Rockhampton Riverside & CBD Art Trail Preview

This artwork is made from cast concrete with five pigments of colour including moss green, cobalt blue, ruby, terracotta and citrus cream. It was commissioned by Rockhampton Regional Council as part of the Riverside Revitalisation 2016 – 2018 with funds from the Australian Government, the Queensland Government and the Rockhampton Regional Council.

Initial artwork statement by artist Raymond Garrett:

The Darumbal people believe that the Munda-Gadda created all the waters in the land, its rivers, creeks and streams, it created the underground rivers and lakes and the water in plants. My people, the Darumbal people believe that the Munda-Gadda is Tunuba (Fitzroy River). Having this piece run along the riverbank would be very significant for the Darumbul people.

The rainbow serpent will add some bright colour into the area and be a playful piece for the children to play around and climb on that runs along the area. The way the piece will be designed it will create the illusion that the serpent is coming in and out of the ground.

These tiny houses were commissioned by Rockhampton Regional Council as part of the Riverside Revitalisation 2016 – 2018 with funds from the Australian Government, the Queensland Government and the Rockhampton Regional Council.

These five cast bronze and powder coated stainless steel houses on stilts represent Rockhampton's iconic old, highset Queenslander homes and can be found in the garden beds along the Riverside Precinct between the Fitzroy Adventure Playground and Rod Laver Plaza.

As the genuine home of the barramundi, pronounced “bardda moon di” by the Darumbal people, this spectacular piece of public art is situated on the banks of the Fitzroy River (Tunuba) within the Rockhampton Riverside Precinct.

'Barramundi' by Uncle Tosie Cora is made from metal and LED lights and was installed as part of the 2019 Rockhampton River Festival.

Locals tip: This magnificent piece of public art is best seen at night when the Riverside Precinct comes alive with lights.

This monument was placed to honour Rod Laver above 'Rod Laver Plaza' as part of Rockhampton's Riverside Revitalisation.

Born in Rockhampton on 9th August 1938, Rod was the product of a tennis family and was introduced to the game at a young age with his talent nurtured and fine-tuned on a clay court in Park Avenue, Rockhampton.

The Youngster's grit, determination and work ethic caught the eye of legendary Australian Davis Cup captain, Harry Hopman who gave Rod the nickname 'Rocket.' The 'Rocket' took the American tennis scene by storm winning the United States Junior Championship at the age of 18 and just two short years later Laver won his first major singles title.

In 1962 Rod became the second player in history to complete the tennis 'Grand Slam' - winning all four major singles titles in Australia, France, England and the United States of America in the same year. He turned professional a year later and dominated the ranks on the U.S. Professional circuit, winning 19 consecutive titles before completing his second Grand Slam in 1969 - the first player in history to do so twice.

Rod Laver retired from tennis in 1978 following a remarkable career spanning 23 years. His list of accomplishments include being ranked the world's number one player for seven consecutive years, winning 200 singles titles, 20 Grand Slam titles and helping Australia win the Davis Cup on five occasions.

Commissioned by Rockhampton Regional Council as part of the Riverside Revitalisation 2016 – 2018 with funds from the Australian Government, the Queensland Government and the Rockhampton Regional Council and made from painted fabricated aluminium.

Across time and across all cultures, rocks have long been used as meeting places, as markers of significant places and as symbols of stability and strength.

This tall rock-like form holds true to all of these qualities but its triangulated structure and vivid colour playfully extend on these ideas. The result is an iconic landmark– part digital, part geological– an innovative take on a time-tested motif. Conceived as a computer rendering of a stalagmite this addition to Rockhampton’s vibrant riverfront development is a celebration of ancient natural history and contemporary culture.

The upright geometric form rises from the ground in two halves– a composition that frames the river, the sky, the mountains. The form and the space between welcomes us. It is human in its scale. An intimate protected space but it is also a space that we move through. A visual statement that reiterates the connection between the city and the river as a place of meeting.

Source: Madebytomborgas.com

Welcome to 'The Voyager', a large bronze statue donated to the Rockhampton Museum of Art (RMOA) Collection by Australian artist and previous Archibald winner, Tim Storrier AM.

Storrier was a Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales; he was awarded the Order of Australia AM for his services to art; and a Doctor of Arts (Hons.) from Charles Sturt University, New South Wales. Storrier won the Archibald Prize in 2012 with his painting The Histrionic Wayfarer (After Bosch).

