Radical: Australian Abstract Art of the 70s and 80s

• Loqui Paatsch

Warrnambool is the proud owner of a big thing from a not-too-distant future. Not a ram, not a pineapple, not a lobster. Although an unintentionally big thing, this tourist attraction is nevertheless an icon. Floating like a satellite atop the roof of the former Fletcher Jones wool factory is a silver orb that was once a water tower. It’s visible across Warrnambool, from the train tracks to the beach and many places in between. Constructed in 1967, the Silver Ball hovers on a red tripod-like structure forty metres above the ground. It’s the perfect space-age public artwork. Designed by Ralph Jones, an engineer and Fletcher Jones’ son, the sketched plans are simple and reductive. Safety consultants working on the project even stressed the importance of a maintenance ladder being “in accord (with) the design of the tank, which will be aesthetically pleasing.” Form over function, and form over fire safety. This is what the future was meant to be about.