Timaru is the first city in New Zealand to join The Good of the Hive, a global art initiative by New York-based artist Matt Willey.
A chance encounter with one tiny honey bee launched art activist Matt Willey’s mission to paint 50,000 honey bees around the world - 50,000 is the average number in a healthy hive. The Good of the Hive is a story about tenaciously working toward a goal, and realizing that as you were trying to change the world, the world ended up changing you.
In 2025, Matt painted a Scout Bee on the ANZ Bank building at Strathallan Corner. This small mural placed Timaru within a much wider international project, joining more than 11,000 bees Matt had already painted across 60 murals in 10 countries on five continents, including the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC USA, Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, and the US Embassy Beijing, China.
In 2025, Matt painted a Scout Bee on the ANZ Bank building at Strathallan Corner. This small mural placed Timaru within a much wider international project, joining more than 11,000 bees Matt had already painted across 60 murals in 10 countries on five continents, including the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC USA, Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, and the US Embassy Beijing, China.
ONE LITTLE BEE HAS STARTED SOMETHING BIG
The bee is the symbol. The bigger story is the exchange of life, labour, produce and ideas that connects our land and people with each other and the wider world.
Matt has created around 70 murals and installations containing more than 11,000 hand-painted bees. His visit to Timaru came about through a local connection with a bee-themed community art project and a shared interest in bees, public art and community storytelling.
"The Good of the Hive is about all of us connecting around the issue of a declining bee population and doing what we can to heal our relationship with pollinators and the world around us."
Matt’s project began in 2008, when a single bee flew into his New York studio. After spending time observing it, he began researching colony collapse disorder and the pressures facing bees and pollinators. That encounter became the starting point for a long-running public art mission. His work uses bees as a way to talk about the health of the whole hive and what communities need in order to thrive.
A suitable central Timaru location has now been chosen for the next stage of the project, and the first payment has been made as a deposit to help secure the work. Fundraising and partnership conversations are continuing, with the project team keeping the process practical, careful, and community-minded.
For the Civic Trust, this is a way to support civic pride, bring more vibrancy and interest into the CBD, and add another layer of public storytelling and education opportunities to Timaru’s built environment, helping people look again at the town around them and feel a stronger connection to place.
Bringing an international artist to Timaru is also a real opportunity.
Matt usually spends time in each place where he paints, meeting people and using the mural process to encourage conversation. For local people, students, artists and visitors, there is something special about seeing a major public artwork take shape in our own town centre.
It does not replace local creativity. It can help inspire it.
The bee is the symbol, but the learning story reaches well beyond honeybees. The project opens up conversations about native pollinators, biodiversity, gardens, food production, local agriculture and the small living systems that support everyday life. It offers useful opportunities for schools, families, artists and the wider community to connect art and science in a public and memorable way.
A suitable central Timaru location has now been chosen for the next stage of the project, and the first payment has been made as a deposit to help secure the work. Fundraising and partnership conversations are continuing, with the project team keeping the process practical, careful, and community-minded.
For the Civic Trust, this is a way to support civic pride, bring more vibrancy and interest into the CBD, and add another layer of public storytelling and education opportunities to Timaru’s built environment, helping people look again at the town around them and feel a stronger connection to place.
Bringing an international artist to Timaru is also a real opportunity.
Matt usually spends time in each place where he paints, meeting people and using the mural process to encourage conversation. For local people, students, artists and visitors, there is something special about seeing a major public artwork take shape in our own town centre.
It does not replace local creativity. It can help inspire it.
The bee is the symbol, but the learning story reaches well beyond honeybees. The project opens up conversations about native pollinators, biodiversity, gardens, food production, local agriculture and the small living systems that support everyday life. It offers useful opportunities for schools, families, artists and the wider community to connect art and science in a public and memorable way.
