Tourist for a day

photo by Ed Yourdon

So I walked to uni this morning and  decided to start my own little tour of commemorative Aboriginal plaques, artworks and places of interest I saw in the Adelaide city council pamphlet. Anyways, just wanted to share some photographs I took and interesting facts of these different places around the city.



Kaurna meyuna, Kaura yerta tampendi

(Recognizing Kaura people and Kaurna land)

Made by Tony Rosella, Danner Siwes, Eileen Karpany and Donato Rosella, this sculptural work infront of the Adelaide Festival center was part of the reconciliation project. It was made in order to recognize the traditional ownership of the land to the Kaurna people. It a very interesting sculpture comprising of a centerpiece including, which I didn't discover until later on, 4 surrounding rocks, each with their own unique shape, texture and symbolism as well as red discs which symbolise the continuing Kaurna traditions, laws, beliefs, language and social structure. 


Here's a little excerpt of what the sculpture is about:

• Tarnda Kanya (Red Kangaroo Rock) represented as a sculptured sandstone form. The cut edge represents the quarry and the precise gridlines indicate the destruction of the natural forms of Kaurna land and culture by the colonists;
• Ngangkiparringga (Onkaparinga), women’s river symbolised as a coolamon, a Kaurna woman’s large dish or bowl; 

• Tjilbruke (The Ibis Man) represented by a spiral shape that symbolises the fresh water springs and journey of Tjilbruke;

• Yurridla (Place of ears - Dreaming story of the Mount Lofty Ranges). The Dreaming of Ngarno is depicted as a sandstone sculpture symbolising the two ears of the giant Ngarno (Mt Lofty and Mt Bonython);

Kaurna Cosmology – The large circular area in the centre of this artwork represents the cosmic landscape through a depiction of the great sky river Wodliparri (Milky Way) and the Yurakauwe (lagoon of the giant serpent Yura). The artwork symbolises Kaurna connections between the skyworld and terrestrial plain

Disc 1: Tradition
Disc 2: Language
Disc 3: Land and Family Structure
Disc 4: Marriage
Disc 5: Piltawodli and dispossession of land
Disc 6: Seasons

On one of the discs is also written the words which I believe is the Reconciliation letter which says:

Murkandi ngadlu parnu kurlangga, padlo ngadlu numa nakketti. Ngadluko yerlitta ba tikketti maiingga parnungga mutyertilla. Mai mutyerta padlo ngadlu kingketti. Maiiyerta ngadluko padlongungko mudlaityappi.

Translated:
Lament we at his absence, he at us well did look, our father he did sit regarding food, meat, clothing, food clothing he us did give, land for food he us back gave




Yerrakartarta

Another intriguing sculptural work can be found in the front court of the Hyatt Hotel. Made by an Aboriginal artist Darryl Pfitzner along with Milika Muriel Van Der Byl, Stephen Dowers, Jo Crawford and Jo Fraser, this work comprises of interesting materials that almost make it seem like seperate works of art. While the colourful, ceramic mural depicts a depicts figures of people, animals and the landscape, telling the story of the Tjilbruke Dreaming, the metal plates between the murals, represent the history of the land through fossil-like animals forms.

What I also thought was really interesting was the large serpant-like body and shapes and symbols that emerged from the ground, which unfortunately I couldn't find what it actually means. I am guessing it's actually a symbol for a meeting place, a campsite or a traveling symbol but I might need to do more research on that...and to end, here's a few words from the artist himself:

"It's a celebration of Aboriginality that's very contemporary but also very traditional. It build on stories through a continuum of looking back into the past, standing in the present and looking into the future."(1)

Darryl Pfitzner

Although it was pretty chilly today, it was a pretty interesting adventure and these places are definitely worth a look. I think it's amazing how Adelaide has many places dedicated to the recognition of Aboriginal people, their culture and art especially important in moving forward from what has happened in the past. While displaying Aboriginal art and using Aboriginal names for park lands (and also some our Unisa West campus buildings!) may only be a small step in the progress of reconciliation between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people, I think it's a step worthwhile in creating a future of equality, free of discrimination and a society where everyone can live together peacefully. As cliched as it may sound, I think its true and can't wait to see all the other interesting places listed in the pamphlet!

References:
(1) Aboriginal Studies Trail Guide

Other Info:
Aboriginal Attractions Guide - Adelaide City Council (You can get it at the Info place in Rundle!)
Kaurna Language in Public Art