Launceston City Council, in northern Tasmania, is building a board walk along the picturesque Tamar River. The board walk has become quite a tourist attraction for visitors as well as locals.
“When completed, the board walk will be approximately two kilometres long,” said Deputy Mayor Annette Waddle.
She said that the Launceston ‘Australians for Reconciliation’ committee received the largest grant in Australia as part of the national Local Symbols of Reconciliation Project.
The seven projects funded around Australia are intended to provide cultural symbols that acknowledge the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to our communities.
The projects are jointly funded by the National Council for the Centenary of Federation and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs with in kind support from the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, ALGA and ATSIC.
In Launceston, the funding will be used to erect signs and symbols along the boardwalk.
“Ten panels, with information based on the 13 land parcels which have been handed back to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, will be erected at appropriate points along the board walk,” Alderman Waddle said. “There has been wide consultation with the Aboriginal community about the contents of the text panels.”
The committee is also planning to erect three symbols that will depict elements of the information on the different panels. The artwork for these symbols is currently being created.
“The board walk, together with the signs and symbols, will be completed in the next few months,” the Deputy Mayor said.
For further information contact Alderman Annette Waddle, telephone (03) 6323 3104.
