awards at the Cairns Art Gallery between 07 February 2025 and 09 March 2025.
After the exhibition, and unless being sold, it will return to our home, where it will hang near the other pieces in my Buildings of the Cassowary Coast Collection.
What’s next in the Buildings of the Cassowary Coast Collection.
Next in the Buildings of the Cassowary Coast collection a building located in Australia’s Art Deco Capital, Innisfail. This is a functional building, it’s one of those buildings you don’t really think about until you need it. It’s located in one of the town’s most beautiful gardens and it’s the perfect spot to spend a Saturday afternoon with the family.
This is the fifth piece in my collection. I’ll be using acrylics for this painting, and not oils so I can speed up the drying time on my work. If you want to, you can follow along and see my progress on this collection by subscribing to my newsletter. It’s here where I will be sharing updates as things unfold.
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Until my next blog post, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”
Ephesians 4:1.
In peace always
Chrissie xx
