SAHMRI mural spotlights science across millennia

“The mural showcases Traditional Owners as the first scientists on these lands and waters of the Miyurna and recognises the ongoing contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to science,” he said.

SAHMRI Board Chair, the Hon Hieu Van Le AC, says Wardlipari is another public statement from the institute about the value it places on Indigenous health and striving for Reconciliation.

“Aboriginal health priorities have formed the basis of SAHMRI’s program of work since our inception in 2009,” he said.

“Wardliparingga - SAHMRI's Aboriginal Health Equity Theme - has built its research foundations on the ancient knowledge and wisdom of Australia's first scientists. Its research is informed by South Australian Aboriginal communities' health priorities, actively reversing the colonial trend of Indigenous people being the subjects of research to become partners and leaders in research.”

Warlipari is a visually stunning mural containing a variety of distinctive elements – Munana, the Dreaming ancestor who climbed up to the sky; Ngayirda Kardi, the Emu in the Sky; and Bakalti, a traditional Kaurna bark shield. These elements and more are woven together by the Timeline of Miyurna Knowledges, representing learning from the past and now, together into the future.

The mural project was devised and delivered by SAHMRI’s Reconciliation Action Plan Committee with support from the institute’s Wardliparingga theme, Indigenous Collective and Executive.

It was made possible through a grant from Inspiring South Australia’s Making Science Visible program and the cooperation of the CSIRO to display it on its premises. Bowden Print Group provided the expertise to create and install the 24 separate decals that comprise the mural.

For more information about Wardlipari visit here.