Robert Czakó Mural facts for kids

The Robert Czakó Mural is a large painting found at St. Mary's Hostel in Alice Springs, Australia. A talented Hungarian artist named Robert Czakó painted it in 1958. This special mural shows 22 scenes from the Bible. It also includes pictures of people who lived at the hostel when it was painted.

How the Mural Came to Be

In 1958, Captain Colin Steep was the boss of St. Mary's Hostel. One day, he was driving and saw Robert Czakó painting outside. Robert was painting beautiful local places like Pitchi Richi Sanctuary. Captain Steep was very impressed by Robert's art and his friendly personality.

He invited Robert to his home for tea. Soon, he asked Robert to stay at the hostel. Robert was allowed to set up his art studio in one of the sheds. The children at St. Mary's found Robert's name hard to say. So, they gave him a fun nickname: "Mr Charcoal."

One evening, after prayers in the chapel, Czakó became very excited. He said he had a vision for a huge mural on the chapel wall. He offered to paint it for free if the hostel provided the art supplies. After the wall was ready, Czakó spent a few weeks planning. Then, he took only six weeks to paint the entire mural.

What the Mural Shows

The mural tells many stories through its 22 scenes. It mixes famous Bible moments with real people from the hostel.

Here are some of the scenes you can see:

• The birth of Jesus
• Jesus in the temple as a boy
• Jesus praying in Gethsemane
• Pilate washing his hands
• Soldiers putting a red robe on Jesus
• Christ carrying the cross
• The angel at the tomb
• Jesus going up to heaven
• Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit came)
• St. John writing with a feather pen
• Four strange beasts behind St. John
• The Four Horsemen with their horses
• Bodies and skeletons
• The bottomless pit
• Bodies rising from the dead
• St. Michael fighting a dragon
• A woman going up to heaven
• Three Jewish prophets from the Old Testament
• Seven saints from the New Testament and history:
  • St. John the Baptist
  • St. George, who is England's patron saint
  • St. Elizabeth of Hungary
  • St. Joan of Arc, a famous French hero
  • St. Francis of Assisi, who started the Franciscan order
  • St. Patrick, Ireland's patron saint
  • St. Peter
• The Church
• A large group of people: This scene connects to the Pentecost story. It shows people from all over the world. It also includes people from the hostel, like:
  • Captain Colin Steep: The artist painted him wearing a minister's robe. Captain Steep was not a minister then, but Czakó said he would be one day. And he was right!
  • Norah Thompson: She was the cook at the hostel. Czakó painted her in a wheelchair with a guard dog. This was strange because she hated dogs. But, later in life, Norah did need a wheelchair.
  • Ruth Richardson: Norah's sister also worked at the hostel. She was painted as a lawyer. Ruth had been a lawyer earlier in her life. Both sisters were in their 70s. They were on holiday from England when they decided to work at the hostel.
  • Robert Czakó: The artist painted himself as an old, blind man with a white beard. When asked why, he said he "was unable to see the true value of things."

Protecting the Mural

The Robert Czakó Mural is very important. It was added to the Northern Territory Heritage Register in 2014. This means it is a special place that needs to be protected for the future.

Jose Petrick has spent a long time researching and supporting the mural. She has written books about its history.