Making a splash

A new opening on the Great Barrier Reef is set to unite Aboriginal culture and coral conservation

The new underwater museum with a mission

At first glance, it seems like a tsunami has flooded Pompeii, but it’s all part of the eye-catching Coral Greenhouse — the latest creation from British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, for Australia’s new Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA).

Located in Townsville, Queensland, the museum is an ambitious installation of four exhibits that blur the line between marine science and art. The aim is to both showcase some of the less-frequented sections of the Great Barrier Reef, and shine a spotlight on Aboriginal culture, with the museum’s opening coinciding with the state’s 2020 Year of Indigenous Tourism.

DeCaires Taylor and his team have worked closely with the local Wulgurukaba traditional owners to develop exhibits that create new environments for marine life while also reflecting ancestral stories from the area.

Travellers can book a diving expedition to see the

Coral Greenhouse up close, swimming down a sunken boulevard of man-made floating trees and exploring the surrounding coral gardens. The 165-ton structure has been designed to attract new corals and will, ultimately, be absorbed into the John Brewer Reef.

On terra firma, the 13ft-high, colour-changing Ocean Siren sculpture can be admired from Townsville’s waterfront. Another two installations are in development for 2021, too, including a proposed semi-submerged gigantic head off Magnetic Island. Half of the sculpture will be painted by local artists with stories of the Dreamtime (the Aboriginal retelling of Creation).

The final installation, due to be completed by December 2021, will see divers mingling with

100 underwater statues, each immortalising real Wulgurukaba people, standing in silent congress off the shore of Palm Island. oua.com.au JUSTIN MENEGUZZI

Sculptures at the Museum of Underwater Art