Art from the air

Dr Aunty Eileen’s painting - Images supplied by Rotary Club of Warragul

An outstanding painting by renowned indigenous artist, Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison is the inspiration for a new garden, one of special significance to the area, which is Stage 3 of Rotary Park in Warragul.

Words by Wendy Morriss

The Baw Baw Shire Council, the Rotary Club of Warragul, others and the local indigenous community are working together to create the garden designed by local landscape designer Prue Metcalf, with funding from BBSC and the RCW for construction of the paths and central circle. As more funds become available the RCW will work with community groups to complete the design.

The garden project is to celebrate one hundred years of Rotary service in Australia, to provide insight into the culture of the Kurnai people and to build stronger connections with the land we live on and each other.

Outgoing Rotary President, Diane Carson said Rotary Park in Warragul is a great place with a toilet block, a rotunda and a fire pit, a small shelter and a playground. “The creek however, is congested and the grass area is underutilised, hence the decision to turn the space into a garden that will be used by the community. Dr Aunty Eileen has been very generous in allowing the use of her art for the project.”

She said the garden will have six trails, all with names of animals that come together into a central meeting place. The tracks will have lighting and the centre will have six three-metre-high totem poles that have been carved by the local indigenous community representing story lines and birds that are of particular significance to the Kurnai people. In the grassed segments between the paths in the next stage of the project, there will be seating areas, sculptures and art works. “We are looking for assistance with the cost of the plants so we can get them grown,” she said, “and then we will invite the community to help us with the plantings.”

She said Rotary is applying for funding to create the woodland in the northwest corner of the park. The final stage of the project will be clearing the creek with the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority.

President-elect of Rotary, Teresa Mitchell said, “It’s going to be a beautiful space. We want to see it as a place of contemplation and recreation and to show an appreciation of our indigenous cultural heritage.”

She said it’s a place that will tell a story, which is very important. The story in the painting is about the meeting place, bringing people together, the sharing of knowledge and sharing stories. The project will commence shortly with the first stage to be completed by the end of June 2022.

Prue Metcalf, the designer of the garden said it was really nice to have Dr Aunty Eileen’s painting to work from. “It was such a good template. It really suited the space as well and it could be easily interpreted as a garden.”

Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison - Photo taken by Darryl Whitaker Prue Metcalf’s design for the garden - Images supplied by Rotary Club of Warragul

Sue Metcalf, Diane Carson and Teresa Mitchell at the site - Photo by Wendy Morriss

Prue’s work now is transposing the design into a working garden.

“There will be a lot of earth moving and a lot of concrete but I think it will work really well.”

She said she wanted to stick as close to the painting as possible with its earthy colours of ochre, black and creams. She found though, that there are a limited number of plants that can be used that would best represent those colours, but also do well in a park space and need little maintenance, so they aren’t all indigenous or native, but she tried.

“We are using a native grass that is a rusty colour for the crosshatches, and black Mondo grass to interpret the black, which is not native but it’s the best thing we could use. The alternative is using black mulch.”

She said there will be a few canopy trees added to create the woodland area in the top corner of the garden with some small native eucalypts. Native grasses will be added to create grassland underneath. Along the creek there will be all indigenous plants including some bush tucker plants. “I have been provided with information regarding the indigenous and native plants for this area that the Kurnai people would use. “The rest of it is structural. It’s using timber totem poles and rocks from a local quarry to interpret the sun, the moon and the stars, which are two quadrants of the painting. Because the pathways are different animals there will be animal prints on those. We considered different materials for the paths and initially looked at gravel but for longevity and low maintenance we decided on concrete, but doing it as a rough surface finish in a natural colour so it looks more like gravel.”

Prue the designer is also a talented artist. She hand draws and colours all her designs before interpreting them into plants and different types of materials and finishes, to create a final three-dimensional art piece.

She hopes the community enjoy the garden and that it will be a good educational tool particularly for children. “I think they will learn a lot playing in the space, and along the creek there will be little paths they will be able explore.”