Miles Main Street Revitalisation: Regional Placemaking & Urban Renewal

Queensland Government Ministers Urban Design Award 2023

The Context

Regional town centres often struggle with generic urban design that fails to resonate with local history or encourage economic “stickiness.” In the heart of the Western Downs, the town of Miles required more than a standard streetscape upgrade; it needed a strategic revitalisation that could express its unique cultural heritage while fostering a renewed sense of community pride.

The challenge was to delve deep into the cultural archives and local narratives to ensure that every physical intervention felt 100% authentic to the place character of Western Queensland. The goal was to disrupt heavy vehicular transit and transform the CBD into a pedestrian-prioritised experience that attracted visitation and economic uplift.

The Collaboration

Western Downs Regional Council engaged POMO as the creative placemaking specialist to collaborate with lead landscape architects Vee Design and engagement leads Fourfold Studio. This project was executed as a successful sub-consultancy, mirroring the integrated team structure required for complex urban design frameworks.

Delivering Miles Streetscape Revitalisation: The Implementation Process

POMO’s specific mandate was to bridge the “Implementation Gap”—moving beyond high-level strategy to the fine-grain delivery of bespoke landscape elements. We translated cultural stories into tangible, permanent physical objects through a rigorous technical process.

Cultural Story Integration & Bespoke Fabrication
We successfully embedded authentic local stories—such as the rum bottle installations, railway history, and Dogwood flora—into the physical fabric of the street. Rather than selecting off-the-shelf furniture, we delivered unique, permanent creative infrastructure, including a bronze calf, carved log town characters, and farming machinery steel fish.

Technical Documentation & Engineering
The project required the design and detailing of bespoke interpretive elements that are technically certified and structurally sound. We managed the IFC (Issued for Construction) detailing to support RPEQ (Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland) requirements, ensuring all elements could withstand the harsh regional environment while meeting public safety standards.

Local Capacity Building
A critical component of our delivery model involved sourcing fabrication locally. We worked directly with regional makers and materials, managing the technical aspects hands-on. This approach not only ensured authenticity but built capacity for the regional creative economy, keeping investment within the Western Downs.

Integrated Digital Wayfinding
To create a true “Cultural Destination,” we delivered a bespoke wayfinding system integrated with Soundtrails, an audio-based walking tour. This fused digital storytelling with physical orientation, encouraging visitors to linger longer and explore further.

The Impact

The result is a highly differentiated streetscape that has transformed the local economy and increased visitation. By expressing the uniqueness of the town through bespoke creative elements, the project has turned Miles into an outback attraction that rewards exploration.

Recognised for its excellence in delivery and social value, the project won the 2023 AILA Regional Achievement Award and received a commendation in the 2023 Department of Energy Minister’s Urban Design Awards.

Project Outcomes

The final outcomes of the Miles Streetscape project include:

  • illuminated ceiling panels that sit in an arbour, with artwork created by a local artist which speaks to the significant flora of the area.
     
  • a free form timber table with stools which was fashioned on a hotel bar which burnt down early in the history of the town.
     
  • a vintage rum bottle installation that recounts a tale told by locals of stock drovers stashing rum bottles into trees on their way to and from town with a herd for sale at the yards.
     
  • a wall of greats which features carved elements that are connected to local historical characters. Each carving has an interpretative sign that explains the carving and its connection to a story from the town’s past.
     
  • a series of reclaimed steel fish sculptures made by a local artist that reflect the Murray River Cod of the area’s river systems.
     
  • a series of seats made from railway sleepers which connect to the town’s railway history. Each seat features a small signage panel that contains a quirky story about the town’s past.
     
  • a wayfinding sign also made from recycled railway sleepers that pinpoints the location of the town’s historically significant buildings plus gives visitors instructions as to how to undertake a audio based walking tour that talks people through the town’s history. The walking tour is an audio trail made by Soundtrails.

Sustainability Outcomes

Social Sustainability Outcomes

  • Deep Authentication of Local Identity: The project excels at embedding the unique stories and history of Miles directly into the streetscape. By using design elements like custom seats made from railway sleepers, a bronze calf representing local agriculture, and even referencing a quirky local story about stashed rum bottles, the project makes the town’s heritage tangible and celebrated. This reinforces a powerful and authentic sense of place that is unique to Miles.
  • Community Co-creation and Pride: The project was built on a foundation of a community-led co-design process, including workshops and interviews to unearth local stories. This deep engagement ensures the final outcome is not just for the community, but by the community. This process builds immense local pride and a feeling of collective ownership over the revitalised main street.
  • Creation of a Living History Experience: The integration of an audio-based walking tour (Soundtrail) that connects with the physical design elements transforms the main street into an interactive, open-air museum. This creates a new way for both residents and visitors to engage with the town’s history, fostering intergenerational connection and providing a valuable cultural and educational asset.
  • Local Economic Support and Skill Showcase: By commissioning local artists to create key features, such as the reclaimed steel fish sculptures, the project directly invests in the local creative economy. It provides a prominent platform to showcase local talent, preserving and promoting artisanal skills within the community.

