The late artist Joe Hurst knew his artwork, representing the traditional waterways and gathering places of the Gadigal people, played a significant role in making 11 Gibbons Street such an important Redfern landmark.
Illuminating the city sky at night, his design on the roof of the Level 3 common area is “visible from Redfern station and the Technology Park, pretty much across Redfern,” says his son, Djardie. “Dad was rightly proud of this building and so are we.”
On 25 May, ahead of National Sorry Day, we invited Joe’s family and the Aboriginal community of Redfern and its surrounds to celebrate Joe’s work, The Way Home. A plaque designed to catch the attention of all who enter the foyer of 11 Gibbons Street was unveiled, telling the story behind the design in perpetuity.
Our Stakeholder Engagement Manager Evelyn Skilton kicked off proceedings with a beautiful Maori statement and she welcomed Elder Jacqui Jarrett, who gave a moving Welcome to Country.
“I come from an unbroken line of Kooris born in Sydney pre-Cook. As a traditional custodian of Gadigal land it is my responsibility to welcome you all here today,” she said. “The purpose of Sorry Day is for the Colonialist descendants and other diverse groups who make up the Australian population, to remember the mistreatment of First Nations and Torres Strait people and, moving forward, to learn the stories of the Stolen Generation and to celebrate Aboriginal people’s achievements, one here in particular today – the artist Joe Hurst.”
We heard from our new Aboriginal Housing Engagement Coordinator, Melissa Merritt, who introduced herself and spoke about her role, followed by Partnerships Manager Bruce Woodhouse eloquently discussed the importance of Sorry Day and expressed SGCH’s gratitude for the work Joe did for us – it’s now permanently part of the facade, floor and roof of Gibbons Street, with an equally permanent plaque proudly telling its story.
“Joe’s work is titled ‘The Way Home’ and this notion of home is as rich and profound a theme as you can have,” says Bruce. “He described his work as providing a warm, safe welcome to all people who enter the building – is there a person here who doesn’t feel a deep resonance with those words? And they are ideas that are especially powerful for the first Australians.”
