Wheat Lumper

Cummins, Lower Eyre Peninsula

South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula has a rich history with the grains industry and the community of Cummins wanted to recognise their past with a piece of public art.  The physical efforts of the wheat lumper was critical to the loading and unloading of wheat bags at the railway sidings throughout Eyre Peninsula.  A small park known as the Railway Triangle is also a part of the town’s heritage. Gillie and Marc decided to honour both these things by installing their sculpture Wheat Lumper in the park.  The sculpture pays tribute to the men who used to carry and stack bags of wheat, often up to 90 kilograms, for transportation. The idea came following the release of the book, Grain Handling: The Way It Was by the late Jim Cronin.