General News
18 March, 2024
Project to delivery gallery’s garden underway
The over $300,000 Indigenous Interpretive Garden project at the Central Goldfields Art Gallery has officially started construction following a breaking ground ceremony last month. The garden will reside alongside the gallery on the corner of Neill...
The over $300,000 Indigenous Interpretive Garden project at the Central Goldfields Art Gallery has officially started construction following a breaking ground ceremony last month.
The garden will reside alongside the gallery on the corner of Neill and Campbell streets, and will possess a feature fence, seating wall, groove and rock well artwork.
The artwork presented will tell stories about significant cultural elements and local sites across the region.
The Victorian Government and Central Goldfields Shire Council have collaboratively funded the project, with the state budget allocating $255,000 and council committing $75,000.
The garden was designed collaboratively with Dja Dja Wurrung Elders, with works from Dja Dja Wurrung Clan Aboriginal Corporation (DJAARA) artists featuring throughout the space.
Dja Dja Wurrung Group CEO Rodney Carter said knowledge holders met for a wartaka, which means come together with purpose, to provide further cultural guidance for the project.
“Through this collaboration, Dja Dja Wurrung People are sharing culture with the broader community, weaving their story and reflecting the natural elements of Dja Dja Wurrung Country,” he said.
“Practising culture is healing for Dja Dja Wurrung People and creating this space will help the healing of upside-down country.
“The garden will strengthen relationships between people and country and provide opportunities for non-Indigenous community members to learn about Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and our shared responsibility to protect it.”
Central Goldfields Shire mayor Liesbeth Long is inviting the community to embrace the garden in the spirit of reconciliation and to understand and celebrate culture.
“I think what sets this project apart from others is the partnership that has formed between council and DJAARA. We’ve been working on this project since October 2021 and at the heart of this project is the principle of listening and working together with the Traditional Owners of the land we are on,” she said.
“Our vision is that the garden will be a welcoming space for our local community and visitors to our shire to come and reflect, learn and share culture as part of an active and engaged approach to reconciliation. I’m looking forward to seeing the project transpire over the coming months.”
Member for Ripon Martha Haylett said the garden will be the final piece of the art gallery jigsaw.
“The new gallery art space is incredible and it’s so special and has really incorporated the history of the old fire station,” she said.
“It’s really important as well to connect our Indigenous history into this project as well — [the garden] will be the missing piece and will really complete the whole art gallery transformation.”
The garden is expected to be completed by mid-2024.