This sculpture is located outside the "E" market sheds (classy tourism), at Victoria Quay, Fremantle Harbour, Fremantle City, opposite the Fremantle Port Authority building.
The sculpture consists of three parts, the principal feature is a life-sized bronze statue of a man clutching a suitcase in one hand and a model of a ship in the other, plus a gangway, and a life-size bronze statue of a dingo. This represents the stages of arrival in Australia, in the busy port of Fremantle, where many new Australians first arrived in this sunburnt land. There was a sense of journey, adventure, fear, and caution, that surely every man, woman and child who disembarked from the ships in Fremantle to make a new life in Australia would have felt.
There is a plaque (in gallery) on the gangway, but due to the poor angle of the sun, was near unreadable at the time of my visit.
From the public art website: (
visit link)
Southern Crossing — about elements of the life stories that make up the history of Victoria Quay. The site is the oldest part of the Port of Fremantle and has been the gateway for new lives for thousands of Australians.
Important themes of this work include a sense of heartfelt relief, determination, anxiety, sorrow and hope.
The gangway reflects that moment of connection between sea and land, while the figure carries memory and the story of the journey. The dingo set further apart seems divided between welcome and caution.
The realisation of this artwork has been made possible through the goodwill and generous financial contributors of the Fremantle Port Authority, the City of Fremantle, Mediterranean Shipping Company, P&O Ports.
This project has also been assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and the State of Western Australia has made an investment in this project through Arts WA in association with the Lotteries Commission.