Example of Matt Willey art - a mural on ‘The Great Ape House’ Smithsonian National Zoo Washington DC USA. SEE MORE HERE: thegoodofthehive.com
“I imagine a world filled with people that see the beauty and connectedness of all things, and act accordingly. A bee woke me up to that truth. I am painting what she showed me.”
— Matt Willey, Artist and Founder
There is also wider documentary interest in Matt Willey and The Good of the Hive.
Timaru has already been part of preliminary filming, with a videographer travelling from the United States to capture early meetings, local context and project conversations. The final shape of the documentary is still to be confirmed, but it is encouraging to see Timaru included in a wider story about art, ecology and community action. The Civic Trust is pleased to be supporting the administrative side of this community-led project.
Fundraising is still underway, and anyone who would like to make a contribution or learn more about supporting the project is warmly invited to contact the Timaru Civic Trust.
Project Team: Catherine Preen 021 220 6121. Lynne Kerr (Alive Vibrant Timaru), Janie Annear, Maeve Britnell, and Cheryl Rose. We also acknowledge and thank Lynne Kerr, and Roselyn Fauth, who are part of the team championing the mural and is representing the Timaru Civic Trust and Alive Vibrant in this work.
Thank you to our project supporters so far: Timaru Civic Trust, The Friends of the Aigantighe Art Gallery Inc, Trust Aoraki, and Timaru CBD Group, Richard & Maeve Britnell, Lynne Kerr, Tony Preen. We welcome you to support us too. Please email [email protected]
This project sits within a wider body of work by Alive Vibrant Timaru and the Timaru Civic Trust to bring street art into the daily life of our town. Over recent years, murals have helped activate the CBD, draw attention to our heritage buildings, and encourage people to see familiar streets and public spaces in fresh ways. The aim is to highlight and enhance Timaru’s built heritage, and to enjoy it and feel a stronger sense of belonging to the town centre and it’s shared history. Murals and street art projects supported through this wider work include:
Koryu Aoshima, Breath of Life, 2023 Manawa Ora Building, Kathmandu car park
Koryu Aoshima, Coffee Culture, 2023 Coffee Culture Cafe, 306 Stafford St
Matt Willey, Scout Bee, 2025 ANZ Bank Branch, 211 Stafford St, Strathallan Corner
Aroha Novak, Wall Flowers, 2018 Community House, 27 Strathallan St
Flox, Te Maru / The Shelter, 2018 Hector Blacks Lounge Bar, 129 Stafford St, viewed from the Landing Service area, George St
Toothfish, Kaupapa, 201828 Royal Arcade
Aroha Novak, Te Tihi-o-Maru, 2020 D.C. Turnbull Building, Strathallan St
Anthony Fowler, Birds, 20181 George Street, Street Food Kitchen
Zoe Sturm, Timaru, 2018 Phinz, formerly Mocca Cafe
Jesse Johnson, Alive Vibrant Timaru Container Art Outdoor Hydro Bar, corner of Bay Hill and Sefton St
Timaru Street Art Proving Grounds / Bay Spray Workshops, 2023 Sophia Street car park
Koryu Aoshima, Breath of Life, 2023 Manawa Ora Building, Kathmandu car park
Koryu Aoshima, Coffee Culture, 2023 Coffee Culture Cafe, 306 Stafford St
Matt Willey, Scout Bee, 2025 ANZ Bank Branch, 211 Stafford St, Strathallan Corner
Aroha Novak, Wall Flowers, 2018 Community House, 27 Strathallan St
Flox, Te Maru / The Shelter, 2018 Hector Blacks Lounge Bar, 129 Stafford St, viewed from the Landing Service area, George St
Toothfish, Kaupapa, 201828 Royal Arcade
Aroha Novak, Te Tihi-o-Maru, 2020 D.C. Turnbull Building, Strathallan St
Anthony Fowler, Birds, 20181 George Street, Street Food Kitchen
Zoe Sturm, Timaru, 2018 Phinz, formerly Mocca Cafe
Jesse Johnson, Alive Vibrant Timaru Container Art Outdoor Hydro Bar, corner of Bay Hill and Sefton St
Timaru Street Art Proving Grounds / Bay Spray Workshops, 2023 Sophia Street car park
Can you help us secure the remaining funds and bring The Good of the Hive to life in Timaru?