"The figure is entirely imaginative. The character is anonymous. The face shrouded, the body loaded with objects and equipment for the journey - shoulder bags, packs and parcels of unspecified materials (food, art materials, surveying implements, markers, soap, a towel, matches and a gun) all to equip the Voyager with what he may need for his endless wanderings. What is not clear is where the Voyager is destined or if he even knows; possibly a fool without bearings, lost but headed towards the endless horizon or maybe a stoic surveyor marching into the setting sun." - Tim Storrier.

Tim Storrier, b. 1949, The Voyager, c. 2022, bronze, Gift of the artist through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program 2024.

Niloufar Lovegrove is an Iranian-Australian artist based on Darumbal Country.

Her practice, predominantly in lino printing, incorporates intricate Persian motifs and stories and has been showcased in numerous exhibitions, most recently in a significant solo exhibition at Artspace Mackay.

Lovegrove’s large-scale murals, including the popular flying cows under the Fitzroy Bridge, have become a significant part of the region’s artistic landscape.

Her work Glorious Peace recently won the prestigious 2023 Burnie Print Prize, an initiative of the Burnie Regional Art Gallery which presents the best works from established, emerging and cross-disciplinary artists working in the field of printmaking. Currently Lovegrove is working on two new projects including a set of illustrations on the beloved story, The Lady of Shalott.

Describing her design choices in the East St Link mural, Lovegrove says: I wanted to work with the blue seen in the other murals, and also looked to cockatoos. The shape of the bird is also like a pigeon as seen in Persian pottery. The birds have the olive leaf of peace so instead of the dove I translated it to the cockatoo for something more ‘Rockhampton’. The circle in the middle is the universe and the earth, with the cockatoos being of peace; I have put them in a harmony around the circle. Creating symmetry, I added in the clouds above, and below the flowers, ‘Shah Abbasi’, a flower design that is used in Persian paintings and carpets. The corners are what my son calls ‘shark bites'; you see them framing old Persian books and it adds to the symmetry.

Brandon Butler is a proud Aboriginal and South Sea Islander man based on Darumbal Country. His cultural background includes Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang, Gunggarri, Gangalu, Iman, First Nation Australian and South Sea Islander (Tanna Island, Vanuatu), with a strong cultural connection to the land and a passion for sharing this through his art.

A local, national and international artist, Butler enjoys both visual and performing Indigenous arts and also enjoys passing his knowledge down to the younger generation through the facilitation of art workshops.

Butler describes his artistic style as being predominantly traditional with a focus on linework, crosshatching and dots, using a variety of Aboriginal symbols to communicate the stories behind his artwork. All artwork is done freehand to ensure precise, intricate patterns to produce a one-of-a-kind piece of original art.

Reflecting on the symbols included in his mural, Butler says: ‘I was approached by RMOA to do this piece, working alongside different artists to create a piece that is significant to the area. Through this commissioned piece, connecting with Darumbal people is an honour and being able to share their animals, their area, and their significance is a great honour. The main element of the mural is Tunuba (Fitzroy River) in the background shown with the blue dots. Using the water symbol and the blue dots, I’m hoping everyone in the community - both Indigenous and non-Indigenous - can relate to the piece. The other animals include the Barramundi, the Freshwater Long-necked Turtle, and I've used the artwork to explain my interpretation of the Barramundi dreaming, going from freshwater to saltwater. I’ve also incorporated the water lily, the Darumbal Totem with the four lily pads, which I’ve used to acknowledge the four clans of the Darumbal people, and also the four U-shapes also acknowledge the four clans of the Darumbal people’.

Nestled in East Link (the pathway tha connects East Street and Quay Lane), artist Masher Designs paints a vibrant and eye-catching piece of street art image of one of Rockhampton's iconic locals. He said his art reminds him of wattle flowers, bright like a string of festoon lights, celebrating life in and around the river, Tunuba, the mighty Fitzroy River.

Crocodiles are protected under the Nature Conservation Act. They have a very significant role in the environment - maintaining a well balanced and functioning ecosystem. The reference photo was taken by talented local photographer John McGrath here on the Capricorn Coast. The croc was still in it’s egg and had just popped it’s head out. A symbol of new life. Not just for the croc, but the whole ecosystem. A significant part of maintaining a balanced ecosystem.

The artwork measures 18 metres wide x 5 metres high.

The Capricornia Potters Group formed in early 1974 as a way for local potters and ceramists to come together for exhibitions and workshops, and to share techniques and access communal equipment.

