Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown—Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault) (21:30): As community members come through the gates at Windale Public School, they will now be greeted by an enormous artwork that pays tribute to the school's connections to the mountains and the water, to its community and to nature and, so importantly, to First Nations culture. When I say that this is an enormous work, it is not an overstatement. It is 16.8 metres long and 1.2 metres high. It is the work of artists Nicole Harrison and Belinda Schueppenhauer, who is better known as Aunty Boo.
Nicole and Aunty Boo are members of staff at Windale Public School. Their passion for their school and the role it plays at the centre of the Windale community, as well as for traditional First Nations storytelling, is clear in the design of this stunning work of art. The work is calledConnections and, very appropriately, was unveiled in front of the community during Sorry Day commemorations on 26 May. The artists shared insights into how they put together the design for this epic project, which took more than 250 hours to complete. I would like to share a description with you. It is truly inspiring.
Every single dot and line is meaningful and has been meticulously planned. The artwork's centrepiece is an eagle, the Windale Public School's emblem, which is carried throughout the design of the Windale staff members' shirts, the Awabakal signage in the school's front garden and on its cultural pride award board. Woven through the design are more native animals—the kookaburra, magpie, blue-tongue lizard, possum, plover and tawny frogmouth—which can all be spotted on the grounds of Windale Public School. It pays tribute to the way the school's students care for their environment.
The mountains are a striking part of the design, just as they are a striking part of Windale's natural landscape on multiple sides. Nicole and Aunty Boo said that the mountains "are an ongoing life force that strengthens the ancestral link of Aboriginal people" and that Windale Public School has "a living spiritual connection with the mountains" that surround it. The connections to water—Redhead Beach on one side and Lake Macquarie on the other—are depicted as waterholes, celebrating the irregular shapes of the area's bays, beaches, headlands, rocky outcrops and iconic shark tower.
One of the joys of the unveiling was watching visiting children from KU Windale Preschool press their hands against the handprints scattered across the artwork. The handprints represent the school's positive engagement with the Windale community. The school is a hub for social connection and cultural celebration. The tiny footprints that accompany the hands are for the future generations who will make their educational journey at Windale Public School, some of whom will come through the onsite Nubalin Preschool.
The Waiyarang Community of Schools is beautifully represented by a combination of colours—yellow, green and white—denoting the close ties between Windale Public School and Hunter Sports High School. Large orange dots represent Windale's director of educational leadership, Principal Craig Atkins, the school leaders and the members of the community who have trodden the journey ahead of the current students. Smaller white dots represent those following in the school leaders' footsteps. Circles linked together symbolise the importance of interagency collaboration and Windale Public School's place in the Schools as Community Centres program, which aims to ensure that all children have the opportunity to live and learn in a supportive family and community environment. Mob symbols show staff members sitting and working together side by side and supporting each other to deliver educational outcomes that ensure all students are provided with the opportunities they need. Coming from the mob symbols, white dots signify the sharing of knowledge between staff members.
Across the entire work is crosshatching—16 metres from left to right—showing the twists and turns of the educational learning journey, which is different for every student and inherently tied to their environment, their school and their country. In the words of the artists, this is a journey for everyone. I thank Nicole and Aunty Boo for their vision, and I thank Windale Public School for facilitating such a visionary centrepiece for families and the local community. It will be a lasting tribute to the connections between the school, its community and its environment—that is something that, particularly during this Reconciliation Week, is very much worth celebrating. Well done, Windale Public School.
