Can you create a large-scale mural along this exterior wall that tells the tale of Dapto Leagues Club, and the community that grew around it? Photo: Dapto Leagues Club.
Seventy years ago, a handful of Dapto locals had a bold idea. United by a love of footy and a desire to create a place where the community could come together, they turned a local butcher’s shop into the modest start of what would one day become the cornerstone of the town’s identity.
The butcher’s shop is still there today, though just one unrecognisable part of a sprawling local institution — the Dapto Leagues Club.
Now, to mark its 70th anniversary, the club is inviting local artists to help tell its story in the most visible and lasting way yet: a large-scale mural along the Bong Bong Road exterior wall.
The work, which will be seen by thousands of pedestrians and drivers every day, is intended not just as decoration but as a legacy piece celebrating the club’s journey and the people who have shaped it.
For CEO David Hiscox, the mural represents much more than paint on bricks — it’ll tell the tale of a local landmark that has stood at the centre of community life for generations.
“Seventy years ago a group of community people — mostly involved with the footy club — came together and created a leagues club,” he says.
“It probably started when they purchased a butcher’s shop, which is still on the site. It was a very small building back then.
“Over the 70 years it’s grown to being the size it is — we effectively occupy a whole block in the Dapto CBD.”
That growth has gone hand in hand with the evolution of the suburb itself. Once a modest regional town, Dapto has expanded and diversified, but the Leagues Club has remained a constant — a meeting place, a supporter of every junior and senior sporting club in the Dapto area, and numerous community groups, and the town’s biggest employer.
“Dapto is a significant suburb compared to what it was all those decades ago, and the Leagues Club is the beating heart of the community. From birthday parties to meetings with friends, weddings and the many, many sporting events, it’s the hub of the town where people come together,” David says.
“That’s the essence of the mural — showing the clubs, the town and sporting groups how, over 70 years, we’ve grown together.”
The club is calling on artists to submit expressions of interest by the end of August, with the brief deliberately broad and open to interpretation.
The mural wall boasts significant foot and vehicle visibility, with potential to extend the design across window frames or nearby walls.
While the theme is centred on celebration, connection and community pride, artists are encouraged to bring their own style and perspective, whether bold and abstract or richly detailed and figurative.
Design elements could include references to the club’s sporting roots, community life, memorable moments, or more symbolic gestures toward movement and legacy.
For David, what matters most is authenticity.
“In the winning submission, we’re looking for something that captures the history of the club, and acknowledges and celebrates that history,” he explains. “But also something that looks at our next chapter.”
The evolution of the club is indeed ongoing, with the club set to break ground on a new weatherproof multilevel carpark on Monday 25 August.
The project, which will yield 377 parking spaces, is expected to take 70 weeks to complete, with onsite parking still available in select areas during the build and alternate public parking options are available nearby.
EOI submissions for the Dapto Leagues Club mural are open until Sunday 31 August. Applicants must include a concept outline, examples of previous work and a proposed timeline for installation. To access the full artist brief and apply, visit Dapto Leagues Club.
