The Benalla Festival 2010 will also feature the Centenary of the Benalla Bridge, and the opening of the Benalla Ceramic Mural. Naturally we will have the major events as we have all come to love them. They provide those activities which the whole family can enjoy at their own pace.
Friday 4th November 2010 Festival Launch
The Benalla Art Gallery will host the Benalla Festival 2010 launch.
The Street Parade theme for 2010 is centred around Bridge.
A Day in the Gardens will be held on the 7th of November, this has a market fringe with a community heart.
Now about our Bridge
Designed by Sir John Monash, our Benalla Bridge (opened 1910) is one of the pioneers of the use of reinforced concrete in bridges in Australia, it was a major bridge for the Hume Highway and has allowed the development of Benalla to proceed with a quiet grace and dignity which we have all taken for granted. It has some funny quirks, like two different sets of supporting arches and different numbers of railings on each side of the footpaths, and underneath you can see the impression of the two types of timber encasing for the concrete. It was once half as wide, but which half?
It’s beautiful in the winter mist and stunning at summer’s sunset. If there were a film of the cavalcade of crossings through the bridge’s age, the result would be an ark of creatures and machinery suitable to tell a story of Australia. Our bridge has seen and carried us effortlessly forward, to and fro and provided us with a lot of pleasure as well. We wouldn’t live without it.
From There to Here, Then to Now
The 2010 Benalla Festival Bridge Centenary Exhibition
16 October - 21 November
Artists are invited to create their own visual interpretation and response to the images and stories created over the 100 year history of the Benalla Monash Bridge.
Contact the Benalla Art Gallery for full details