Matthew Willey is due to arrive in Timaru at the end of November 2026 and will spend December 2026 hand-painting the mural.
How you can support us
You can support the project through a financial donation, sponsorship, in-kind assistance, or by sharing the story with people and organisations who may wish to be involved.
By choosing to support this project, you will be helping transform a prominent heritage wall into a place of beauty, curiosity and connection, while strengthening public art, environmental education and community pride for generations to come.
CONTACT PROJECT LEADS
Catherine Preen Volunteer / Secretary of the Good of the Hive ~ 021 220 6121
Lynn Kerr Volunteer
Janie Annear Volunteer
Maeve Britnell Volunteer
Cheryl Rose Volunteer
and Roselyn Fauth Timaru Civic Trust Representative / [email protected]
By choosing to support this project, you will be helping transform a prominent heritage wall into a place of beauty, curiosity and connection, while strengthening public art, environmental education and community pride for generations to come.
CONTACT PROJECT LEADS
Catherine Preen Volunteer / Secretary of the Good of the Hive ~ 021 220 6121
Lynn Kerr Volunteer
Janie Annear Volunteer
Maeve Britnell Volunteer
Cheryl Rose Volunteer
and Roselyn Fauth Timaru Civic Trust Representative / [email protected]
"Pipers Corner School has an in-house sustainability coordinator and these girls are being raised understanding the environment."
Statements of Support
“The proposed mural would create an accessible outdoor learning opportunity for the whole community. The project would make pollinators, ecosystems and biodiversity more visible and understood. In a time of habitat change and biodiversity loss, this environmental message is important. Public art can make complex ecological issues engaging, memorable and hopeful.” - Keely Kroening, Museum Educator, South Canterbury Museum
“This community-led public art project has the potential to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to our central business district. It is not simply about creating an artwork. It is about creating a landmark, a visitor experience, and a shared point of connection for residents, local businesses, schools, families, and visitors. This is not only about introduced honey bees, but also about making native pollinators more visible and better understood. Public art has a unique ability to make these environmental stories accessible, memorable, and meaningful for the wider community. It brings together many of the things that help a place feel alive: creativity, local pride, environmental awareness, public participation, and a strong sense of belonging.” - Roselyn Fauth, Timaru Civic Trust and WuHoo Timaru
“Bees never forget that they are part of something bigger than themselves… their hive is a part of them. What if we embodied this idea? What if we got curious about the world and each other again instead of intimidated by it? This is why I turn walls into windows – to remember that we are all connected… that separation is an illusion.” -Artist, Matt Willey
BUZZFEED 15 Great Contemporary Artists Deeply Committed to Nature Preservation and Not Only Greenwashing Read More > buzzfeed
REUTERS One Artists’ Global Mission to Paint 50,000 Bees Watch > youtube.com
TODAY Meet the Artist Who is Painting 50,000 Bees to Raise Awareness of Their Plight Watch > today.com/meet-the-artist
TED TALK Tullahoma 50,000 Quick & Easy Steps to Global Change Watch > youtube.com
REUTERS One Artists’ Global Mission to Paint 50,000 Bees Watch > youtube.com
TODAY Meet the Artist Who is Painting 50,000 Bees to Raise Awareness of Their Plight Watch > today.com/meet-the-artist
TED TALK Tullahoma 50,000 Quick & Easy Steps to Global Change Watch > youtube.com
WHY THIS WALL? A PLACE OF EXCHANGE
Founded in Timaru in 1894, D. C. Turnbull purchased this Strathallan Street grain and wool store in 1901.
