NAIDOC Week falls during the winter school holiday period from Sunday 4 July to 11 July, with activities planned at the West Gate Tunnel Project Info Centre in Yarraville to mark the occasion.
This year’s theme is ‘Heal Country!’ and invites the nation to recognise, protect and maintain all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage. To support NAIDOC Week, the Info Centre will present a series of new image displays that show how Indigenous culture has been incorporated into the design and the many initiatives across the Project to enhance Indigenous culture and heritage.
By visiting the Info Centre during NAIDOC week you can learn about how different areas of the project have been inspired by Indigenous culture and heritage, like the Project’s landscape design, which focuses on native grasses, trees, ground covers and shrubs, with many of the 17,000 trees to be planted along the roads and around waterways and parks to be native and indigenous to Victoria.
Many aspects of this vital piece of infrastructure celebrate the rich Aboriginal heritage and maritime history of Melbourne’s western suburbs, with both the tunnel portal design and elevated Footscray Road both marking the history of local Indigenous communities once catching eels for meals in the local area.
The displays will also highlight the contribution local Indigenous businesses and suppliers are making to the Project, with prominence given to the role of the 200+ Indigenous workers helping to build this vital piece of infrastructure.
Drop by to learn more about how Indigenous culture has influenced different aspects of the project.
It’ll be a fun and informative week of NAIDOC Week celebrations, including a colouring competition for kids with prizes, as well as free indigenous plants that will be given away to visitors.
For more information about what you can see and do at the Info Centre and opening times, visit https://westgatetunnelproject.vic.gov.au/contact/information-centre.
