Welcome to the ngurrak barring | RidgeWalk Community Update! The aim of these updates is to keep you informed on the ngurrak barring | RidgeWalk project quarterly.

You may know the project very well, or want to know more, but in a nutshell: ngurrak barring (noo-rak bar-ring) is an art and cultural experience, running along 39km of walking track.

We'd like to introduce our new logo. Our logo is based on artwork by Wurundjeri artist Mandy Nicholson. Mandy's artwork is inspired by Berak (Wiliiam Barak's) carved and painted designs. Wurundjeri are a carving culture and are known for their use of symmetrical lines and diamond motifs.

Overall our logo reflects six layers of Country, which together, also depicts the mountain ranges of the Yarra Valley with Corhanwarabul (Mt Dandenong) in the centre. The circles within each layer represent water flowing through the Dandenong Ranges. The center layer contains 5 unique motifs inspired by a number of carving and painting styles specific to the region.

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Woi Wurrung Naming

Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and Yarra Ranges Council endorsed a new name for the RidgeWalk project in 2022. The new name, ngurrak barring (noo-rak bar-ring), means ‘mountain paths’ in woi wurrung and was provided by Senior Wurundjeri Elder and project Indigenous Advisory member Aunty Doreen Wandin-Garvey.

The name reflects the significant First Nations focus for the culture and art within the project and the evolution of the project as it moves towards launch. It also reflects the cross-cultural nature of the project in telling First Nations stories alongside the significant history of creativity in the Dandenong Ranges.

Stage 1 Construction

Stage 1 construction has commenced and involves the resurface of approximately 8kms of existing trails through the Dandenong Ranges. Contractors have completed the Trig Track in Kalorama and plan to complete the remainder of the trail resurfacing over the next few months, weather depending. Trail improvements will occur to sections in

• Sherbrooke Forest
• Toroa Track, Mount Dandenong
• Alice Street Track, Ferny Creek
• Janesdell Track, Ferny Creek
• May Moon Track, Kalorama

Council and Contractors will endeavour to make the disruption to trail users as minimal as possible by completing small sections at a time and re-opening where possible of a weekend. Onsite signage will have the most up to date trail closure dates. Currently the materials for the upgrades are being stored at Trig Track, Kalorama, and will be moved as the upgrades continue.

Pedestrian Crossings

Over the past few months, we’ve been working closely with key stakeholders in Olinda and Sassafras for the proposed pedestrian crossings in these townships. We held on-site meetings with Victoria Police, CFAs, primary schools and traders to get their feedback on early design plans. As these crossings are on State-controlled roads, we’re continuing to work with the Department of Transport and Planning to make sure community feedback is considered in developing the designs.

The ngurrak barring | RidgeWalk trail will also feature a new pedestrian crossing at Five Ways, Kalorama. Our first round of community engagement was held late last year, where we received many detailed and thoughtful submissions. We’ve reviewed all submissions and are currently in the process of creating some design options. Broader community engagement for these pedestrian crossings will commence in the coming months.

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The ngurrak barring public art program will include around ten public artworks which vary in medium and theme, and are distributed along the full alignment in different locations. All are guided by the community-authored Vision for the project, and the ngurrak barring Public Art working group, made up of Council officers and external Yarra Ranges-based experts on public art.

The Indigenous Project Advisory Network including Wurundjeri Elders are also consulted on Indigenous artworks. As each project is confirmed, details and locations will be provided on the website, including opportunities for collaboration and participation in some of the works.

Holding Pattern: The Sublime Forest

During May 2023, Burrinja in collaboration with ngurrak barring | RidgeWalk, delivered a series of four digital artworks over four weeks as part of their now annual Holding Pattern program. For ngurrak barring, the collaboration was an opportunity to demonstrate how the project and the unique history and environment of the Dandenong Ranges will inspire new site based creative work into the future.

The works were commissioned by an invited cohort of locally and nationally recognised artists: Pony Cam, Brooke Wandin, Eugenia Lim and Lost Few. The artists created new, discrete, digital works that responded to the curatorial vision of ngurrak barring: The Sublime Forest. The works varied from sound based visual work to video art to SMS prompts and were delivered to an audience of around 1000 people over the month.

Djirra Binak – Public Artwork

A meaningful work by established public artists, Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Kim Wandin and Chris Joy, with Collide Public Art will be the first permanent art piece installed on ngurrak barring | RidgeWalk trail in a clearing alongside Trig Track, Kalorama, near the intersection of Falls and Ridge Road. The installation will take place in the coming months (date to be confirmed), with an adjacent event for the local community from Kalorama, Mount Dandenong and surrounds to participate in planting endemic plants with cultural significance around the sculpture and participate in a creative cultural ceremony.

Djirra Binak honours the Wurundjeri people as the Traditional Owners of the Dandenong Ranges/Corhanwarrabul, their Woi Wurrung Language and ancestral relationships. Aunty Kim says “the artwork is a celebration of Country. Being on Country and working with natural materials connects me to my land and Ancestors, protecting and preserving intimate knowledge for future generations. Djirra is the reed (Lomandra longifolia) that lives on Wurundjeri Country providing sustenance in a broad range of ways. Binak is the basket, the symbol of women providing for family. It’s the vessel for holding, nurturing and caring."

Burrinja Climate Change Biennale

Throughout February the ngurrak barring trail and surrounds hosted multiple creative activations as part of the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale. Presented through a partnership between Burrinja, Yarra Ranges Council Sustainability team, ngurrak barring and the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, the program was a chance to demonstrate the way that a focus on the Dandenong Ranges could inspire and cultivate creative work, and also host multiple live works.

The program included a dance and vocal performance by Nikki Shi and collaborators at Belgrave Food Garden, a guided walk and performance by the Environmental Performance Agency on the Kyeema Track, a piano concert in the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden by Nat Bartsch and a sound installation by Peter McIlwain in Alfred Nicholas Gardens. The program was curated by Dr Gretel Taylor and very well attended and received by audiences.

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The RidgeWalk Masterplan includes five gathering spaces – landscape designed gathering spaces – to encapsulate the five key interpretive themes of the experience: Ways of Seeing, Community, Country, Resilience and Activism. Each design will take a different form and will be appropriate and responsive to its context and location. The design process on each will commence soon, with opportunities for community engagement being planned, particularly for the Sassafras Village Green.

If you would like to get in touch, please drop us a line at ridgewalk@yarraranges.vic.gov.au.