Over the years Warrnambool has gained a reputation for its public art. One of its most striking pieces is the colossal Ngatanwarr (Welcome) mural, which adorns a building at the corner of Merri and Kepler Sts. The mural depicts the Gunditjmara people, who've lived in the region for thousands of years. The city's lanes, particularly Ozone Walk, are always a good spot to check out street art, most notably the evocative flock of yellow-tailed black cockatoos.
Warrnambool's first mural, by respected local painter Robert Ulmann, went up in 1989: restored in recent years, the southern right whale mural still adorns the wall of a milk bar in Flaxman St. Just up the road from here is the Wombat Bridge mural, a local favourite stencilled beneath the Otway Rd railway bridge. It was chalked as a temporary piece, but the council worker assigned to remove it liked it so much that he instead put a coat of varnish over it to keep it as a permanent work.
As with all street art, pieces come and go, so check out www.warrnamboolstreetart.com for the latest. There's also a self-guided walking tour at www.visitwarrnambool.com.au.