MENTAL health and suicide prevention initiative, the Blue Motorcycle Project, has erected a second blue bike on the Coffs Coast.
Installed on Red Hill, it overlooks the banana clad slopes, the city and the ocean.
This bike, like its predecessors, carries the project’s simple but powerful message: “Feeling Blue? Get Help”.
The quirky artwork is designed to catch the eye and start critical conversations around mental health.
“[It is to] encourage us all to seek help when we need it most,” project spokesperson Geoff Gorton told News Of The Area.
In fulfilling the project’s requirements of positioning blue motorcycles in prominent locations on popular motorcycle routes, Mr Gorton recognised the support of property owners Nicole* and Grahame*.
The first blue motorcycle in the area is on Rae and Geoff Gorton’s property on Coramba Road and is perched high on an old tree stump facing the Orara Way.
Group president Heck McGregor said there had been tremendous support and feedback from the motorcycling and wider community in the project’s first year.
“[t is] very rewarding in one sense, but also highlights the need for us to remain proactive and continue to spread our message.”
The project team has been out and about at numerous motorcycling and mental health related events, delivering that message in person.
They have also presented the project’s vision to Serco management and staff at the Clarence Correctional Facility at Grafton.
Serco has in turn supported and partnered with the project in creating a quirky, blue motorcycle on the Wooli Road leading to the correctional facility.
Since installing its first blue motorcycles one year ago at Coramba and Killarney in Queensland, the group has erected a further 26, positioning them from southern Queensland through northern NSW and out to White Cliffs in the west.
Mr Gorton said there are new works underway, a number in planning, and queries from overseas.
“Our short-term aim is to have a blue motorcycle positioned in every state and create a trail of these blue machines that motorcyclists can ride to,” he said.
The project’s Facebook and web pages provide contacts for health and support organisations.
Visit bluemotorcycle.org or search Facebook for “the blue motorcycle project”.
By Andrea FERRARI
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