Produce from South Canterbury farms came into Timaru to be stored, sold and sent by railway and ship to buyers throughout New Zealand and overseas. Seeds, supplies, money and market information travelled back to the growers. This made the site a true place of exchange between land and sea, farm and town, producer and consumer.
That exchange helped strengthen Timaru’s commercial centre.
Farmers came to town to sell produce, purchase seed and equipment, arrange finance, insurance and transport, and conduct other business. Their trade supported merchants, store workers, railway staff, freezing workers, shipping agents, harbour workers, banks, shops and services as a critical exchange throughout the CBD.
The bee represents the living beginning of this wider system.
Wheat and oats are largely wind- or self-pollinated, but bees and other insects are essential to many clovers, seed crops, fruits and vegetables. Native pollinators now share this landscape with introduced honeybees and bumblebees, while beekeepers care for managed honeybee colonies that support honey production and crop pollination.
The mural can connect into a story much bigger than one bee.
It connects pollinators, plants, farmers, workers, businesses and consumers, showing how food, fibre and livelihoods depend on many different parts working together. The bee is the symbol; the bigger story is our shared dependence on the land, its living systems and one another.
ONE LITTLE BEE HAS STARTED SOMETHING BIG
SUPPORT THE CBD
Bring an internationally recognised artist into the heart of Timaru and invite people to watch the mural take shape. The project will encourage visits to the town centre, help support nearby businesses, strengthen Timaru’s cultural identity and enrich the visitor experience.
A UNIQUELY NZ STORY
Spark conversations about pollinators, biodiversity, food and farming in Aotearoa New Zealand. Native bees and other pollinators now share our landscapes with introduced honeybees and bumblebees, while growers and beekeepers support the food and farming systems that connect us all.Timaru became the first New Zealand city to join The Good of the Hive when Matt painted the Scout Bee in 2025.
PART OF A GLOBAL STORY
Connect Timaru with an international public-art movement. Matt Willey has committed to hand-painting 50,000 honeybees around the world, reflecting the approximate number working together in a healthy hive. The Good of the Hive is also the subject of a documentary film project following Matt’s journey and the communities that become part of it.
Produce from South Canterbury farms came into Timaru to be stored, sold and sent by railway and ship to buyers throughout New Zealand and overseas. Seeds, supplies, money and market information travelled back to the growers. This made the site a true place of exchange between land and sea, farm and town, producer and consumer.
That exchange helped strengthen Timaru’s commercial centre.
Farmers came to town to sell produce, purchase seed and equipment, arrange finance, insurance and transport, and conduct other business. Their trade supported merchants, store workers, railway staff, freezing workers, shipping agents, harbour workers, banks, shops and services as a critical exchange throughout the CBD.
The bee represents the living beginning of this wider system.
Wheat and oats are largely wind- or self-pollinated, but bees and other insects are essential to many clovers, seed crops, fruits and vegetables. Native pollinators now share this landscape with introduced honeybees and bumblebees, while beekeepers care for managed honeybee colonies that support honey production and crop pollination.
The mural can connect into a story much bigger than one bee.
It connects pollinators, plants, farmers, workers, businesses and consumers, showing how food, fibre and livelihoods depend on many different parts working together. The bee is the symbol; the bigger story is our shared dependence on the land, its living systems and one another.
ONE LITTLE BEE HAS STARTED SOMETHING BIG
SUPPORT THE CBD
Bring an internationally recognised artist into the heart of Timaru and invite people to watch the mural take shape. The project will encourage visits to the town centre, help support nearby businesses, strengthen Timaru’s cultural identity and enrich the visitor experience.
A UNIQUELY NZ STORY
Spark conversations about pollinators, biodiversity, food and farming in Aotearoa New Zealand. Native bees and other pollinators now share our landscapes with introduced honeybees and bumblebees, while growers and beekeepers support the food and farming systems that connect us all.Timaru became the first New Zealand city to join The Good of the Hive when Matt painted the Scout Bee in 2025.
