City of Melville Council has officially reopened the Dyoondalup Point Walter playground following a $250,000 upgrade through its Capital Works and Public Arts programs.
The work of Noongar artist, Sharyn Egan, features prominently at the playground, which was officially opened with a Welcome to Country and Water Cleansing Ceremony from Aboriginal Elder Auntie, Marie Taylor, this week.
Point Walter or Dyoondalup, meaning ‘place of white sand’ in Noongar language, is a site of deep cultural significance to First Nations’ People and traditionally associated with women and children.
“The City of Melville is fully committed to creating healthy safe and inclusive communities with a sense of belonging and wellbeing and the Dyoondalup Point Walter is a great example of the City providing an inclusive space for our community,” said Mayor, Katy Mair.
“We have a strong focus on reconciliation too through our Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan initiatives through which we strive to recognise and respect First Nations peoples, develop strong relationships and help overcome inequity.
“Typically, our standard approach for playground renewals is to engage the local community within a 400-metre radius to vote on preferred design options.”
“However, given that this is a destination park with significant number of visitors, we adopted a different approach.”
“Consultation on this project was over a three-year period, with cultural narratives carefully interpreted into design elements.
“These interpretations were reviewed and validated to ensure they aligned with the values and protocols of the represented community and I’m very pleased with the finished playground.”
To ensure cultural authenticity and sensitivity of the works, Auntie Marie Taylor was invited to share her knowledge of the site’s traditional use, historical context and cultural stories.
Ms Egan was then commissioned to interpret those stories into visual artworks integrated throughout the playground.
The central story in the design is about a tall female spirit with long, flowing white hair who gathered spirit children into her hair.
According to Noongar belief, a lock of Djunda’s hair was carried by the wind, forming the sandbar across the Swan River. This story is reflected in the playground’s tower structure, which symbolises Djunda’s presence, and in the artwork elements dispersed throughout the site that reference this powerful cultural narrative.
