Indigenous artworks transform road

Cranbourne MP Pauline Richards (right) is unveiling the Indigenous artwork panels with Bunurong artist Adam Magennis (right). Picture: Supplied

Five Indigenous artwork panels were unveiled in the green space on Cranbourne-Frankston Road on 22 January, as part of the Hall Road Upgrade.

Cranbourne MP Pauline Richards joined the unveiling with Bunurong artist Adam Magennis.

She said it was wonderful to see this new rest area on Cranbourne-Frankston Road transformed with Mr Magennis’ amazing artwork.

“These newly installed art panels are a fantastic way to honour and celebrate the Bunurong people’s history in the southeast,” she said.

Each of the five designs, designed to naturally weather and rust on the surface, are based on sketches of native flora by Mr Magennis before they were brought to life in partnership with local businesses Nuttshell Graphics and Western Port Laser Cutting.

Over the next 12 months, Mr Magennis will return to the green space to paint the panels’ shadows onto the adjacent path, highlighting the different seasons in accordance with the Bunurong calendar, further adding to the artwork’s impact. 

These paintings will indicate where the sun sits during the seasons of the traditional owners of the land.

The upgrade will also feature more of Mr Magennis’ artwork at a newly installed rest area between Edinburgh Drive and Taylors Road along the new shared walking and cycling path.

These pieces, sitting on top of the hill on Hall Road, will be installed after major works of the roadworks are completed in March.

Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV)’s support of Indigenous employment and businesses is a major part of our Program Delivery Approach (PDA), which ensures all MRPV construction partners meet social procurement requirements to support Indigenous businesses, social enterprises, and jobseekers from across Victoria.

The Hall Road Upgrade is on the home stretch of construction, having completed three of four planned major intersection upgrades across Cranbourne West and Carrum Downs so far.

Signalised intersections have been installed at McCormicks Road, Western Port Highway, and the newly aligned Evans and Cranbourne-Frankston roads to add capacity, improve traffic flow, and create safer journeys for motorists and pedestrians travelling through Carrum Downs and Cranbourne.  

The project’s next major milestone will be the opening of two new traffic lanes along Hall Road between McCormicks Road and Western Port Highway, creating two lanes of traffic each way on this section. The project will also reopen Taylors Road with a new signalised intersection after an extensive rebuild to accommodate additional drainage.

The Hall Road Upgrade works in unison with other completed and ongoing Victoria Big Build projects, such as the Lathams Road, Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, Western Port Highway, and Thompsons Road Upgrades to improve infrastructure for the rapidly expanding south-east region.