Gugabul called in to see the Big Murray Cod on the Sturt Highway but was disappointed to find him gone. Photo: Peter Ingram.
With the interest in a ”Big Thing” for Wagga reignited by the ambitious proposal for a privately funded giant crow to be built in Bolton Park, we thought we’d check in on two local sculptures celebrating the mighty Murray cod.
Gugabul is an impressive seven-metre tribute to the iconic native species, created by the Wagga-based group Hands On Weavers along with Wiradjuri artists Peter Ingram and Shelby-Rae Lyons-Kschenka.
The Indigenous sculpture was inspired by Aunty Lorraine Tye’s animation sharing the Dreamtime story of the big fish Ponde, which formed the river and many of the species that live in our waterways.
Earlier this month, Peter took the big steel-framed fish on a road trip to Binalong and called past the site of the old Murray Cod Hatchery on the eastern side of Wagga.
“She’s a breeder, you see, and she swims up to all them lovely areas upstream to spawn so I thought we’d stop and see her mate out at Forest Hill, but he wasn’t there!” Peter said.
The two-dimensional big Murray cod that had greeted motorists on the Sturt Highway for decades fell into decline after the hatchery closed and was recently removed for renovation by the property’s new owner.
Kyle North-Flanagan hauled the faded icon away in June and he and a team of helpers have stripped the remaining sheet metal from the steel frame and are in the process of bringing the big cod back to its former glory.
“We want to get it looking like it used to, so it’ll be the exact same shape and we’re getting it all repainted so it looks fresh,” Kyle said.
Airbrush artist Dan Seddon from Signs Plus has fond memories of visits to the Hatcheries and Fauna Park and will hand-paint the cod using reference photos.
“I remember going out there when I was a kid, so it will be great to get it looking good again,” Dan said.
“We want to make it look a little bit photorealistic but still like it’s been painted. You don’t want to make it too perfect, otherwise we could just put a sticker on it.
“We’ve got some really good old photos to work from and we want to make it look as good as we can and to really honour the history.”
Peter Ingram takes Gugabul around the region to places like Binalong to spark conversations about the health of our waterways. Photo: Supplied.
Peter said he might bring Gugabul back for another visit once the old boy is restored. In the meantime, he’s enjoyed taking her around the Riverina on her customised trailer, raising awareness of issues impacting the rivers.
“It’s all about sparking conversation around our water; my water – your water – our water,” he said.
“When we first built it, I knew it was only going to have a short part-time life at a gallery, and I always had bigger dreams for it to be a bit of an activist and we’ve travelled everywhere, all up and down the Murray-Darling Basin.”
While Peter is not opposed to finding a more permanent resting place in Wagga for his big cod, he also likes the idea that she might pop up where you least expect her, to ”activate” conversations about conservation and restoration of our waterways.
“I would like to take it over and just put her in the middle of the CBD in somewhere like Canberra where she can talk to people who really don’t understand about some of the issues in the rivers,” he said.
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