Sculpture honours migrant families

The South West’s early migrants will be permanently honoured through a memorial at Queens Gardens.

Bunbury City Council is supporting a push to install a sculpture at the waterside Bunbury park and it is hoped to be finished by March.

Committee member Charlie Martella described the memorial as a “pretty ambitious project” and said it had been a long process to reach this point.

The actual sculpture will be about 9m long and wide and has been designed to have strong symbolic meaning.

“It includes three pillars coming into a trunk which represents migrants, early settlers and nature,” Mr Martella said.

“If you look back on history, nature had to be worked with.

“They all formed one unit and then the younger generation branched out.”

Another feature of the memorial will be a number of plaques for the names of migrant families, which will be sold. Prominent migrants who have made a “significant” contribution to the South West will also be honoured.

Bunbury Mayor Gary Brennan said he was “delighted” the council could help with the project and believed the involvement of Mr Martella and other committee members would ensure it was successful.

“I know when they do something, they do it to the highest level,” Mr Brennan said.

“This memorial to early migrants will be a huge drawcard for the city as people will come to Bunbury to see their family mentioned.”