September 13th, 2024Big Rainbow in desperate need of a pot of…paint
Daylesford’s Big Rainbow will be returned to its original glory after it is painted in December.
A Hepburn Shire Council spokesperson said the council had scheduled some minor repairs and full painting of the rainbow “so it is looking its best for the next ChillOut event”.
Quotations for the works close this week.
The move comes after a number of people, including ChillOut Festival committee members, said the Rainbow, at Victoria Park, was started to looking a little tired.
Committee member Tom Shaw, pictured above with fellow member Nell Simpson, said it was time for the Rainbow to be restored, with bits of paint peeling off along with some strips of timber coming away from the structure.
“It came with a budget for maintenance but originally it was built for Sydney so maybe it was never designed to withstand Daylesford weather and temperatures,” Tom said.
“But it is pretty embarrassing for ChillOut especially, with a big sign saying ‘Big Rainbow in here’ and then it’s really a bit of a white elephant.”
Tom said the Big Rainbow had pretty much failed to sparkle from day one.
“It’s a bit dull and while it might have sparkled on one side, it didn’t on the other and that’s the one people see and get their photo taken in front of.
“It is certainly in decline now and in need of maintenance and having some money spent on it.”
Tom said quite a few people in the community had told him they had brought friends to see the Rainbow and many were underwhelmed.
“It is something we really need to be proud of in our little rainbow community here – but it just doesn’t sparkle. And it’s only in its first year – it won’t make many more at this rate.”
A Hepburn Shire Council spokesperson said the council was monitoring the condition of the Big Rainbow which includes a full structural engineering assessment every six months, as was recommended at the time of installation.
They said with some of the deterioration of the timber panelling, the repair works were being bought forward to minimise any further deterioration. The repairs will be followed by complete repainting of the rainbow.
A Tinder spokesperson said the council were responsible for the upkeep.
“We have been in recent comms with them and they are actively looking into this right now.”
Voting for the placement of Tinder’s Big Rainbow closed in June 2022. The final town choices were Daylesford, Hay, Broome and Katherine.
Daylesford was announced as the winner in October 2022.
Words: Donna Kelly. Images: Eve Lamb