PART OF A GLOBAL STORY
Connect Timaru with an international public-art movement. Matt Willey has committed to hand-painting 50,000 honeybees around the world, reflecting the approximate number working together in a healthy hive. The Good of the Hive is also the subject of a documentary film project following Matt’s journey and the communities that become part of it.
FAQs
This project will take visual art beyond gallery walls. Why is it a natural fit for supporters of the arts?
The Good of the Hive will place a major hand-painted artwork in the heart of Timaru, where people can encounter it freely as part of everyday life. Supporting the project extends the Friends of the Aigantighe’s commitment to helping visual art reach wider audiences and encourages people to look, wonder, discuss and engage with art beyond a traditional gallery setting.
We are close to making the mural possible. What will support now achieve?
The community has already raised over half of the funds towards the project, leaving a third still to secure. A contribution now will help close that final gap and move the project from planning and fundraising into delivery. We are nearly there, and this is the moment when additional support can help bring the mural across the finish line.
This is much more than a painted wall. What will the project create?
The mural will become a permanent and freely accessible public artwork, an educational resource and a distinctive feature within central Timaru. It will bring together visual art, environmental learning and public participation, while giving residents and visitors another reason to pause, explore and spend time in the town centre. The mural forms part of a wider vision for a vibrant and valued town centre. The Good of the Hive is not an isolated beautification project. It forms part of the Timaru Civic Trust’s wider work to protect heritage, encourage thoughtful development and help make central Timaru a place where people want to spend time, explore and connect.
An internationally recognised artist brings a rare opportunity to Timaru. Why has Matthew Willey been invited?
Matthew Willey is the artist and founder behind The Good of the Hive, an international initiative using large-scale bee murals to connect art, ecology and community. Bringing him to Timaru gives local people the unusual opportunity to watch an experienced mural artist create a major work by hand and connects our town with a wider international story.
Matthew Willey is an internationally recognised mural artist and founder of The Good of the Hive, a global project through which he has committed to hand-painting 50,000 honeybees around the world. Inspired by a close encounter with a single bee in 2008, his work explores the relationship between individual wellbeing, community health and the natural systems that connect us. His murals and installations have appeared at sites including the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in New York, Pipers Corner School in the United Kingdom and projects associated with the United States Embassy in Beijing.
Matt’s work is distinctive because the public painting process is as important as the completed mural. As each bee emerges by hand, people gather, ask questions and become part of a conversation about art, pollination, ecology and belonging. Bringing him to Timaru offers more than access to an international artist. It gives our community the opportunity to watch a major artwork develop in real time and to place Timaru within an expanding global story about creativity, connection and care for the natural world.
International and local creativity can strengthen one another. How can local artists benefit?
Inviting Matthew Willey does not diminish the importance of local artists. It introduces a different form of artistic practice and allows artists, students and residents to observe how a large public mural develops from preparation through to completion. Any confirmed artist talks, workshops or engagement opportunities should be shared as the programme develops so local creatives can participate directly.
The Turnbull building can connect Timaru’s heritage with a new creative chapter. How will its heritage values be respected?
The mural is planned for a wall of the Turnbull heritage building, giving people another reason to notice both the artwork and the building itself. The final design, preparation and painting process brief is to respect the heritage fabric of the structure and meet any required permissions or conditions.
The Turnbull site has long connected South Canterbury farmers with the supplies, storage and markets they needed to succeed. Grain, seed, wool and frozen meat passed through this complex on their journey between farms, Timaru’s railway and the port. The Good of the Hive mural adds a new layer to that agricultural story by drawing attention to the living systems behind food and farming. Bees may be small, but they represent pollination, biodiversity, cooperation and the health of the wider environment. On a building once devoted to moving the products of the land, the mural invites us to look back to where that productivity begins and consider what we must protect for farming and communities to flourish in the future.
