The St Catherine's Story - Aboriginal Artwork by Stephen Hogarth


This year St Catherine’s welcomed Stephen Hogarth, Aboriginal Artist, to our school to paint the story of St Catherine’s. This initiative was part of the school’s Reconciliation Action Plan and the 50 Year celebration. Stephen has created a beautiful piece that brings story, meaning and colour to Cove Lane. 

Below is the image and an explanation of the artwork.


 

  1. The big circle represents the school, its teachers and the students. The bright yellow/orange represents the lantern of Nano Nagle and how it shines as a guiding light for everyone. The white dots represent knowledge that the school shares. A bright future for all STC students. 
  2. Mt Thompson
  3. Mt Pleasant
  4. Kaggar Mabul – Place of the Echidna (Mt Gravatt)
  5. Logan Road - Logan Road was used as a traditional pathway by the Yuggera people to travel north and south for hunting, ceremonies, trade and many other things. Today it’s still a major part of travel for everyone in Brisbane. 
  6. Represents Brisbane City (Meanjin) which means jobs, future, growth and opportunity. 
  7. Represents the Griffith University (Nathan Campus) and further education for students of the school to build a better future.
  8. Mimosa Creek – fed by the runoff from Kaggar Mabul and an important source of water for traditional owners of this land.
  9. Bulimba Creek – an important source of water and food for traditional owners of this land that leads all the way to the Brisbane River.
  10. These symbols represent the places and communities that people travel from to our school and local area.

The Echidna represents the totem for the local Yugerra people who walked this land for tens of thousands of years. The Echidna represents respect, honour and gratitude towards guides, teachers, ancestors and elders.

The large circle represents Kaggar Mabul (Mt Gravatt) which means “place of the echidna”. Kaggar Mabul was an important geographical landform in the area for aboriginal communities who travelled along traditional pathways. The small circles represent the ant hills that the Echidna relies on for food. 


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