Aboriginal bronze sculpture cut through and stolen

"They will get a rude shock when they realise it can't be sold as copper," says artist Julie Squires.
Bronze canoe stolen as part of public artwork, shown prior to its theft. A canoe made out of bronze laying on the ground in an outdoor setting next to some rocks.

A bronze casting of an Aboriginal stringybark canoe by artists Julie Squires, Shellie Smith and Daniella Chedzy – part of Lake Macquarie City Council’s Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track project – has been severed from its base and stolen. A police investigation of the theft is now underway.

The bronze canoe was a major component of Gunyah and Canoe, installed in the Lake Macquarie suburb of  Belmont, in NSW’s Hunter Valley, five months ago. It was cast from a life-sized bark canoe, which was crafted in the traditional method by a group of Aboriginal community members led by Worimi canoe-maker Luke Russell. The sculpture also included castings of actual flathead fish and handmade fish-hooks and twine.

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Celina Lei is ArtsHub's Content Manager. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram @lleizy_