The Turnbull building at 1 Strathallan Street is part of a historic commercial complex beside Timaru’s port and railway. Its earliest stores were developed by Miles, Archer & Co. in the late 1870s and early 1880s for grain, wool and other agricultural produce. A tramway tunnel beneath The Terrace helped move goods between the stores, railway and harbour, reflecting Timaru’s importance as South Canterbury’s export centre.
D. C. Turnbull & Co. purchased the property in 1901. Founded by grain and seed merchant David Clarkson Turnbull, the firm later expanded into wool, shipping, frozen meat and other services for farmers. The Strathallan Street offices were designed by David’s brother, Timaru architect James Stuart Turnbull, while the older brick warehouses behind them preserve evidence of earlier businesses, transport systems and wartime use.
Now recognised as a Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic place, the complex is valued for its links with Timaru’s commercial, agricultural, railway and port history. The Good of the Hive mural would add a new creative layer to a site already connected with farming and trade, linking its past with present-day conversations about bees, pollination, ecology and community. The exact wall, heritage requirements and painting methods should be clearly confirmed in public project information.
Bees make Timaru’s environmental story visible. Why are they the focus?
Bees connect directly with our gardens, food production, agriculture and biodiversity. The mural will make these often-unnoticed relationships of both native and introduced pollinators, visible, encouraging people to consider how pollinators support the ecosystems and industries around us. It uses the beauty of art to open the door to deeper conversations about the natural world.
Children will be able to turn curiosity into learning. How will schools be involved?
The project will support learning across art, science and environmental studies. Children can explore bee anatomy, pollination, habitats, biodiversity, food systems and the process of creating a large-scale artwork. Planned educational resources and school engagement will help transform the mural into a real-world extension of the classroom.
Public art gives everyone access to creative experiences. Will there be a cost to see the mural?
No. The completed mural will be visible in central Timaru and available for locals and visitors to experience.
Careful administration supports a strong community project. How are the funds being managed?
The project is guided by a local organising committee. Timaru Civic Trust and Vibrant Alive are assisting with administration, funding payments and receipts, with accounting support provided by Kalpesh Hari of H C Partners LP. Funders may also request more detailed financial and project information before making a contribution. The project cost includes the design and hand-painting of a large-scale original artwork by an internationally recognised artist, travel, equipment, access requirements, project administration, educational engagement and the practical costs of safely delivering the work. The completed mural will remain visible and freely accessible, allowing its cultural and educational value to continue over many years. A detailed budget can be provided to funders on request so they can see how the project costs have been calculated.
The painting process will become part of the public experience. When will the mural be created?
Matthew Willey is expected to arrive in Timaru at the end of November 2026 and spend December hand-painting the mural. The use of scaffolding or a scissor lift will allow people to watch the work emerge over time and see the skill, scale and patience involved in creating a major public artwork.
Timaru has the opportunity to join a wider documentary story. What is currently known?
Matthew Willey is the subject of a documentary about his life and the development of The Good of the Hive. Filming connected with Timaru has already taken place around the Scout Bee mural on the ANZ building at the Strathallan Street corner. There is potential for the new Timaru mural to become part of that developing story, although the final content and reach of the documentary will be determined by its filmmakers.
Community support creates public value on a privately owned building. How will the wider community benefit?
Although the mural will be located on a privately owned building, it will face a public space and remain freely visible to residents and visitors.
A lasting public artwork creates value over many years. What will remain after the painting is complete?
Timaru will retain a distinctive public artwork that can continue to prompt conversation, support learning and enrich the experience of the town centre. Its value will not be limited to the weeks in which it is painted. It will remain visible to future students, residents and visitors as part of Timaru’s evolving cultural landscape.
Your contribution can help secure the final funds. How can you become part of the project?
