Looking for things to do in Caloundra? Take a stroll to find the street art award winner in the amazing Caloundra Street Art Trail.
The 1.7-kilometre Caloundra Street Art Trail includes memories of old Caloundra like the city’s oldest structure, the lighthouse, a tribute to Ma and Pa Bendall, who were a cornerstone of Caloundra’s surfing culture, and a classic take on modern Caloundra.
Caloundra on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has been quietly reinventing itself as the cool capital of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. The collection of street art is vibrant and varied and weaves through the main streets and laneways. There are also interesting street sculptures to see.
Closer to Brisbane (90 km from the city), this part of the coast is a haven for families who enjoy the opportunity to swim at the wide range of beaches on offer. My surfer partner says it doesn’t matter what the wind direction is, there is nearly always a good beach where you can swim here. That’s because the headland has created lots of pretty little coves where you can escape and relax.
The headlands also are perfect for rock hopping or a dip in the small tidal pools. Perfect things for kids in Caloundra.
Got an hour or so spare? Follow the Caloundra Street Art Trail and you’ll get some exercise and enjoyment from the fabulous public art.
Dingle Avenue corner
Local street artist Steven Bordonaro’s take on Caloundra at Dingle Wall is my Caloundra Street Art Trail favourite because it is totally Caloundra. Look hard and you’ll see Caloundra’s lighthouse, the mullet fisherman, surfing pioneers Ma and Pa Bendall and even the Caloundra Music Festival.
Why do all the people in the mural only have one eye? Artist Steven Bordonaro joked that he told the Caloundra City Council he would reduce the price if they only had one eye because this was less work. I still don’t totally believe this, but it’s a great story
Add looking out for Steven’s beach art to your what to do in Caloundra list. Check his Instagram feed for examples.
Kings Beach Bathing Pavilion
This historic building has a vintage image of a woman bather on the outside.
Caloundra Street Art Trail in Lamkin Lane
You might head to this laneway for the excellent coffee, but don’t miss the wall of street art while you are there.
This includes Caloundra’s oldest lighthouse which was built in 1896. It sits on the top of Canberra Terrace and is open twice a month on Saturday mornings to visitors by Friends of the Lighthouse.
Street Art on the Sunshine Coast – Ma and Pa Bendall
On the rear wall of the Caloundra Transit Centre is this work by Adam Lewszuk, Ryan Sullivan and David Houghton showing Ma and Pa Bendall.
This husband and wife were famous older surfers in Caloundra and are known as the mother and father of surfing on the Sunshine Coast. It all started in 1959 when Pa (Charles), at the age of 50, became hooked on surfing. In the 1960s the couple launched a group called the Moffateers (Moffat Beach is a popular Caloundra spot) to clean up surfing’s image which had become associated with sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Pa died in 1973 but Ma (Marjorie) lived until 2001 and died at the age of 91. The Pa and Ma Bendall Surfing Classic has been a regular event on the local surfing calendar and is the second longest ruing surfing contest in Australia.
Looking Glass Fish in the Deep Hue Sea
The street art in Caloundra with the most wow factor is Looking Glass Fish in the Deep Hue Sea on the top end of Bulcock Street. You’ll need to download an app to see this augmented reality work, which won an award for Australia’s Best External Mural in 2019, jump off the wall.
It’s an augmented reality artwork that includes fish swimming through a spectacular ocean scape. When you download the app, you’ll find the work also is accompanied by music. Viewers can video themselves interacting with the 3D animation. Try swimming with the fish!
Caloundra Street Art Trail in Williamson Lane
This laneway has several interesting examples of street art in the Sunshine Coast including two black cats. Titled Miniature Panthers, they work was painted by local artist David Houghton in 2016 and was inspired by his own cats.
The four-metre-high tiger in the lane is also hard to miss. It’s called Hopeful IV and was painted by artist Claire Matthews AKA Fuzeillear. It’s all about drifting above everything and remembering what it feels like to be calm and hopeful.
Caloundra Regional Gallery
The side of th Canberra Regional Gallery is covered by a whimsical mural by Andrew Frazer and Kyle Hughes-Odgers.
Do go inside as well as there are things for kids in Caloundra to do here.
Where is Caloundra?
From Brisbane it is a simple drive on the Bruce Highway to reach this coastal city.
What to do in Caloundra?
What to do in Caloundra? I stayed at Rumba Beach Resort in Caloundra and enjoyed the close proximity to Bulcock Beach and the amazing views over Pumicestone Passage. I think you could sit on the deck here and enjoy the view for hours. Every morning we just walked across the road for a swim and enjoyed breakfast in the cafes on street level.
Here’s my dawn view over Pumicestone Passage taken from the balcony. Not bad, hey?
On Friday night there was a street food market and on Sunday Caloundra’s main street was filled with market stalls.
You won’t be left wondering what to do in Caloundra and there are plenty of things for kids in Caloundra too.
Artist Steven Bordonaro has another work just inside the entrance of Rumba which shows a typical beach day at Caloundra. Don’t you want to be in that picture? I do! Just one more piece of street art on the Sunshine Coast.
More Street Art to see
Disclaimer: Edbk visited Caloundra with the support of Rumba Beach Retreat and Tourism Sunshine Coast.
Hello Kerry. How are you? I hope you’ve been ok in these crazy days we’ve all been experiencing.
Oh WOW! What a GREAT story about our Art Trail here in Caloundra. It certainly is a fun way to see our town and to experience a variety of public art that is going on in our area. Thank you again SO much for your fantastic story and including myself in it, and to mention my sandart that I do too. That’s so nice. I am honoured to be part of this trail and stand next to many other wonderfully talented artists that have produced public art in Caloundra as well. And hopefully, in the future, there will be many many more pieces to share and walk to on the tour.
Thanks again Kerry. Kindest regards. Steven 🙂