Burketown - Flyways
Here in Burketown (Moungibi), if you meander up the nearby Albert River (Gambumanda), under the big skies called Yaliya and beneath a clear night’s Milkyway, the saline tidal flats and wetlands will stretch before you and meet the aquamarine Gulf of Carpentaria coastline and the sea (Malara).
The shallow river mouth is only 28kms north-east of here… as the bird flies, or 40km by boat. To your south, the saltpans and savannah ‘plains of promise’ grasslands stretch far beyond.
Each season hundreds of bird species fly over 10,000km across the world to reach these shores for their southern summer.
This artwork, Flyways celebrates this special place in the Gulf, and the long journeys of migratory shorebirds that recover and roost on Carpentaria nesting grounds.
Species including the now endangered Far Eastern Curlew (Ngabanarra), the threatened Great Knot, the Bar-tailed Godwit, the Red-necked Stilt and the Sharp-tailed or Broad-billed Sandpiper travel the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, from the Arctic tundra near Siberia to this land.
This sculpture takes the shape of a fresh-water turtle shell, an animal that holds great cultural significance for Traditional Owners in the Gulf region
Walk around this shell, feel this place, observe the bird sounds, and trace local artist Frank Amini’s immortal Rainbow Serpent design with your fingertip.
On Gangalidda Country in Yukulya language, Bujimala, as he’s called here, is the great creator of all. The old people will tell you, the great Rainbow Serpent travelled between waterholes and carved out all the mountain ranges and river systems you see today.
By sharing traditional knowledge and partnering on important ornithological (bird science) research to protect Flyway Sites including Nijinda Durlga-Tarrant and Wernadinga, this community is preserving ecological values on a global scale and continuing millennia-long responsibilities to care for land and sea Country.
“The Gangalidda Garrawa Rangers of the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation played a central role in achieving the declaration of a number of internationally recognised Migratory Shorebird Flyways in the area (Wernadinga and Tarrant).”
Manning Daly Art
Burketown Flyways design by Manning Daly. Image Credit Burke Shire Council
“Migratory birds inclusive of East Asian—Australasian Flyway species and the Fresh Water Turtle were identified by the Burketown community as species of great significance. Australia’s tropical savannahs are home to an abundance of bird species including several endangered migratory species that travel incredible distances along the Flyways. The art represents important themes intrinsic to the region, reflecting a distinctive and positive identity for the community.
We acknowledge Traditional Owner Frank Amini for his contribution of the Rainbow Serpent design element for the sculptural work.”
Manning Daly Art
Flyways celebrates the long journeys of migratory shorebirds that recover and roost on Carpentaria nesting grounds, the saline tidal flats and wetlands that stretch to meet the aquamarine Gulf of Carpentaria coastline.
Walk around this shell, feel this place, observe the bird sounds, and trace local artist Frank Amini’s immortal Rainbow Serpent design with your fingertip. On Gangalidda Country in Yukulya language, Bujimala, as he’s called here, is the great creator of all. The old people will tell you, the great Rainbow Serpent travelled between waterholes and carved out all the mountain ranges and river systems you see today.
Taking the shape of a fresh-water turtle shell, it also recognises the cultural significance of this animal for Traditional Owners in the Gulf region.
Burketown Thermal Springs.