Louis Laumen & David Doyle
“Neville Bonner Commemoration” , 2025.
bronze, stainless steel, red calca granite, juparana granite
Produced in collaboration with Fundere Foundry
Commissioned by the Australian Government, National Capital Authority, 2025
…
”A bronze sculpture commemorating the life and legacy of Neville Bonner, Australia's first Aboriginal parliamentarian, has been unveiled in Canberra. Mr Bonner, a Jagera man, was appointed to fill a Senate vacancy in 1971, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to sit in the Commonwealth parliament. He went on to be elected four more times and served as a Liberal senator for Queensland for 12 years.
The sculpture, outside Old Parliament House, is based on a boomerang demonstration he undertook in the Senate Rose Gardens in 1971. It was a four-year process to design and make the sculpture which was made by Melbourne-based figure sculptor Louis Laumen. The pavement artwork it stands on, which features a carpet snake overlaid with a boomerang, was made by David Doyle. "It has been one of the greatest honours of my life to contribute to this place that now holds your memory," Mr Doyle said. "I hope that when people stand here they don't just see stone and bronze, I hope they feel your story beneath their feet. "I hope they remember the path you opened so that all of us might keep walking together."”
- Monte Bovill, ABC News
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