Iddles Lane opened on Sunday to crowds coming from as far as Shepparton and Ballarat

Stretching out behind the face, down a laneway and wrapping around the corner is an entire wall of murals dedicated to the Iddles family, which has produced many notoriously hard and fair workers.

The second head you see along the lane is Barry Iddles, Ron's twin brother.

Barry owns several high-end restaurants in Victoria, including 360Q in Queenscliff, and works as a sought-after caterer, flying into places like New York and London to pull off show-stopping affairs for the rich and famous.

The Rochester born and Lockington bred brothers have done pretty well for themselves and now their lives are immortalised in the laneway mural.

“I think it’s fantastic and a great tribute,” Barry said at the laneway’s opening on the weekend.

The opening attracted a horde of past friends, colleagues, family and true crime and history fans.

Rochester was extremely lucky the brothers were able to come to the opening in person – Barry making a made dash across Victoria from a long lunch he was hosting in Falls Creek and Ron flying from Cairns.

Ron first became aware of the mural idea when organiser Glenda Nichol called him, asking if he was happy to feature on a mural in Rochester.

“I didn’t have a problem with that, I know I am quite well known because of the TV show and book now, but it’s nice that my imagine is alongside my family,” Ron said.

Ron said when he left Lockington as a young man, he did not once think he would have the career he did.

“You go away at 16, I joined the police cadets at 17, you don’t expect to forge the career that you do,” he said.

“Being raised in the country instilled family values in us, my Dad had a strong work ethic and we all inherited that.”

Glenda said the mural was a huge effort.

“There is more work underneath the mural than in the actual mural itself,” she said.

“The wall was terrible and ugly, windows had to be taken out, the wall re-rendered, damp proofed and everything.”

Barry and Ron were born in Rochester War Memorial Hospital on March 10, 1955.

The boys attended Rochester Primary School, Lockington Consolidated School and Echuca Technical School.

Their father, William Iddles, was a mechanic, bus driver and later dairy farmer.

Their mother Phyllis came from the Woodland family, which owned two local jewellery shops and a saddlery.

According to Ron and Barry, their paternal grandmother was a pioneering woman and the first woman in the district to get a driver’s licence.

Their older sister Nancy still lives locally and helped with the mural process.

Those who arrived for the big opening had nothing but praise for Iddles Laneway.

“It is fabulous, I love it, I wasn’t aware of the Rochester connection with Ron,” Shepparton's Jenny Morris said.

Lorraine, also from Shepparton, liked how Ron and Barry’s lives were captured along the laneway wall.

“It’s giving us the history, from birth to now, and all the photos used along it are great, you can see how they’ve grown,” she said.

“It is so well put together, a wonderful ode to the Iddles,” another woman from Shepparton said.

Loise from Echuca said it was wonderful.

“I like that you can walk along and read this, then walk back and read that, its not just a big picture.”

Rochester local Dianne Crockford said the laneway was great for locals.

“A lot of people are bringing friends out to see it, I’ve already brought a few people down,” she said.

“I hope they can do it again in another part of the town for someone else, Sharelle McMahon maybe.”

Kerry Bruce said the muralist Tim Bowell had incredible talent and the laneway was good for Rochester.

“It is bringing everyone together in these tough times that we are going through. The townspeople should be proud,” she said.

“It is great for the town, it will bring a lot of people in and I think the Rochester committee have done a fantastic job,” Claire Richter said.

Iddles Laneway can be found down from Shamrock Hotel, across from the IGA, beside the ANZ Bank.