Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The electorate of Forde is privileged to be home to some of Logan City’s finest artwork and I was honoured to attend the unveiling of its newest sculpture in the suburb of Mount Warren Park. The latest sculpture is located in William H Cramer Park and is an interactive, solar-powered piece sharing insights of the region’s history. Logan City Councillor Sean Black provided the necessary funds to commission this public artwork.

Logan City Council has over 150 artworks in the Logan Art Collection, with over 10 of these significant public artworks being commissioned during the past decade. For this particular piece, the council commissioned local artist John Coleman, whose knowledge of the area and involvement in Logan City’s Regional Arts Development Fund made him the ideal person for the job. John has an Associate Diploma of Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree and for the past 13 years has been involved in the design, project management, construction and installation of major public artworks, furniture design, interactive playground equipment and water features.

The exciting sculpture provides a visual focal point upon entry to William H Cramer Park and is primarily intended to be an education play element which doubles as a seating location. The history, flora and fauna of the region and the region’s Indigenous heritage to this present day are portrayed within the sculpture and the work’s form and colour comment on the preserved greenery on the top of Mount Warren Park.

This interactive sculpture was funded in March 2009 and publicly launched in February. Looking through one of the windows the visitors may see an image of William Stanley Warren, the suburb’s namesake and a sugar planter who established various plantations on the banks on the Albert River in 1867. By touching a doorknob you can hear a commentary about the cane farm that he owned or see and hear one of the local birds or animals that live on top of the mountain.

The unveiling of this new artwork has provided a more pleasant park experience for the residents and helps to foster an appreciation of arts and the cultural and community heritage within Mount Warren Park and the greater community. I commend the Logan City Council, the councillors, the artists and all those involved in this community sculpture for their hard work in ensuring that Mount Warren Park continues to be a vibrant and community focused environment happily displaying its rich natural history.