Graffiti tagging across parts of Newcastle continues to frustrate residents and businesses, with community volunteers spending weekends restoring public spaces.

In suburbs including Mayfield, Islington and Beresfield, the Rotary Club of Newcastle Enterprise has been tackling the issue through regular clean-up programs.

Incoming president Julia Brougham said while graffiti in Newcastle was not as severe as in larger cities such as Melbourne, repeated tagging still had an impact on how people felt about their neighbourhoods.

“It’s not absolutely terrible, but people notice it,” she explained.

“The easy targets are things like the electrical boxes and public infrastructure.”

Ms Brougham said the group first became involved in graffiti removal more than 13 years ago after partnering with local business groups in Mayfield.

Armed with paint, rollers and a small trailer, volunteers spent Sunday mornings removing tags from shopfronts, walls and street infrastructure.

“We try to get out every two or three weeks,” she said.

“When a place looks good, people feel better about it.

“There’s a sense of pride and safety.”

The club’s work has since expanded beyond graffiti removal into community mural and beautification projects.

This includes repainting skate facilities with local school students and restoring public artwork on bridge pylons near Stockton.

Ms Brougham said spaces featuring murals or community art were often treated with more respect than blank walls.

“If something’s already painted and cared for, it tends to get tagged less,” she stated.

The group has also used anti-graffiti protective coatings on some artworks, allowing volunteers to remove vandalism without damaging the original designs underneath.

While increased CCTV measures have been discussed in some Newcastle hotspots, Ms Brougham said it was difficult to know whether surveillance alone would reduce graffiti.

“Unless you have proper baseline data, it’s hard to measure if it actually works,” she admitted.

Instead, she believes community involvement and positive public art projects can play an important role in discouraging vandalism.

“It’s about replacing something people don’t like seeing with something positive,” she said.

Ms Brougham also challenged common assumptions around who is responsible for graffiti tagging, saying young people were often unfairly blamed.

“A lot of the larger tagging is actually done by adults,” she said.

“Our club works closely with young people and they’re not all out there causing problems.”

She said Newcastle could benefit from more collaboration between councils, community groups and artists to create additional murals and revitalise public areas.

“There are opportunities across Newcastle for additional murals and clean-up projects,” Ms Brougham added.

“It just takes groups coming together to make it happen.”

As volunteers continue repainting walls and removing tags across Newcastle, Ms Brougham said the aim remained creating more welcoming spaces for the community.

“We do it because it’s the right thing to do,” she summed up.

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