Songlines shared with travellers

Songlines are Aboriginal travel routes that link important cultural sites, ancestral stories and locations and were traditionally memorised and sung by the traveller to know the route of their destination.

The Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway Upgrade Aboriginal Art Trail has offered the opportunity for local Aboriginal communities to share their Songlines, or creation stories, with the travelling public through art on overhead bridges and sculptures in new rest areas.

The project has engaged artists who represent the three nations – Gumbaynggirr, Yaegl and Bundjalung – that the Woolgoolga to Ballina Upgrade crosses. The artists were asked to create artworks telling stories of their local Songlines, in consultation with Elders and local knowledge holders. The engagement of the artists has been a collaboration with Transport’s project partner Balarinji, an Aboriginal-owned design agency.

Respect for the sensitive nature of the Songlines is a key component of this project. Transport, the community and the travelling public will be generously allowed to view the First Nation people’s history via visual representation of their creation stories.