Harry Phillips Mural

The Blue Mountains' favourite photographer has to be Harry Phillips, whose hundreds of wonderful postcards, posters, books and brochure illustrations helped to promote the area as a tourist destination prior to World War One.

I have blipped information about him several times. This mural on the side of the Commonwealth Bank in Katoomba Street, is a reproduction by artist Michael Lynn (2001) of part of Harry Phillips's famous photograph, "The Bridal Veil". .

In fact one of the more remarkable features of this image (photograph OR painted mural) is that when the Leura Cascades Creek flows as voluminously as pictured, the track to this shooting position is virtually impassable and occasionally downright dangerous. I, myself, have never been able to get there in wet conditions. The trip requires well above average fitness and considerable agility for over an hour and a half's hiking, there and back. Not only did Harry get there under unfavourable circumstances, carrying a huge wooden cased view camera on a tripod but it seems that he managed to get people down there to pose for him wearing collars, ties and long dresses.

Unfortunately the mural itself needs restoration mainly due to some apparent crumbling of the underlying wall surface combined with discolouration caused by water flow. I have taken the liberty of doing some minor restoration via PSE here and there. The extra is the official information plaque.