Mikawomma Reserve
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Woodville Gardens, South Australia
Woodville Gardens is a north-western suburb of Adelaide 10km from the CBD, in the state of South Australia, Australia and falls under the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is adjacent to Woodville North, Mansfield Park, Ferryden Park, and Kilkenny. The post code for Woodville Gardens is 5012...
on the corner of Liberty Grove & Ridley Grove in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Mikawomma is the Kaurna name for the plain that lies between Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...
. Mikawommangga ngarraitya tikketti burkanna On (at) Mika plain, lived many old men (Teichelmann & Schurmann, 1840: 16 Grammar section). The Kaurna people are the traditional custodians of the Adelaide Plains
Adelaide Plains
The Adelaide Plains is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and Gulf St Vincent on the west. The plains are generally fertile with annual rainfall of about per year....
area. The landscape design and the artworks in Mikawomma Reserve reflect indigenous plants and animals as well as culture and history.
Stormwater
Mikawomma is a public reserve and an innovative stormwater management system. The reserve has a gently sloping basin and in times of heavy rain it will temporarily hold stormwater from the local area. The water will be released slowly back in the underground pipe system preventing streets and footpaths from flooding.Landscape
The landscape design for Mikawomma is based on plants native to Adelaide area. There is a dry creek bed that meanders through the reserve. The plants along the creek and the basin of the reserve are the same species that occur along creeks in the Adelaide plains. Similarly, the plants are higher up around the perimeter of the reserve are native to the Adelaide foothills. The Kaurna people used some of the plants in Mikawomma Reserve as a source of food or useful materials.Artworks
There are many works of art around the reserve area. Ideas for the artworks were developed in consultation with community members and specifically the Kaurna community. Local people and school children painted the tiles that cover the gum leaf shaped seats. Thetiles have images of the things that you would find on the forest floor. The feature of the reserve is the sculpture World of Knowledge - Tip of the Iceberg. This work represents Kaurna people as educators. Some of the artworks are hidden and need to be discovered, like the animals carved into boulders, and stepping stones with Kaurna numbers. Images of the carved animals are on the bridge. The bridge railing is styled on a fishing net that resembles a Kaurna fishing net woven from bulrush fibres.The artists who have worked on the reserve are Silvio Apponyi, Geoff and Adam Barnes, Mark Blackman, Tony Colangelo and Dianne Longley. Adrian Potter and Bridgette Minuzzo were principal artists for Mikawomma Reserve.
Project Partners and Community
The Westwood Urban Renewal Project is a joint project by Urban Pacific Limited and the South Australian Housing TrustSouth Australian Housing Trust
The South Australian Housing Trust was a statutory authority established by the of the Government of South Australia responsible for providing low-cost rental housing to working people and their families.-History:...
in conjunction with the City of Port Adelaide Enfield
City of Port Adelaide Enfield
The City of Port Adelaide Enfield was established on 1 January 1997 by the amalgamation of the City of Port Adelaide and the City of Enfield, and is one of the larger metropolitan councils within South Australia....
. The Mikawomma Reserve was funded by the Government of South Australia
Government of South Australia
The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
through Arts SA.
The project was designed by landscape architect Warwick Keates of Hassell in collaboration with Adrian Potter and Bridgette Minuzzo with the support of the local community.
The board walk was constructed through the Construction Industry, Training Board with school participation. Many people participated in the development of Mikawomma Reserve including the Kaurna community, Community Consultative Team, Ridley Grove Primary School, Ferryden Park Primary School
Ferryden Park Primary School
Ferryden Park Primary School was a primary school in the Adelaide inner north west suburb of Ferryden Park.In 1959 the student enrolment at the school peaked at 639 students, due in part to the post-war boom of the 1950s....
, the Parks Community Centre and local residents.
Awards
The Mikawomma Reserve has won four awards (in 2004) in the following categories:- Category 3: Commercial landscape over $100,000 - Design only
- Category 4: Commercial landscape over $100,000 - Construction only
- Category 11: Most Environmentally Sensitive Project
- Category 14: ABC Talkback Gardening Award