Redland City Council has led the development and installation of two exciting place markers on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) under the Queensland Government's Minjerribah Futures project.
Place markers, including sculptural works and dual naming signage, have been completed at Amity Point (Pulan) and Point Lookout (Mulumba).
The place markers help develop a sense of place, encourage visitors to go to the townships, learn more about Quandamooka culture and promote the island through taking images of the works and posting them on social media.
Quandamooka artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins created the Mulumba place marker, and Quandamooka artist Belinda Close the Pulan placeContinue reading
Redland City Council has led the development and installation of two exciting place markers on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) under the Queensland Government's Minjerribah Futures project.
Place markers, including sculptural works and dual naming signage, have been completed at Amity Point (Pulan) and Point Lookout (Mulumba).
The place markers help develop a sense of place, encourage visitors to go to the townships, learn more about Quandamooka culture and promote the island through taking images of the works and posting them on social media.
Quandamooka artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins created the Mulumba place marker, and Quandamooka artist Belinda Close the Pulan place marker. Both place markers are gaining significant support from locals and visitors who are regularly seen photographing them.
The artists have captured perfectly the timeless links of the eugarie shell (at Mulumba) and sea eagle (at Pulan) to the Quandamooka people.
Their works share Quandamooka culture and storylines that are thousands of years old and will allow all those who experience them, whether visitor or local, to learn about the ancestral connections between people and place, expressed by the artists who are of the place.
Besides being an important acknowledgement of Quandamooka culture, we know that international visitors to Australia – as well as visitors from closer to home – want to experience Aboriginal culture.
The eugarie is symbolic of people coming together. They mark places of gathering for Quandamooka people and the new place marker honours those places of gathering, those who gathered and will mark the place of ongoing gatherings.
At Pulan, the marker shares the story of Mirriginpah, the sea eagle. The work depicts the eagle soaring above in search of food and is of great cultural significance to the Quandamooka people. It is a storyline of the sea eagle alerting the Quandamooka people to the start of the mullet season.
The Pulan art, which also acts as a weather vane, has been installed at Cabarita Park and the Mulumba place marker has been installed at the Gorge Walk trail head, opposite the shops.
The place markers are more than just signs - think of iconic public art that visitors would take a selfie in front of!
The markers also include a vertical sign, located closer to the roadsides, that announces the township name in dual language (see image). The back of these signs include interpretive information.
Council has worked with Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) on the project.
Council led community engagement on the designs. This included engaging with the community at the Point Lookout Markets at the Minjerribah Futures stand, as well as meeting individually with business owners and key groups across the island in July.
The works are funded by the Queensland Government.
