Honouring Aunty Dot: A Place of Gathering and Memory
Public Art
Melbourne, Victoria
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Art Strategy
Curation
Project Management
Fabrication
Installation
Wayfinding Design and Fabrication
Documentation
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Public Art
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Artist:
Simone Thomson
Fabricators:
Lump Sculpture Studio
Crafted Landscapes
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City of Knox
The Aunty Dot Public Art Commission
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WRAP
Celebrating the life and legacy of Elder Aunty Dorothy (Dot) Peters AM, Binak Ngarrgu invites visitors to slow down, listen, and connect with Country. Nestled amongst a ring of eucalyptus trees beside the nearby creek and waterways of Blind Creek Reserve, the artwork creates a place for reflection, storytelling, and shared knowledge.
WRAP worked closely with local council and First Nations artist Simone Thomson (Wurundjeri / Yorta Yorta / Wiradjuri) to develop and deliver the commission. Binak Ngarrgu — meaning “basket of knowledge” — honours Aunty Dot’s enduring contributions as a Yarra Yarra Elder, First Nations activist, cultural custodian, educator, and author. Deeply committed to community and cultural continuity, Aunty Dot believed knowledge was carried through conversation, generosity, and collective care.
The sculptural installation brings these ideas into material form through embedded stone seating sourced from local quarries and figured concrete inlaid with brass motifs. Arranged as a circular meeting place within the landscape, each brass element hand-drawn by the artist and translated by WRAP signifies a different aspect of Aunty Dot’s life, stories, and enduring legacy. These symbols include the poppy, acknowledging Aunty Dot’s advocacy for First Nations Anzacs; the Dhungala cod, a freshwater fish of the Murray River, representing family lineage; wattle and flowering gum, reflecting Country and seasonal knowledge; and eel traps, honouring Aunty Dot’s love of weaving this particular form and her generosity in sharing weaving practices.
These brass elements are embedded within a hand-poured concrete circular form, etched with layered bands and line-work that reference the interconnected river systems of the Birrarung (Yarra River) and the Murray River. Three concentric circles represent past, present and future—continuity across generations and the enduring flow of knowledge. At the centre of the work rests a woven brass basket, drawing from Aunty Dot’s love of weaving and the cultural traditions connected to river reeds and grasses.
Aunty Dot was the driving force behind the Aboriginal Remembrance Service, now held annually at the Shrine of Remembrance. And she strongly believed that culture lives through community, conversation, and generosity.
Surrounding the circle are informal seating stones, designed to encourage conversation, connection and quiet reflection beneath the canopy of native gum trees. The surrounding landscape has been carefully planted with native species chosen for their cultural and practical significance, including medicinal and weaving plants that will continue to grow and be used over time, supporting ongoing learning, care and connection to Country.
Flowing engraved lines traverse the ground plane, evoking the waterways of Birrarung (Yarra River) on Wurundjeri Country and Dhungala (Murray River) on Yorta Yorta Country. These rivers speak to Aunty Dot’s two Clans and her profound relationship to Country, memory, and kinship.
Surrounded by rustling gums and the sounds of the nearby creek, Binak Ngarrgu offers a quiet space to pause — a place where stories, knowledge, and connection continue to be shared across generations.
The artwork is located in Blind Creek Reserve at 270 Scoresby Road in Boronia, City of Knox, on Wurundjeri Country.
Our Role
WRAP’s role encompassed the translation of the artist’s vision into built form, including technical documentation, engineering coordination, fabrication oversight, installation management and final delivery. Throughout the process, the focus remained on holding the integrity of the story—ensuring that each material choice, symbolic gesture and spatial decision honoured both the artist Simone Thomson’s and Aunty Dot’s legacy with care and precision.
The Result
The Aunty Dot Public Art Commission is a significant commemorative work created in honour of First Nations Elder Aunty Dot, celebrating her extraordinary lifelong contribution to reconciliation and her pivotal role in advancing the recognition of First Nations veterans. Her leadership was instrumental in initiating a national movement of acknowledgement and cultural visibility, and this artwork continues that legacy through a deeply considered public gathering space. The artwork Binak Ngarrgu is a deeply personal and beautiful celebration of the life and enduring impact of Aunty Dot - her teachings, weaving practice and advocacy.
“It is a deep personal honour to celebrate Aunty Dot’s life through this work, ‘Binak Ngarrgu, Basket of Knowledge’. As a First Nations woman and artist, I feel a strong responsibility to honour her legacy, her wisdom, her resilience, and the pathways she created so that her story and commitment to reconciliation continues to resonate within the community. WRAP were incredible in their collaboration and care in developing and delivering this important work.”
— Simone Thomson (Wurundjeri, Yorta Yorta, Wiraduri)
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Simone Thomson
Simone Thomson (Wurundjeri, Yorta Yorta, Wiradjuri) is a Narrm-based First Nations artist, muralist and designer. Thomson’s work spans public art, large-scale murals, painting, sculpture, design and collaborative community projects. Across these mediums, she continues the practice of storytelling through visual language, drawing on ancestral knowledge systems, oral histories and lived experience to communicate narratives of Country, waterways, and cultural identity. Her practice is grounded in the belief that art can act as a bridge between communities, creating shared spaces for reflection, education and connection.
Central to Thomson’s visual language is the representation of Country through layered symbolism and mapping. Her works frequently reference rivers, meeting places and natural systems, reflecting the interconnected relationships between people, land and water.
Thomson has developed a significant body of public artworks across Victoria, including murals, cultural installations and civic commissions. Through these works, she creates culturally rich visual environments that invite audiences to engage with First Nations storytelling in public space. Thomson’s work continues to contribute to the evolving landscape of contemporary First Nations public art in Australia, with a practice that honours cultural continuity while engaging with contemporary urban environments and diverse audiences.
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