Join historic heroes for coffee
When you visit the Uiver Cafe and Bar, expect to do a double-take. One wall is a stunning trompe l'oeil mural, designed to trick the eye and create a sense of extra depth behind the café wall.
New Zealand Mural artist, Marc Spijkerbosch, was commissioned by AlburyCity to create a tribute to the Uiver, celebrating the 75th anniversary of its emergency landing and ensuring that this fascinating local story would not be lost.
Marc created a snapshot of the events at Albury Racecourse on the morning of 24 October 1934.
"It's just after 5.00am and dawn's break reveals the Uiver bogged down at the racecourse, just beyond the café," Marc says.
"Key players from the Uiver rescue are depicted enjoying a well-deserved coffee, conversing, musing and reading the Border Morning Mail newspaper."
From left to right, Marc painted the Uiver's pilot, Captain Dirk Parmentier, and first officer, Johannes Moll. Behind Moll is Arthur Newnham, the radio announcer who appealed for local car owners to create a makeshift runway with their headlights.
A passenger from the Uiver is depicted smiling, enjoying the newspaper. To the right is Albury's Mayor, Alfred Waugh, who rallied 300 people to pull the bogged plane out of the mud. Two other Uiver passengers look with concern to their plane. Below the clock stands newspaper editor Clifton Mott, who hatched the ingenious plan to flash the town's streetlights on and off in morse code.
Deep in discussion is Lyle Ferris, Council's electrical engineer, and telegraphist RJ Turner, who combined their skills in order to put Mott's unorthodox plan into action. A local woman, suitably impressed with the men's efforts, listens in.
"I really enjoyed the notion that using the trompe l'oeil genre we could bring the Uiver event to life," Marc says.
"This is more than just a window into the past. It's a threshold that the viewer can cross over and engage more closely with the people and atmosphere of the event."
