Wilsons River Experience Walk book presentation

A giant book – that features reproductions of the artwork used as signage at the Wilsons River Experience Walk in Lismore’s Riverside Park – will be gifted to Southern Cross University on Monday.

The Wilsons River Experience Walk Book will be presented to the University’s Lismore campus library where it will be included in the Manning Clark Collection as an archive of local history.

The presentation will be made at the library on Monday at 3.30pm, at a function in the library’s exhibition space.

Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Lee will ceremonially open the first page of the book and in doing so, will open a small exhibition that features the book together with materials associated with the Wilsons River Experience Walk Project.

The book was produced by the Office of Regional Engagement and was designed by visual arts lecturer Leonie Lane. It was the subject of a submission to the Prime Minister’s Australian History Prize in 2008.

The book is a collection of full colour reproductions of the elaborate and spectacular ‘story site panels’ which can be viewed in-situ in Riverside Park.

These graphic representations of local Indigenous and European heritage are the central focus of the Wilsons River Experience Walk.

The panels are the collective work of historian and writer Dr Jo Kijas, Widjabul consultant Roy C. Gordon and visual artist and graphic designer Leonie Lane. Much of the research material that was amalgamated to form these visually exciting works was made available by the Richmond River Historical Society Inc.

The Wilsons River Experience Walk is the key element of the Lismore City Council’s Wilson’s River Redevelopment Project. It provides visitors and residents with an opportunity to share in the diverse cultural, recreational and historical aspects of the city.

The Wilsons River Walk Experience is a joint initiative of Southern Cross University and Lismore City Council. Its numerous layers reflect not only the nature of the project, but the migrations and contributions of settlers over time along the river.

Photo: At the launch of the Wilsons River Walk Experience book are, from left: Leonie Lane, Professor Peter Lee, Anne Hart, Craig Littler, Dr Johanna Kijas, Dr Ros Derrett and Dr Adele Wessell