Port Phillip public sculpture celebrates First Nations connections to waterways
Public Art
Port Melbourne, Victoria
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Design Development
Engineering Management
Fabrication and Installation Management
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Public Art
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Simone Thomson (Wurundjeri, Yorta Yorta, Wiradjuri)
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Port Melbourne Business Association (PMBA)
City of Port Phillip
Creative Australia
Lump Sculpture Studio
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Fred Kroh
Water Journeys traces the paths of water and story across time. The artwork responds to Port Melbourne’s long-standing role as a place of arrival and departure—a threshold shaped by First Nations fishing and travel routes, as well as successive waves of migration and cultural change. In this context, Water Journeys becomes both a marker and a meditation on movement: across water, across time, and across generations.
Conceived by Wurundjeri / Yorta Yorta / Wiradjuri artist and designer Simone Thomson, the sculpture evokes the elegant profile of traditional stringybark bark canoes eferencing the watercraft made and used by Victorian First Nations peoples for navigation, travel and connection across waterways for millennia.
The vessels were shaped from carefully removed sheets of bark, bound and sealed with clay and string to travel along rivers, wetlands, and bays.
The form is realised in Corten steel, a material chosen for its capacity to weather and evolve over time, echoing the natural patina of bark and the enduring resilience of Country itself. The canoe form is bound with wrapped steel detailing, recalling the traditional construction methods used to secure and shape bark canoes. Along its surface, carefully cut perforations trace the movement of water, ocean currents and navigational pathways — gestures that speak to the deep knowledge systems embedded within First Nations maritime practices and the reading of Country through water.
As light moves through the work, these cut-through forms shift and change, animating the sculpture and activating a sense of ongoing journey. The work becomes a vessel not only of history, but of continuity — holding both ancestral memory and contemporary experience within a shared spatial language.
Water Journeys also acknowledges the broader migration histories of Port Melbourne, reflecting the many communities who have arrived, settled and contributed to the evolving identity of the precinct. In this way, the work sits within a wider narrative of connection: between First Peoples’ enduring cultural presence and the many journeys that continue to shape the life of the area today.
Crafted in Corten steel with a natural rusted finish and stainless-steel elements, the work is anchored on natural rock and can be seen at the entrance to Station Pier.
In this form, the artwork speaks to knowledge passed through generations: navigation by currents and stars, the gathering places along banks and estuaries, and the responsibilities of caring for waterways as living systems.
Our Role
WRAP worked in close collaboration with Port Phillip Council, Port Melbourne Shopping Precinct and artist Simone Thomson (Wurundjeri, Yorta Yorta, Wiradjuri) to support the design and detailed development, fabrication coordination, delivery and installation. This included translating the sculptural vision into buildable form, resolving technical detailing, coordinating engineering, traffic management and ensuring the integrity of the concept was maintained through construction and installation.
The Result
The resulting work stands as a proud coastal landmark — honouring First Nations knowledge systems, holding memory, inviting reflection, and reaffirming the centrality of water to First Peoples’ and all communities' ways of life, culture, and connection into the public realm of Port Melbourne.
The project was commissioned by the Port Melbourne Shopping Precinct in collaboration with the City of Port Phillip.
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Simone Thomson
Simone Thomson is a proud Wurundjeri, Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri artist and maker. Simone’s practice stems from her deep spiritual connection to culture and Country, and a creative urge to produce evocative works which connect people of all walks of life and cultural backgrounds to Aboriginal storytelling. Simone’s multidisciplinary approach enriches the cultural landscape and ensures First Nations voices remain vibrant and central to Australia’s artistic narrative. Through her work she honours her ancestors and the sacred art of storytelling, inspiring broader conversations about the vitality and significance of Aboriginal storytelling to us today.
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