World Art Utopia

The Tin Horse Highway — Kulin

A row of colorful horses made from old oil drums and tins, one pulling a red drum cart, stands behind a fence beside a dusty road near Kulin in Western Australia
Artwork FileKulin, Australia

The Tin Horse Highway

SeenApr 2026

Kulin locals · From the mid-1990s · East of Kulin, Western Australia

Photo: Calistemon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as published in Street Art Utopia; full photo.

The Tin Horse Highway is a 15 km stretch of road running east from Kulin, in Western Australia's Wheatbelt, to the Kulin Bush Races track at Jilakin Rock. Local farmers and their families have filled the paddocks beside it with horses made from farm junk such as scrap metal, drums and tins. According to ABC News, the idea came in the mid-1990s as a way to draw people to the then-new bush races, and new horses are still added through a competition held each year on race weekend. Source Source Source Source Source Source Checked

Seen Apr 2026: CRISP Wireless wrote on 6 April 2026 that its 2025 competition horse now stands on the highway. A Shire of Kulin newsletter of 30 July 2026 opened entries for this year’s Tin Horse Competition, but it is an announcement and does not show the horses, so the stamp stays at April 2026. Source Source Reported

More photos

A white tin horse with black cow spots, made from drums and cans, holding a red can beside a Tin Horse Highway sign under gum trees near Kulin
2006 A cow-patterned tin horse by the Tin Horse Highway signPhoto: Gnangarra / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5 AU)

💡 4 things to know

  1. Made by the localsTourism Western Australia says Kulin locals placed their tin horses in the paddocks along the 15 km road to the Jilakin Race Track. Source Checked
  2. An advert for the racesAccording to Trails WA, the horses began as a community marketing campaign for the annual Kulin Bush Races and became one of WA's most popular self-drives. Source Reported
  3. How it startedMary Lucchesi came up with the idea after seeing photos of Balingup's scarecrows, ABC News reports; Caravan World also links the idea to the Balingup scarecrows. Source Source Checked
  4. Still growingSix horses entered the 2025 Tin Horse Competition, won by 'Ed Kelly'; the fourth-placed entry, built by Max Ballard for CRISP Wireless, now stands on the highway. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

The road running 15 km east from Kulin to the Kulin Bush Races track at Jilakin Rock, Western Australia Source Checked

Open in Maps

Opens a map at Kulin (-32.67, 118.15); the horses line the road running 15 km east of town.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 200618 Mar

    Photo of a tin horse near Kulin · Wikimedia Commons

  2. 201318 Oct

    Newest horse wins an award at the Kulin Bush Races · Countryman

  3. 201427 Sep

    At least 30 horses line the road · ABC News

  4. 20205 Oct

    Set of photos along the highway · Wikimedia Commons

  5. 202515 Jan

    Around 100 horses counted · Caravan World

  6. 20266 Apr

    A 2025 competition entry now stands on the highway · CRISP Wireless

  7. 202630 Jul

    Registrations open for this year's Tin Horse Competition · Shire of Kulin

Green stamps mark dated photographs (the date given on the photo’s page); amber stamps mark records, events and reports. Publication dates are not photo dates.

🗞️ In the sources

Countryman18 October 2013

Kulin celebrates colourful history

“The newest addition to the Tin Horse Highway won an award for the Milner and Jacks families, whose horse promotes healthcare in regional WA.”

Read the source →

ABC News27 September 2014

Kulin's Tin Horse Highway attracting tourists from around Western Australia

“It was originally created to attract more patrons to the town's annual bush race and the often cheeky horses along the road now number at least 30.”

Read the source →

Caravan World15 January 2025

The Tin Horse Highway outside Kulin, Western Australia

“Records show that Anne-Marie Carmody and Serge Lucchesi built the first couple of ‘horses’”

Read the source →

✅ The facts

Makers
Kulin locals, mostly farmers and their families Source Source Checked
Length
15 km, east from Kulin to the Bush Races track at Jilakin Rock Source Checked
Road name
Gorge Rock-Lake Grace Road (Shire of Kulin); Kulin – Lake Grace Road (Trails WA); Kulin-Holt Rock Road (Caravan World) Source Conflicting
Number of horses
At least 30 (ABC News, 2014); over 70 including town and other roads (Shire of Kulin, Tourism WA); around 100 (Caravan World, January 2025) Source Conflicting
Purpose
Started as a campaign to promote the annual Kulin Bush Races Source Checked
Started
Mid-1990s, when the Kulin Bush Races had just begun, according to ABC News Source Reported
Idea
Mary Lucchesi, inspired by the Balingup scarecrows Source Checked
First horses
Built by Anne-Marie Carmody and Serge Lucchesi, according to Caravan World Source Reported
Biggest horse
The 'West Kulin Whoppa', on the west side of town Source Checked
Competition
A Tin Horse Competition for new horses is held each year on Bush Races weekend Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 11 November 2026 · How we verify art