Yirran Muru Play Space

Yirran muru (Dharawal for ‘many pathways’) is an Aboriginal interpretive playspace in Shellharbour City, which was co-designed by Shellharbour City Council and the local Aboriginal community. This unique space is nestled in the native gardens behind the Shellharbour Civic Centre, and shares local Dharawal culture with the wider community through Aboriginal methods of learning. It is an accessible, inclusive space that invites people of all ages to take a cultural journey, following in the footsteps of local Aboriginal people across Dharawal country.  

Yirran muru is a complex and layered Aboriginal interpretive playspace which seeks to promote understanding, appreciation and awareness of Dharawal heritage.

The playspace itself is a map of traditional travel routes taken over Dharawal Country, with stepping stones and pathways around the playspace replicating the seasonal movements of Dharawal people. Important local landmarks are represented by specific play elements within the play space, and each landmark provides a different Aboriginal method of learning to share knowledge including storytelling, constructing and deconstructing, and symbols. Each landmark is supported by interpretive signage to support understanding of Dharawal heritage.

The playspace was developed through co-design via consistent and recurring engagement with the local Aboriginal community, including consultation workshops with Aboriginal children and young people, Elders, and open consultation with the broader Aboriginal community and wider community.  

This multifaceted partnership was a great success, demonstrated through the strengthened relationships with local Aboriginal community members, services and organisations.   

From the escarpment to the sea, Yirran muru is designed to takes visitors on a cultural journey following the historic seasonal movements of local Aboriginal people. 

The overall aim of Yirran muru was to create an authentic Aboriginal interpretive playspace.  The goals of the project included:

• Co-design an authentic Aboriginal playspace that was supported and endorsed by the local Aboriginal community.  
• Engage with the local Aboriginal community through culturally appropriate consultation processes to ensure the Aboriginal community was able to voice their ideas, dreams and concerns, and to allow Council to understand their unique needs for the space.
• Deliver a space that was welcoming, inclusive and provided a sense of connection to local Aboriginal culture. 

During the initial consultation sessions, Elders advised that interpretive signage should be put in important and prominent locations across the City, where people would be encouraged to visit and learn, with the Council building being specifically identified by Elders as the most important place for Aboriginal interpretive signage.   

The co-design process was pivotal in developing innovative features of Yirran muru, as Aboriginal community members expressed a desire for the play space to follow a map of the Illawarra, and to also incorporate Aboriginal methods of learning for sharing culture. Yirran muru’s multi-layered design turns the physical geography of the local landscape into a play space, with the play elements replicating the travel routes and important landmarks for Dharawal people including Jubborsay (Lake Illawarra), Merrigong (the Illawarra Escarpment), Gang man gang (Windang Island) and gadhu (ocean). Different elements of the play space cater to specific Aboriginal methods of learning including storytelling, language, symbols and images, non-linear thinking, place-based connections and kinesthetic movement. 

Authentic co-design and culturally appropriate consultation processes supported Council in strengthening relationships with the local Aboriginal community members, businesses and organisations. 

Shellharbour City Council worked closely with various stakeholders within the local Aboriginal community to ensure the success of Yirran muru. 

Council developed a consultation strategy in collaboration with the Aboriginal Advisory Committee, a group of Aboriginal community representatives who advise Council on matters that impact the local Aboriginal community.  

This resulted in engaging targeted stakeholders for the project with the delivery of consultation workshops with Aboriginal children aged 5 to 12 years old at Oak Flats Public School, Albion Park Rail Public School and Mt Warrigal Public School. 

Council delivered follow-up consultation workshops with local Elders groups including the Illawarra Koori Men’s Support Group and the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation Elders Group. Council facilitated an open community consultation session at the 2021 Reconciliation Week event, which was attended by over 30 schools and 500 local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, as well as Elders and the wider community. 

Throughout this consultation process with various Aboriginal stakeholders, Council provided regular updates to the Aboriginal Advisory Committee to ensure feedback was collected, presented and implemented into the design of the space. 

When approaching the creative design of the playspace, Council engaged local artists, story tellers and language experts to help ensure a local and authentic representation of culture, which included Dr Jodi Edwards and Jasmine Sarin (local Aboriginal artist). 

Yirran muru delivered its intended outcome of an authentic Aboriginal playspace, and an additional unintended outcome of strengthening the partnership between Council and the local Aboriginal community.

Yirran muru was officially opened to the public on 18 April 2023. The event included cultural elements of cleansing – featuring a smoking ceremony, traditional songs and dances that welcome and cleanse, and a Dharawal monologue from Dr Jodi Edwards providing connection to Country from a Traditional Custodian.  

Visitors included Aboriginal children and families, Elders and Aboriginal community members, and members from the wider community. The official opening also included a free lunch for community members. The launch of Yirran Muru was a successful event, attracting over 500 visitors throughout the day. 

The launch was attended by a diverse cross-section of the community, coming together to acknowledge and celebrate local Aboriginal culture and heritage in a true act of reconciliation.  

Local community member Dr Jodi Edwards described the project as “a true representation of reconciliation – it was done before you had a RAP, and done because you wanted it here, not because of a piece of paper telling you to tick a box”. 

This playspace was created through collaboration with a vast range of consultants, community members, schools, artists, technical experts.  

Shellharbour City Council acknowledges and extends thanks to the following contributors:

Local Aboriginal Stakeholders

• Shellharbour City Council Aboriginal Advisory Committee 
• Dr Jodi Edwards (Cultural consultant and storyteller)
• Jasmin Sarin (Aboriginal visual artist)
• Oak Flats Public School (junior cultural consultants)
• Albion Park Rail Public School (junior cultural consultants)
• Mt Warrigal Public School (junior cultural consultants)
• Illawarra Koori Men’s Support Group (Gawura) – Elders group (Aboriginal Elder consultants)
• Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation Elders Group (Aboriginal Elder consultants)
• Gawura (Cultural practitioners)
• Gumarra (Cultural practitioners)
• Kugang Djarmbi (Cultural practitioners)

Technical Experts and Contractors

• Fiona Robbe (architect)
• Partridge Engineering (structural Engineers)
• Simpson Landscapes (landscape contractors)
• Timber Creations (timber play elements)
• Kim Bowman Music (timber Instruments)
• Arm Sign (signage manufacturer)