VISITORS to Heart Morass Wildlife Reserve will now be greeted by a striking sculpture when they enter its gates.
The 1.5-tonne structure was officially unveiled on Wednesday, October 26 at an event hosted by Dr John Caldow.
Made by local artist Gavin Roberts, the commemorative sculpture recognises the contribution of the inaugural Trustees of the Hugh D. T. Williamson Foundation – one of the five organisations that assisted with the reserve’s redevelopment.
Current Chair of the Foundation, Stephen Newton AO was among those to speak at the event, and explained to the Gippsland Times how the idea for the sculpture came about.
“It stemmed from the decision by our founding Chair, Denis Tricks to make it possible to recognise the four founding trustees, and he asked me and one of the other current trustees to take the project on-board,” Mr Newton said.
“The other trustee and I discussed it; we decided that we would try and recognise the trustees in different parts of Victoria, and given the great interest the trustees take in Gippsland and in the Heart Morass, I contacted John Caldow and asked whether I could talk with him about how we might recognise them here.
“The idea of the sculpture came from that conversation.”
Other parties, including Field & Game Australia (FGA) and the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (WGCMA) were consulted in the creation of the artwork, their representatives present for the unveiling.
Photo: Tom Parry
FGA Hunting & Conservation Manager, Glenn Falla spoke about the difficulties in designing Mr Roberts’ sculpture: “trying to understand how a hunting organisation that owns a property can be so heavily involved with conservation, how the two fit, and how (Mr Roberts) was going to represent that.”
“I think he’s done that perfectly by using a sculpture that includes a waterbird, but is also shared on our WET logo at the Wetlands Environmental Taskforce, (which is) part of Field & Game’s conservation,” Mr Falla said.
WGCMA chief executive Martin Fuller also offered his approval of Mr Roberts’ work.
“I really like it – it’s inspiring, it’s symbolic, and like all great sculptures, you can look at it from a number of different angles and probably interpret it in a number of different ways,” Mr Fuller said.
“So, as a feature at the entrance of Heart Morass, it is absolutely perfect.”
In his speech to attendees, Gavin Roberts said the sculpture was meant to evoke “a stylised waterbird coming out of the Morass”.
He also noted that his time spent working on the sculpture and visiting the reserve “definitely changed my perspective on what Field & Game do”.
Mr Newton thanked Dr Caldow for making the day possible, and Mr Roberts for his vision and skill in creating the artwork: “it is even better than what I thought it would be.”
He hoped that the sculpture would be “an example to others to see what a difference individuals can make.”
Photo: Tom Parry
