International artist Sarah Hickey has almost completed the largest mural she has ever attempted. It is on a brick wall of the Armidale City Centre Motor Inn a depiction of Captain Minnie Webb.
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Minnie was the daughter of an Armidale fire captain who supported the first women's volunteer fire fighting auxiliary called the Amazons between 1901 and 1905.
"I discover as I go that the brick work has depth and I need to fill in the cricks and cracks with spray paint and brush work," Sarah said.
The motel is being refurbished by the Mitchell family who invested in Sarah's talents, and she tracked down the Amazons, and retired professor Merilyn Childs' 2016 presentation at a Womens' Fire Fighting Conference, where she told the audience about the Armidale volunteer group.
Although women of that era did not have the right to vote, and the men got paid to fight fires, they began to fight fires voluntarily.
"They trained as the men did, attended fires, checked equipment, engaged in community safety and competed in fire fighting games," Prof Childs said.
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"It is not about pitting men or women firefighters against each other. Rather it is about the way in which we imagine firefighters, and how what we imagine is possible....it is normal for fire fighters to be female."
Sarah will unveil her mural at 10.30am on Thursday, September 5.
All are welcome to to come along and hear her talk about those women who fought fires in long dresses.
Sarah is also completing a mural inside the dining area of the motor inn, where blossoms are celebrated as the artist brings her optimism and positivism to a town deeply affected by the current drought.