A diverse collective of creatives, Capricornia Potters Group are based on the top floor of the Walter Reid Centre and are committed to sharing craft through education and professionalism.

The Capricornia Potters Group has a thriving membership ranging from beginners to experienced instructors in techniques including hand-building, wheel throwing, moulding, underglaze decorating, texture decorating and dip/pour glazing.

Members participate in regular clay working meetings, play days for experimenting with new equipment or techniques, and social outdoor firing events.

The Capricornia Potters Group have worked collaboratively to create an engaging, quirky and fun installation of ceramic tiles on the wall of East Street Link. This installation of colourful, patterned and textured ceramic tiles is filled with animals, plants, symbols and imagery that will be familiar for anyone who lives on Darumbal Country, surprising and delighting visitors as they move between Rockhampton Museum of Art and East Street.

As the Rockhampton region welcomed thousands of visitors to the Beef Capital for Australia for premier beef industry event Beef Australia 2024, Rockhampton Regional Council rolled out the welcome mat to showcase the region.

A series of beef themed city activations and visitor experiences were orchestrated by Rockhampton Regional Council and Beef Australia to ensure visitors come and enjoy the Beef Capital for the iconic event held in May. Included in these activations were a number of new murals by local artist David Plant popping up throughout the Rockhampton CBD celebrating our region’s proud beef history with a creative spin.

These beef murals can be found at: East Links, corner of East and William Street (The Capricornian Building), East Lane and William Street (outside The Two Professors).

Commissioned by Rockhampton Regional Council in 1979, this bronze statue commemorates the meeting place which determined the site of the city of Rockhampton.

A statue of Charles Archer and his horse Sleipner commemorate the meeting place which determined the site of the city of Rockhampton. This artowrk was made by artist Arthur Murch, a prominant Australian painter and sculptor.

Charles Archer explored the Fitzroy and Dawson River areas looking for suitable grazing lands in 1853-4. He tendered for the Farris Run in Gracemere and travelled overland with livestock to arrive in 1855. His brother Colin was to bring much needed supplies by sea and the two met when the "Ellida" sailed up the coast from Maryborough and along the Fitzroy River. This became the site of Rockhampton. Sleipner, Archer`s horse, was named after Odin`s fabled horse in Scandinavian mythology.

Source: Monument Australia

Purchased with funds provided by Rockhampton Regional Council and Friends of Rockhampton Art Gallery in 2014.

Under the hammer is a sculpture by artist Daniel Clemmett.

Constructed using car bonnet skins, the sculpture is one-third of the life size representation of a Brahman bull.

The work was originally created for Sculpture in the Paddock, a 2011 exhibition organised by the Bangalow Show Society in northern New South Wales. Eight artists were ‘matched up’ with eight farming families to combine their knowledge and talents and create a visual interpretation that reflects life on the land.

Teamed with Brahman breeder Ron Chittick, Daniel used Ron’s profession as an auctioneer as inspiration for the piece: ‘There’s the auctioneers hammer, the artists hammer, and the metaphorical hammer that all farmers are often under at some stage with a changing climate’.

Under the hammer moved in to his new home in May 2015 and now stands beside the Pilbeam Theatre. It is a modern interpretation of the beloved beast that has come to symbolise Rockhampton’s past, present and perhaps future.

This bronze artwork by Japanese artist Heisei Era was a gift of Mayor Kaname Taharasako, councillors and citizens of Ibusuki, Japan, in recognition of the sister city relationship between Rockhampton and Ibusuki, 2000.

Artist Caitlin Lever has captured Australian fauna at its best with beautifully painted murals on cement pipes which can be found amidst the Rockhampton's Botanic Gardens playground.

Caitlin said the murals on the pipes celebrated the nearby residents of the Rockhampton Zoo and Botanic Gardens. When designing them [the pipes], Caitlin said she considered a variety of elements to ensure the pipes blended beautifully with the rest of the play.

She said thes pipes had been a part of the Botanic Gardens for more than 50 years and that during the creation of the project, many locals shared childhood stories of these pipes with her with excitement and ancitipation that they would see their children and grandchildren playing on them.

The artwork includes a variety of Australian animals including koala, kangaroo, echidna, cockatoo and dingo. Caitlin said she had every intention to include a dingo into the artwork to compliment the giant Ernie the Dingo playground icon. Caitling said: the sleeping pose was to spark the imagination of children, as if they are sneaking into the entrance of his den while he slept.

The mural also features a crocodile to signify 'croc country' and colourful macaw, add something bright and fun for the kids to enjoy.