We are nearly there. Please help us secure the remaining funds and bring The Good of the Hive to life in Timaru. You can support the project through a donation, sponsorship, practical assistance or by introducing the organising committee to others who may wish to contribute. Contact [us to discuss your support and help create a lasting public artwork for Timaru.
Thank you to our supporters who have contributed to the project so far.
The Good of the Hive will place a major hand-painted artwork in the heart of Timaru, where people can encounter it freely as part of everyday life. Supporting the project extends the Friends of the Aigantighe’s commitment to helping visual art reach wider audiences and encourages people to look, wonder, discuss and engage with art beyond a traditional gallery setting.
We are close to making the mural possible. What will support now achieve?
The community has already raised over half of the funds towards the project, leaving a third still to secure. A contribution now will help close that final gap and move the project from planning and fundraising into delivery. We are nearly there, and this is the moment when additional support can help bring the mural across the finish line.
This is much more than a painted wall. What will the project create?
The mural will become a permanent and freely accessible public artwork, an educational resource and a distinctive feature within central Timaru. It will bring together visual art, environmental learning and public participation, while giving residents and visitors another reason to pause, explore and spend time in the town centre. The mural forms part of a wider vision for a vibrant and valued town centre. The Good of the Hive is not an isolated beautification project. It forms part of the Timaru Civic Trust’s wider work to protect heritage, encourage thoughtful development and help make central Timaru a place where people want to spend time, explore and connect.
An internationally recognised artist brings a rare opportunity to Timaru. Why has Matthew Willey been invited?
Matthew Willey is the artist and founder behind The Good of the Hive, an international initiative using large-scale bee murals to connect art, ecology and community. Bringing him to Timaru gives local people the unusual opportunity to watch an experienced mural artist create a major work by hand and connects our town with a wider international story.
Matthew Willey is an internationally recognised mural artist and founder of The Good of the Hive, a global project through which he has committed to hand-painting 50,000 honeybees around the world. Inspired by a close encounter with a single bee in 2008, his work explores the relationship between individual wellbeing, community health and the natural systems that connect us. His murals and installations have appeared at sites including the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in New York, Pipers Corner School in the United Kingdom and projects associated with the United States Embassy in Beijing.
Matt’s work is distinctive because the public painting process is as important as the completed mural. As each bee emerges by hand, people gather, ask questions and become part of a conversation about art, pollination, ecology and belonging. Bringing him to Timaru offers more than access to an international artist. It gives our community the opportunity to watch a major artwork develop in real time and to place Timaru within an expanding global story about creativity, connection and care for the natural world.
International and local creativity can strengthen one another. How can local artists benefit?
Inviting Matthew Willey does not diminish the importance of local artists. It introduces a different form of artistic practice and allows artists, students and residents to observe how a large public mural develops from preparation through to completion. Any confirmed artist talks, workshops or engagement opportunities should be shared as the programme develops so local creatives can participate directly.
The Turnbull building can connect Timaru’s heritage with a new creative chapter. How will its heritage values be respected?
The mural is planned for a wall of the Turnbull heritage building, giving people another reason to notice both the artwork and the building itself. The final design, preparation and painting process brief is to respect the heritage fabric of the structure and meet any required permissions or conditions.
The Turnbull site has long connected South Canterbury farmers with the supplies, storage and markets they needed to succeed. Grain, seed, wool and frozen meat passed through this complex on their journey between farms, Timaru’s railway and the port. The Good of the Hive mural adds a new layer to that agricultural story by drawing attention to the living systems behind food and farming. Bees may be small, but they represent pollination, biodiversity, cooperation and the health of the wider environment. On a building once devoted to moving the products of the land, the mural invites us to look back to where that productivity begins and consider what we must protect for farming and communities to flourish in the future.
The Turnbull building at 1 Strathallan Street is part of a historic commercial complex beside Timaru’s port and railway. Its earliest stores were developed by Miles, Archer & Co. in the late 1870s and early 1880s for grain, wool and other agricultural produce. A tramway tunnel beneath The Terrace helped move goods between the stores, railway and harbour, reflecting Timaru’s importance as South Canterbury’s export centre.
