Bajirru! there you all are, hello! From the Yanyuwa language of Balarinji’s origin community Borroloola NT

Jinangu awara wabarrangu barra kalu-wingka marnijinju wabudala kari-nguthundawabarrangu jinangu Australia li-wulu marnaji barra liyi-Yanyuwawu awara li-Marranbala li-Arrwangala li-Gudanji jinangu awara Burrulula marnaji yamulhu

Our Country we belong to is Borroloola. Yanyuwa, Marra, Gudanji and Garrawa people.We welcome everyone to this land Australia.

Yanyuwa elder Samuel Evans Jamika

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. are respectfully advised this website contains references, artworks and images of people who have passed

Transport for NSW

Great Western Highway Upgrade Program

The Great Western Highway travels through Dharug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri Country.

These places have always been connected through travel routes, gatherings, education and storytelling.

Transport for NSW engaged Balarinji to develop a Cultural Interpretation Plan and Art Strategy which considered the integration of Aboriginal culture and values into the Great Western Highway Upgrade Program.

Following a series of Aboriginal exploratory workshops with Dharug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri community members, Balarinji developed a foundational Aboriginal narrative and set of Designing with Country principles. These principles sought to deepen the highway’s connection with Country and sense of place.

This informed a Body of Art workshop in which community-endorsed artists explored how the narrative and principles could be interpreted and integrated.

Balarinji worked with local artists Brett Groves (Wiradjuri), Adrian Williams (Wiradjuri), Jessica Ann Leffley (Wiradjuri), Monica Bridge (Muruwari and Ngemba), Kathleen Brown (Gundungurra), Tanisha Wise (Gomeroi and Ngemba) and Leanne Tobin (Dharug) to develop their concepts and designs.

The goal was to create a welcoming, educational and diverse experience for users of the highway that was grounded in connections with Country and an authentic representation and recognition of the cultural landscapes that define the region.

Balarinji’s co-design process brought a Country-led approach to embedding design and art that highlighted the three distinct cultures and Country of Dharug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri, while navigating the common ground that connects them.