Brothers' Waikanae rail bridge kingfisher mural replaces tagging

WOW FACTOR: Close up of new artwork under the Waikanae River rail bridge.

A colourful, intricate and appealing aerosol artwork of a kingfisher in flight has appeared on the southern end of the Waikanae River rail bridge base, north of Wellington.

The large scale artwork was created by brothers Theo and Leroi Arraj in conjunction with Destination Waikanae as well as KiwiRail.

Sue Lusk, chairwoman of Destination Waikanae, said the work, which also included removing various tagging, was "all down to Norma McCallum's determination never to give up and to find the right people in authority to help battle the tagging that has proliferated round Waikanae".

"We struck gold with Isaac from KiwiRail who smoothed the way for us to get down to the rail bridge on New Year's Day to get at the tagging on the pillars on the river bed.

"Unfortunately the first day was a washout but the following day was fine enough to paint."

Ms Lusk, Cath Chittenden and volunteers from Destination Waikanae and the Waikanae Community Patrol battled gale force winds to paint out tagging around one of the pillars while the Arraj brothers perched in the one sheltered spot on the site and spent a day creating the kingfisher which can now be seen from the road as you head south across the Waikanae River road bridge.

CREATIVE: New artwork under the Waikanae River rail bridge.

"Theo and Leroi's artwork is a beautiful backdrop for this popular swimming spot and an attraction for all the visitors walking along our lovely Waikanae River tracks," Ms Lusk said.

"It is the result of real community effort, with more to come.

"Thank you to everyone who has been involved."

Theo Arraj chose the kingfisher for its unique shape and bright colours.

"After the initial outline was sketched of the bird the rest was freestyle expression by my brother and I.

"We vibed off each other, the natural surroundings and environment we were in.

"I love the finished product and the positive feedback has been incredible.

"I truly feel blessed to have had the opportunity to add some colour and dynamic to the popular swimming spot for the Kapiti community.

"I hope this piece inspires and gives off as much positive energy as there was put into painting it."