Look down: Maryborough's story is set under your feet. At the corner of Ellena and Adelaide streets, a community pavement artwork and an industrial-era sculpture pay tribute to the city's heritage. Children from local primary schools contributed original designs, while a monumental flywheel created by local artist Susie Hansen anchors the site with a powerful nod to Maryborough's working past.
What is the Ellena Street Pavement Art and Sculpture?
It's a public artwork woven into a pedestrian walkway, pairing student-designed pavers with a major sculpture. Young students were invited to explore what they treasured about their city — their responses were distilled into a theme celebrating local identity. Alongside those pavers stands a flywheel sculpture that honours the area's industrial heritage through the language of contemporary public art.
Where will you find it and what should you look for?
Head to the corner of Ellena and Adelaide streets (church side). As you stroll along the walkway, keep an eye out for the brass pavers embedded underfoot — each reflecting something meaningful about Maryborough — before taking in the commanding flywheel form that rises from the streetscape. Take your time; the details reveal themselves as you move along.
Who created the works here?
Local primary school students brought their own perspectives to the brief, capturing what they cherished about Maryborough in designs that were then cast in brass and set into the walkway. The large sculpture was conceived by Maryborough-born artist Susie Hansen as a tribute to the city's industrial character, drawing a line between the everyday streetscape and the region's manufacturing history.
What's the story behind the flywheel sculpture?
Susie Hansen's centrepiece is a flywheel sliced through its centre, repurposed from its original role inside the powerhouse at the Walkers Ltd facility, where it formed part of a kynoch suction gas engine assembly. Transformed into public art, this piece of industrial machinery becomes a landmark that invites you to reflect on Maryborough's legacy of engineering and making.
How was the pavement artwork made?
Olds Engineering fabricated the brass pavers, giving the student-created designs a durable and striking presence underfoot. The project was supported through the Regional Arts Development Fund, with an approximate installation date of 2002 — a demonstration of how community arts investment can embed local stories permanently into the public realm.
How can you plan a visit?
Add a short stop here while exploring Maryborough's heritage-rich streets, museums and boutique cafés. The site sits right in town, so it's easy to work into a self-guided wander. Slow your pace, look down as well as up, and let the city's art and architecture speak to you.