Sebastian Calderon, Murray Pioneer
An upcoming art project will share Aboriginal knowledge and culture with Riverland communities and beyond.
Our Town Berri’s Memorial Pole Project, run in partnership with Berri Regional Secondary College, recently received a $30,000 grant through the Federal Government’s Regional Arts Fund, which supports the arts in regional and remote Australia.
The art project will involve the construction of seven 3m-high cylindrical sculptures, made of rustic steel representing the river red gum trees as providers and nurturers of the region.
Steel was chosen as a symbolic material to reflect the survival, strength and resilience of the First Peoples in our region who have lived here for thousands of years.
Each sculpture will represent one of the seven Aboriginal cultural groups of the River Murray and Mallee. Their names are Ngarkat, Ngaiawang, Ngawait, Erawirung, Ngintait, Nganguruku and Ngaralta. Aunty Susanne Gray, a well-respected Kokatha woman with deep connections to the Riverland, is behind the concept and design.
She has been working with local Aboriginal knowledge holders and each structure will have laser-cut shapes depicting the country, food sources and culture of the seven cultural groups. Smaller cylindrical poles, painted in the colours of our surrounding landscapes, will be inserted into the larger sculptures, creating a glowing effect.
The memorial poles will be manufactured and installed by local business Riverland Laser.
“We are invested in utilising innovative practices to share this important knowledge and history of our First Peoples in the form of large art installations within the Berri community, fostering cultural pride and reconciliation,” Ms Gray said.
The memorial poles will be installed on Erawirung Country, in a newly created garden adjacent Berri Regional Secondary College on Kay Avenue, in Berri.
North-East Vocational College has engaged with local Aboriginal students through a funded program to create the paths and gardens surrounding the structures.
The garden has been planted with native trees and shrubs with the generous assistance of former school prefect, John Neale and Earthworks.
The project is a partnership with Our Town Berri Incorporated, Berri Regional Secondary College, and River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, with funding from Country Arts SA and the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
Our Town Berri Inc community steward, Julie Ahrens, believes the memorial poles will become a local landmark in the future and are important for the heritage of the town.
This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 21 August 2024.