As part of the cultural initiative bark was scarred to honour mature grey box gum trees which have stood for almost 150 years.
The practice of scarring sees the deliberate removal of bark or wood from a tree. As it is considered a versatile and plentiful material, bark would often be used by Aboriginal people to create shelter, construct shields, build canoes and be used as vessels (coolamons).
The bark removed from the reconciliation garden will be turned into coolamons and donated back to Nepean Hospital to be used in the birth unit for Aboriginal parents to place their newborn child in, as well as be used by other departments.
The tree scarring was performed by Aboriginal men Wayne Cornish from Muru Mittigar Aboriginal Cultural and Education Centre and Brad Moore from the Greater Sydney Local Land Services alongside his son Lachlan Moore.
The hospital’s reconciliation garden including many of the smaller native plants are being relocated to an area closer to the hospital entrance.
The garden, which opened in 2002, is dedicated to the stolen generations of Aboriginal people, and in memory of Dr Chris Kohlenberg and Professor Brian Spurrett for their dedication, commitment, and contribution to the improvement of Aboriginal women and children’s health.
