Local kids leaving Indigenous mark on new Dubbo Bridge
EVERYONE wants to leave their mark on the world. Well, a group of Dubbo kids are being invited to do just that, on the New Dubbo Bridge, anyway.
Selected local school students are being invited place their handprints on the huge storm-water pipes being installed as part of the $220 million project.
Dubbed the Mega Pipes event, Transport for NSW Regional Director West Alistair Lunn said the event involving up to 20 students, would also be a celebration of the community’s rich Aboriginal culture.
“To recognise the heritage of our First Nations people in Dubbo, we will be using Aboriginal paint colours of red, yellow, and black to imprint handprints on the outside of the pipe creating a colourful mural,” Mr Lunn said.
“The storm-water pipes, which are 1.8 metres in diameter, will be installed beneath the new Newell Highway alignment
on the western side of the Macquarie River… the pipes will be buried underground, meaning the handprints of the specially-selected students will forever be part of this once-in-a lifetime project,” he added.
The first Mega Pipes event is being held next Thursday, May 9, with a bus picking up selected school students and dropping them back at the end of the event. The student event is the first in a planned series inviting other schools and Aboriginal groups to also leave their mark.
The New Dubbo Bridge is a joint Australian Government and NSW Government project, which will improve traffic efficiency, reduce congestion for locals, visitors and the freight industry, and improve access across the Macquarie River floodplain during extreme weather events.