This mural was funded as part of an International Society for Education through Art (INSEA) Project "Murals for the Masses" led by Nayland College, with Mike Howell of Nelson Intermediate School acting as Project Officer and Geoff Heath, Head of Art Department, Nayland College the teacher in charge. Murals were painted in several Nelson sites including at the Nelson Day Nursery, Nayland Kindergarten and Auckland Point Primary School.

For this project, architect Chris Hay approached Heath who tasked Waterman and Bailey with the job. Both were sixth form (Year 12) students at Nayland College at the time.

Records available at Archives NZ state that:

“The initial Mural project was begun at the end of 1975 after University Entrance, and involved a 16 day work session. The finished product in turn initiated further commissions and the boys each spent a further period of time on subsequent murals.”

Paint was donated by local firms and equipment was lent by the school. The mural was a colourful depiction of five abstracted landscape scenes that each included the sun as a unifying theme: a tropical scene; a sunset; an underwater scene with clouds above; a sunrise; and a hot, arid scene.

On the topic of the impact of this initiative, Howell stated: "Private commissions and personal ideas developed as a result of all these completed works. Another student executed two large indoor murals for large commercial firms and all the boys did private jobs ranging from their own free choice to specific briefs. The general approval by the community at large stimulated the boys further and they all went on to pass Fine Arts Prelim and then went to Wellington Polytech on the Design Course.”

Source: Mike Howell, INSEA project Report “Murals for the Masses” by Nayland College, Archives NZ (R20472720)

The mural has since been painted over. It is not known when this occurred.

Thanks to Henry Buckenham, Nina King and Lucinda Brown for their assistance with the initial research into this listing.