Gudjal
Queensland
North Queensland
Charters Towers Regional Council looked to create a memorial dedicated to honouring those who lost their lives in mine, mill, and quarry accidents on the Charters Towers Goldfields. The Memorial Walk provides a place of remembrance and reflection.
Shade structures along the walk are an interpretation of mining poppet heads, which littered the Charters towers landscape during the Gold rush. The highlight of the walk is a glass platform sitting over a disused mine shaft ( Wyndham No. 3) that is over 170m deep.
The poppet heads sat over the mine shafts, housing the winding mechanism that brought the ore to the surface. Our modern, contorted, rustic structures provide a physical connection between the new and the old. They are a reminder of the precarious nature of mining, not only during the gold rush, but in the present day.
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
