3 JUNE, 2026
12871769-MS23-26
Skyhigh art
By Cade Lucas To say the fi re which gutted a Spotswood business park last week has cost Cameron Thompson everything would be an exaggeration, though only a slight one. The 67-year-old is one of the dozens whose lives have been in turmoil since an arson attack on a lawyers’ office became a raging inferno that destroyed the converted factory on Hudsons Road and the small businesses within it. Along with the law fi rm that was ram raided before being set alight, the building housed everything from hat manufacturers, panel beaters and debt collectors, to artists and therapists, to Mr Thompson’s own business, Westgate Coffee Machines. Unlike most of these other tenants though, 55-59 Hudsons Road didn’t just house Mr Thompson’s business, it housed him. Or at least it did until the early hours of 26 May. “I was woken at a quarter to two in the morning by what sounded like a loud bang,” he recalled of the moment arsonists attacked the building where he’d lived for almost a decade. Less than 10 minutes later, Mr Thompson’s home of 10 years was gone. “I went down stairs without clothes, just a dressing gown because the heat was becoming unbearable. The place was just going up,” he said of the moment he and the building’s other five residents were forced to evacuate. Continued page 3
The fi rst two of five monumental artworks have officially commenced at Spotswood Yards, in what is believed to be Melbourne’s largest street art installation. Spanning five residential towers, the project will deliver artworks across 32 floors and more than 1257 square metres of façade space, positioning the Spotswood Yards development as one of the most ambitious contemporary mural commissions ever undertaken in Australia. The fi rst two artworks, by internationally renowned Spanish artists Aryz and Belgian artist Nean, are nearing completion. Nean’s work repositions the West Gate Bridge as a symbol of transition and renewal, transforming its image into a gateway to a “new west”. Aryz’s mural portrays a monumental artist figure painting a sweeping view of Melbourne’s west, a perspective drawn directly from the elevated vantage point occupied by the artists themselves while suspended seven stories above the city on swing stages during production. Developer Blue Earth is delivering the project in collaboration with Juddy Roller, founder of Australia’s internationally recognised Silo Art Trail. The remaining three artworks are scheduled for completion in April 2027.
The soaring mural of the West Gate Bridge spans 32 floors. (Juddy Roller) 12533599-HC07-22
Rising from the ashes
Kenyon-Smith Denture Clinic A family tradition for 60 years 100 Pier Street, Altona 9315 9231 • 27 Old Geelong Road, Hoppers Crossing 9748 8204
Dental Prosthetists Full dentures, Partial dentures, Repairs - relines • Victorian Denture Scheme • Veterans’ Affairs John, Andrew, Simon and Paul Kenyon-Smith