On Burke’s Backyard for the last 17 years we’ve had one mantra only, ‘Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without’. We’re opposed to trendy, modern recycling, but we think genuine reusing of things is fabulous for the environment and fabulous for the history of Australia. Don and the Burke’s Backyard team visited the Silver Bullet Café and Gallery in Alice Springs. Here, old machinery and materials have been put back into service in very practical but also very artistic ways.
The Silver Bullet Cafe and Gallery is an old WWII officers’ mess, located at the base of Teppa Hill, which is an important sacred site for the Arrernte people. The Alice Springs area is known as ‘Mparntwe’ by the Arrernte people and has strong associations with important totemic ancestors, notably an array of different caterpillars. The site is an acknowledgement of this affinity with the environment. The owners, Mike Gillam and his wife Maria Giacon, have tried to combine their environment with Australian culture, history, art, science and design, providing an example of sustainable enterprises.
Mike bought the run-down block in an industrial back water of Alice Springs eight years ago. He spent several years restoring the officer’s mess, which now houses his photographic gallery. Recycled materials were widely used in recognition of the isolation of Alice Springs.
A spectacular wheelchair ramp sets the industrial context for the place. This is the main access into the cafe, a 1961 silver bullet caravan. Don was very impressed with a double-decker bus, which has been fitted out to form one of the most intriguing toilet blocks in the southern hemisphere.
The cafe is not a tourist attraction. It was created as a community project and as a retreat for the locals. Various local sculptors, notably Dan Murphy, exhibit their work around the cafe. They specialise in the use of ‘found objects’ and recycled materials.
Further information
The Silver Bullet Cafe and Gallery is open from 9-5 on weekends only. For all enquiries, phone: (08) 8953 2771.