Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner public marker

Their artwork, Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner is situated on a small reserve at the intersection of Victoria and Franklin Streets, in proximity to the site known to be where the two men were hanged.

Experimental and empowering, this contemporary artwork invites those who live in or visit Melbourne to discover how this story informs our knowledge of Aboriginal history and contested stories of colonisation.

The installation was informed by historical information in the research report Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner: The involvement of Aboriginal people from Tasmania in key events of early Melbourne and was opened publicly on Sunday 11 September 2016.

​Artist statement

Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner is a permanent marker that is experimental and empowering. It begs contemporary viewers to embrace innovative processes of how to remember their tragic story through historical artistic representations of the ready-made object.

The permanent marker comprises six brightly coloured newspaper stands, a static solid bluestone swing, indigenous food and medicine plantings and a reproduction suburban Victorian style fence.

The brightly coloured newspaper stands represent colours of both the Aboriginal and Australian flags: red, white, blue yellow and black. Australian and Aboriginal law have often clashed and this story is one that represents this clash, hence the colours of the flags coming together. Newspapers in each stand acknowledge diverse early colonial and Aboriginal histories of Melbourne and Tasmania, heritage stories and the specific story of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener.

The static solid bluestone swing and tomb-like structure with the names Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner engraved on the side invites visitors to the site to sit, contemplate and reflect. The children’s swing seat becomes the tomb, laden with memory and history.

The pavement in bluestone and a woven wire gate reflect the nostalgic history of Melbourne. The bluestone path, a continuation from the Old Melbourne Gaol connects the two sites, signifying connection to a complex history involving crime and punishment in early Melbourne.

The structure sits amongst indigenous medicine plants that are useful for regeneration and native to the landscape of Parperloihener clan (Cape Grim), Iarapuna (Bay of Fires), Woiworung and Boonwurrung of the Kulin Nation (Melbourne).

The viewer will learn not only about history and the significance of this story, but will also about the importance of Aboriginal medicines and land care, which relate directly to the care of the body and culture.

Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner creates an educational platform to ensure longevity of their story, and invites Melbourne locals and visitors to discover how this story informs our knowledge of Aboriginal history and contested histories of colonisation.

About the artists

Brook Andrew is known for his investigation of dominant Western narratives, specifically relating to colonialism, placing Australia at the centre of a global inquisition. Apart from drawing inspiration from vernacular objects and the archive Andrew travels internationally to work with communities and various private and public museum collections. Creating interdisciplinary works and immersive installations Brook Andrew presents viewers with alternative choices for interpreting the world, both individually and collectively, by intervening, expanding and re-framing history and our inheritance. These perspectives are driven by his rich involvement with international and local research practice and his cultural inheritance of Wiradjuri, Ngunnawal and Celtic ancestry.

Trent Walter is an artist, printer and publisher interested in the intersection of contemporary art and printed matter. In his artwork, Walter combines multiple ready-made sources – textual, pictorial and sculptural – to explore narrative, history and intersecting time. Walter was joint recipient, with Brook Andrew, of the 2013–14 Georges Mora Foundation Fellowship, for the project Dual/Duel. Through his studio, Negative Press, Walter commissions artists to create projects made through the lens of expanded print practices.

Background

It was 2012 when a City of Melbourne research project began to investigate the potential for memorialisation of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner. Read more about the back story of these two significant figures in Melbourne's early history.

For a discussion on appropriate forms of monuments or public commemorations of complex histories see Forms for monuments to complex histories (PDF 2.7 MB).

Top image: Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner