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Regeneration

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Joanna Lefroy Capelle

Asset Type: Mural

Year of Work: 1996

Location: Niches under Northern edge of Victoria Gardens, on Southern pier of Inlet to Claisebrook Cove

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: Twenty meters long by five meters high, the Niche Wall Mural by Joanna Lefroy Capelle is a narrative of East Perth history.  

According to the plaque it traces the “evolution of this area from its origins in the Bibbulmun nation to the arrival of Europeans, industrial and horticultural growth, the phase of dormancy and finally renewal as a place of community and harmony for the human spirit”. In the absence of other more detailed information about East Perth’s history, the mural simplifies this story.  Regardless of intentions, the artwork implies Darwinist “evolution” of the suburb. Aboriginal connections to the area are relegated to a “bygone” past. Some have claimed that the representation is “grotesque” and offensive.

The placement of the mural on a limestone wall (built to disguise the sewage pipes behind it), along with the abandoned blankets which regularly appear in front of the mural, suggest the harmony mentioned in the plaque is, in fact, a façade.

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Charnock Woman

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Sandra Hill, Miv Egan, Jenny Dawson

Asset Type: Mosaic

Year of Work: 1996

Location: Eastern Observatory, Victoria Gardens, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

The East Perth foreshore was a meeting and camping place for the Noongar people. This colourful ceramic mosaic tells the Noongar Dreaming Story of a giant evilspirit woman, known as the Charnock woman, who stole children. The story can be read on the accompanying wall plaque.

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Heritage Map

Image Source Link

Image source Google Maps

Artist: Malcolm McGregor

Asset Type: Sculpture, Print

Year of Work: 2001

Location: Intersection of Royal Street and Regal Place, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: The Heritage Map is made from granite. It shows the old East Perth with descriptions and other historical information.

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The Weeping Wall

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Nola Farman, Marcelle George

Asset Type: Sculpture, Water feature, Plaque

Year of Work: 1998

Location: The Greenway, beneath Brook Street, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: The curved limestone retaining wall not only ensures that a mature tree remains part of the new landscape, but also that the water artificially seeping through it reinforces the power and presence of water in this area of Perth.

The text talks about the abundance of food found in the Claisebrook wetland and how it was cooked in the past

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Yoondoorup Boorna

Artist: Alma Toomath

Asset Type: Plaque, Prose

Year of Work: 1996

Location: Swan River Foreshore, North Eastern corner of Victoria Gardens, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

Description: This old river gum, removed as part of the redevelopment of the East Perth area, was treated and returned to the site at the request of the Noongar people. Its burnt and split trunk was used as a hiding place for goods and messages by those who once camped here. In 2014 the tree saddle was destroyed by fire leaving only the log and plaque. 

Inscription:
YOONDOORUP BOORNA
Claisebrook Tree

This tree has been used in many ways
by the Bibbulmun people at this location
on the border of the Derbal Yaragan
Swan River it is hereby recognised
for harmony and friendship.

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Unnamed Seat

Image source Eugene Scrivener (Museum of Perth)

Artist: Rueben Kooperman and Flint Edwards

Asset Type: Public amenity

Year of Work: 1998

Location: At foot of retaining wall facing Swan River
Foreshore, beneath Southern side of 16 Vanguard Terrace, East Perth

Provenance: City of Perth

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