The sculpture was placed near the entrance to the main shopping centre of Gosnells, one of a number of Public Art pieces placed during a major redevelopment of the Gosnells city centre which took place from 1999 to 2005.
The artist John Tarry describes his piece as follows:
"History
The figure symbolises the important task of hand-watering, carried out by many people during the establishment of the community that is now known as Gosnells. Here the open coastal plain expands to the Darling Ranges and the Southern and Canning Rivers meet. The junction of these rivers lies near the major transport intersection of Fremantle Road and Albany Highway. The area is a significant catchment area for seasonal rainfall feeding into local wetland areas and the Swan River. For many years early settlers, notably women, carried water to the citrus orchards to irrigate the plants. Indigenous peoples also carried water and life-sustaining resources in this same gentle way.
Description
The sculpture depicts a pioneer woman hand watering a citrus orchard during the 19th Century. The stretching up and pouring water from a height is a dramatically confident gesture. She is leaning forward into the future and sees new beginnings. The water takes on its own form as it travels from the container to the ground to be absorbed by the thirsty earth and is synonymous with the regeneration of life. The orchard (garden bed) is tilted to present itself to the intersection. Located directly opposite the town centre's original Federation landmark - The Gosnells Hotel.
Materials
The figure ~ marine grade stainless steel sheeting over steel frame
Water bowl ~ bronze
Plinth ~ block concrete
Wall ~ local granite
Officially Unveiled
On 20 October 2001 by the Hon Sheila McHale MLA
Funded by
City of Gosnells; 'One People One Direction - 100 Years of Federation'; Lotteries Western Australia"
I had hoped to find the above text in a web site somewhere, to save me the job of typing it out, but extensive searching failed to turn up anything other than a reference to the title, so I typed it out from my photo of the plaque, which is included in the Gallery.
The redevelopment of the Gosnells city centre also involved upgrading Centennial Pioneer Park and constructing a Treetop Walk and Riverside Boardwalk, as well as a Wetland Boardwalk which meanders past a natural spring and through a natural wetland beside the Canning River.
At the same time the existing Town Hall and Public Library were demolished and replaced by the Five Star Green Rated "The Agonis @ Gosnells Civic Centre, which includes a state-of-the-art "Knowledge Centre".
The redevelopment also saw the placement of a number of Public Art Works including this one, and in December 2007 I used that artwork and a plaque near one of the sculptures as waypoints for my multi-cache GC17V4V WanAus 31 - Gosnells History Walk.
The Wetland Boardwalk is also a major feature of my multi-cache GC1PBXH WanAus 70 - Canning River Walk which I placed in March 2009.
The City of Gosnells won a prestigious Downtown Achievement Award at the 53rd Annual International Downtown Association Conference and World Congress in New York in 2007.
The City (My City) was the first Western Australian Council and only the second Australian Local Government to win the award, which was for innovation shown in revitalising the Gosnells Town Centre.