D. C. Turnbull & Co. purchased the property in 1901. Founded by grain and seed merchant David Clarkson Turnbull, the firm later expanded into wool, shipping, frozen meat and other services for farmers. The Strathallan Street offices were designed by David’s brother, Timaru architect James Stuart Turnbull, while the older brick warehouses behind them preserve evidence of earlier businesses, transport systems and wartime use.
Now recognised as a Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic place, the complex is valued for its links with Timaru’s commercial, agricultural, railway and port history. The Good of the Hive mural would add a new creative layer to a site already connected with farming and trade, linking its past with present-day conversations about bees, pollination, ecology and community. The exact wall, heritage requirements and painting methods should be clearly confirmed in public project information.
Bees make Timaru’s environmental story visible. Why are they the focus?
Bees connect directly with our gardens, food production, agriculture and biodiversity. The mural will make these often-unnoticed relationships of both native and introduced pollinators, visible, encouraging people to consider how pollinators support the ecosystems and industries around us. It uses the beauty of art to open the door to deeper conversations about the natural world.
Children will be able to turn curiosity into learning. How will schools be involved?
The project will support learning across art, science and environmental studies. Children can explore bee anatomy, pollination, habitats, biodiversity, food systems and the process of creating a large-scale artwork. Planned educational resources and school engagement will help transform the mural into a real-world extension of the classroom.
Public art gives everyone access to creative experiences. Will there be a cost to see the mural?
No. The completed mural will be visible in central Timaru and available for locals and visitors to experience.
Careful administration supports a strong community project. How are the funds being managed?
The project is guided by a local organising committee. Timaru Civic Trust and Vibrant Alive are assisting with administration, funding payments and receipts, with accounting support provided by Kalpesh Hari of H C Partners LP. Funders may also request more detailed financial and project information before making a contribution. The project cost includes the design and hand-painting of a large-scale original artwork by an internationally recognised artist, travel, equipment, access requirements, project administration, educational engagement and the practical costs of safely delivering the work. The completed mural will remain visible and freely accessible, allowing its cultural and educational value to continue over many years. A detailed budget can be provided to funders on request so they can see how the project costs have been calculated.
The painting process will become part of the public experience. When will the mural be created?
Matthew Willey is expected to arrive in Timaru at the end of November 2026 and spend December hand-painting the mural. The use of scaffolding or a scissor lift will allow people to watch the work emerge over time and see the skill, scale and patience involved in creating a major public artwork.
Timaru has the opportunity to join a wider documentary story. What is currently known?
Matthew Willey is the subject of a documentary about his life and the development of The Good of the Hive. Filming connected with Timaru has already taken place around the Scout Bee mural on the ANZ building at the Strathallan Street corner. There is potential for the new Timaru mural to become part of that developing story, although the final content and reach of the documentary will be determined by its filmmakers.
Community support creates public value on a privately owned building. How will the wider community benefit?
Although the mural will be located on a privately owned building, it will face a public space and remain freely visible to residents and visitors.
A lasting public artwork creates value over many years. What will remain after the painting is complete?
Timaru will retain a distinctive public artwork that can continue to prompt conversation, support learning and enrich the experience of the town centre. Its value will not be limited to the weeks in which it is painted. It will remain visible to future students, residents and visitors as part of Timaru’s evolving cultural landscape.
Your contribution can help secure the final funds. How can you become part of the project?
We are nearly there. Please help us secure the remaining funds and bring The Good of the Hive to life in Timaru. You can support the project through a donation, sponsorship, practical assistance or by introducing the organising committee to others who may wish to contribute. Contact [us to discuss your support and help create a lasting public artwork for Timaru.
Thank you to our supporters who have contributed to the project so far.
