Shellharbour City Council is pleased to announce the completion of a new mural at Albion Park pool as part of Council’s Public Art Strategy.

The mural, painted by local artist David Cragg, is titled ‘Tongarra Pass’ and runs along the façade of the pool. Mr Cragg said the title was a play on the name, Macquarie Pass.

“It is a gentle push for renaming or dual naming of this incredible and significant section of national park after the Gomerrigal-Tongarra Aboriginal people, instead of coloniser, Lachlan Macquarie,” Mr Cragg said.

He said that the artwork included the Illawarra escarpment, which allowed a sense of the natural amphitheatre feeling that it created in the Albion Park area. 

The artwork also features a range of local flora and fauna including a red wattle bird, flannel flowers, galahs, a spotted pardalote, an eastern yellow robin, willie wagtail, and a bottle brush bloom.

The bird on the right of the mural is a crimson rosella, one of the artist’s local favourites, which is often found voyaging up and down the escarpment from the highlands to the coast.

Shellharbour City Council Mayor Chris Homer said the new mural showcased the stunning local flora and fauna of the western part of the city.

“David Cragg is an amazingly talented artist whose murals are proudly displayed on buildings throughout the Shellharbour City. His most recent piece at Albion Park pool is just beautiful,” Mayor Homer said.

“Murals are a wonderful opportunity to use parts of our city that would otherwise go unnoticed. Council’s Public Art Strategy facilitates high-quality art opportunities for a diverse range of artists that reflect the unique and diverse characteristics of the city. 

“Commissioning artworks by Aboriginal artists is a wonderful way to see our city through the lens of our First Nations People,” Mayor Homer said.

About the artist

David Cragg is a multidisciplinary artist, originally from Gadigal and Wangal lands (inner west Sydney), now working on Dharawal Country (Wollongong), with family ties to Bundjalung and Biripi Nations.

He is a muralist, fine artist, designer, writer, sculptor, photographer and youth/disability community worker.

For more information on Council’s Public Art Strategy: https://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/arts-and-culture/public...

Media enquiries: Kelli Wells 0448 361 008