“This country is capable of holding grief and pride at the same time. We can honour survival without celebrating suffering. We can acknowledge the past without being trapped by it. And we can learn from the oldest continuing cultures in the world how to listen more deeply. That is where real healing beings.” Aunty Munya

Image description: 

This tri-tech artworks tells the story of the Awabakal people from traditional times through to Awabakal Ltd today, highlighting the journey taken by many over the last 40 years, towards building our organisation.
The central area of the artworks displays a pathway that carries the story of Awabakal, our peoples and community across the three canvases:  The first canvas in the series is reflective of the traditional life of the Awabakal people.  Moving onto the second canvas the artwork `displays the very beginnings of Awabakal Ltd and the gather together of community in family homes to discuss the need to support our community.  The third canvas is a visual representation of Awabakal today.  At the Centre is the circle symbol for Awabakal Ltd, highlighting dedication to advancing the wellbeing of our community and leading the way. Across the very top of all of the artwork we see a visual timeline of this journey through history. Interwoven within the timeline are thick message stick markers, indicative of the milestones reach.
Highlighted within the artwork is the country upon which Awabakal services operated comprising of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and the Hunter region.  This is depicted through water symbolism traveling along the bottom of each work reflective of the East Coast, Hunter River, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens major waterways and in the rolling countryside symbolism sitting above the water, which highlights the mountains, valleys and plains.

Image source: https://www.saretta.com.au/cdn/shop/products/10199_Awabakal_Now_WEB2.jpg?v=1539074466&width=700