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The Fruit Thief

The Fruit Thief is an interactive wall mural depicting the wings of a fruit bat. These winged mammals were prevalent when large tracts of Croydon were occupied by fruit orchards.

Local Maroondah artists Roger Archbold and Andy Drewitt created this interactive wall mural depicting the wings of a fruit bat.

The winged mammals were prevalent when large tracts of Croydon were occupied by fruit orchards. The fruit bat is native to Australia and plays an important ecological role by dispersing seeds and pollen of native Australian plants.

The wings feature sawtooth edges as a nod to the town’s sawmill, while series of circles within circles represent timber growth rings
The internal skeletal structure of the wings represents the arrival of rail to the region
Asterisk-shaped tussocks illustrate the native plant Danthonia pallida, a pale grass that inspired the town’s initial name, White Plains
A serpentine line illustrates the meandering waterway, Brushy Creek, a camping site for the region’s Indigenous population
Patchwork patterns represent farms and market garden plots
Geometric squares are indicative of a bird’s-eye view of the Croydon streetscape
Tessellated patterns represent a bird’s-eye view of stalls at the once iconic Croydon market.

An important design feature of the mural is that its size is perfect to be captured with a phone camera and easily shared on social media. The mural helps to promote Croydon Main Street as an attractive destination. It was commissioned by Croydon Main Street Traders, with the assistance of a Maroondah City Council Arts and Cultural Grant.

This project was developed through funding from the Maroondah City Council Arts and Cultural Grant Program.

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Andy Drewitt and Roger Archbold, The Fruit Thief 2018, digital print on aluminium backed concrete vinyl