Weld Square: Celebrating the Coolbaroo League
Weld Square is parkland located in the heart of inner city Northbridge, a relaxing natural space with a fascinating history.
Apparatus was engaged by the City of Vincent to help develop a public artwork for Weld Square that celebrates the Aboriginal community.
Weld Square was, and still is, a popular meeting place for Aboriginal people. The park is close by to where the Coolbaroo League developed a strong voice for the Aboriginal community. The League started up a social club for Aboriginal people holding weekly dances; set up the Coolbaroo Aboriginal shop of souvenirs and art, the first Noongar business in the city; created the first Aboriginal newspaper in WA and grew to become part of a wider movement for Aboriginal rights.
This artwork by Sandra Hill and Jenny Dawson tells the story of how a stoic and optimistic community survived in a city which practiced unofficial apartheid to develop a safe place where Aboriginal people could gather with dignity and respect, take pride in being Aboriginal, dance and have fun.