Environmental Sustainability Outcomes

  • Significant Use of Reclaimed and Salvaged Materials: The prominent use of reclaimed railway sleepers for seating and signage is a clear environmental win. This practice, known as upcycling, diverts a significant amount of waste from landfill, avoids the carbon emissions and energy consumption associated with producing new materials, and adds authentic, rustic character to the streetscape.
  • Prioritisation of Sustainable and Durable Materials: The selection of robust materials like Spotted Gum (a local Queensland hardwood) for furniture ensures longevity and reduces the need for frequent replacement and maintenance, minimising the whole-of-life environmental impact of the project.
  • Promotion of Walkability and Active Transport: By transforming the CBD into a vibrant and welcoming space with improved pedestrian linkages, public art, and engaging stories, the project encourages people to get out of their cars. It makes walking the primary mode of exploring the town centre, which can help reduce short-distance vehicle trips, lowering local carbon emissions and contributing to community health.

Ready to bridge the implementation gap?

Contact POMO to discuss how we can turn your town’s masterplan into built reality.

Railway Sleeper Bench Seat

The railway through Miles played a key role in the early settlement and prosperity of Miles. Custom made seats complete with hand picked railway sleepers now tell this story. There are four seats, each one featuring a integrated information panel with information relating to the role of the railway in the town's development.

Railway Sleeper Bench Seat

Bronze calf installation

This stunning bronze calf has life-like realism and was based on the most popular breed of cow that once was farmed widely in the area around Miles. This artwork speaks to the town's agricultural history.

Vintage rum bottle installation

During our community engagement process we came across a story from a local resident whose grandfather was a cattle drover. Droving cattle from Western Queensland into the markets at Miles would often take many days of work. At each campsite, he would stash a half full rum bottle into the fork of a tree and leaving the bottle there, he would stop on his way home to collect them and have a swig or two. Two vintage rum bottles from the same era (1940's) were sourced and integrated into the streetscape along with an explanatory panel.

Timber log carving

The local community wanted to tell the stories of some of the town's most important, interesting or quirky characters. We devised a way to do this which fit into the landscape design using logs which featured a carved representation of each character's story. There are ten of these artist-carved logs, each one also featuring an information panel which links the carving to the details of the person's story.

Timber log carving

Timber log carving

Timber log carving

Timber log carving

Wayfinding sign installation featuring historical audio trail

Wayfinding sign installation featuring historical audio trail

The wayfinding sign features a historical map which pinpoints the location of a number of the town's historically significant buildings and tells their stories. On the reverse, the sign advertises the Miles Historical Audio Trail, an interactive audio experience which guides visitors around town on foot while using their smartphones to hear stories and first hand accounts of some of Miles' most interesting cultural histories. (Audio trail by SoundTrails).

LIVE EDGE TIMBER BAR

This bar and stools reference a much loved bar in a nearby hotel that burned down decades ago. Resurrecting the memory of this building was important to the community. We explained its significance with an embedded sign that tells the story of the original hotel.

ARBOUR LIGHTBOX

Arbour panels with local botanical pattern

There are a number of panels in the arbour which feature botanical patterns inspired by a range of local flora such as the Dogwood and Desert Cassia. As the sun passes overhead the panels create a shadow on the ground which changes depending on the time of the day.

Arbour lightbox with artist made local flora design

The arbour lightbox is integrated into the arbour structure and features a painting done by a local artist inspired by the local Dogwood plant, the plant after which the town was originally named - Dogwood Crossing. The artwork was created for this application only and like all the creative work in this project is a unique artistic creation.

Sculptural fish made by local artist

One story which is often recounted by locals and appears in the town's history is the story of fishing for Murray River Cod in the local waterways. While now hard to find, the fish were once prolific providing a food source for local indigenous people and early settlers alike. This story is told artistically with three Cod sculptures in the streetscape. Each is made from reclaimed metal objects such as nuts, wrenches and mechanical parts many of which are salvaged from local farms.

Sculptural fish made by local artist

Arbour lightbox with artist made local flora design

Arbour lightbox with artist made local flora design

Arbour panels with local botanical pattern

Arbour panels with local botanical pattern

Bronze calf installation

Bronze calf installation

Sculptural fish made by local artist

Sourcing Stringybark logs for carving

Stringybark logs in artist's workshop

Timber selection for railway sleeper seats

Completed railway sleeper seats

Long table timber selection

Long table after preparation

Wayfinding sign in progress

Carved log in progress

Carved log in progress

Carved log in progress

Carved log in progress with botanical reference

Wayfinding sign installation featuring historical audio trail

Wayfinding sign installation featuring historical audio trail

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