Barangaroo Station

Barangaroo Station opened in August 2024 as part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project.

Artefact was engaged by Sydney Metro to develop a Heritage Interpretation Plan to inform the design of the station’s precinct plan.

Over two years, Artefact worked with Arcadia and Architectus to develop a sensitive and engaging interpretive plan for this significant waterfront site.

OUR
SOLUTION

Our approach was based on the need to provide a range of types of interpretive media to engage the wide range of visitors who would use the site and the station.

The interpretive approach balanced the deep-time Aboriginal narratives of land and sea Country, together with the significant early maritime history of the site.

Working with key stakeholders, Artefact developed narratives related to fishing technologies around Sydney Harbour and insights into Barangaroo, the woman, that could be explored at the site.

The discovery of the remains of a rare pre-1830s wooden boat, now called the ‘Barangaroo Boat’, provided an exciting opportunity to showcase early maritime history, together with markers in the ground plane to evoke the changing shoreline as wharves and light industry developed there in the 1800s.


SUCCESS

A key feature of the heritage interpretation at Barangaroo Station is a 55 metre long, curved interpretive seating structure designed around the shape of a bara hook (fishing hook made from shell). The seating is made from white concrete seeded with oyster shells collected from the harbour, celebrating the traditional use of the area as a fishing ground, and is inscribed with an Acknowledgement of Country. Interpretive panels near the seating provides contextual information about fishing practices and about Barangaroo herself.

Native plantings in the area provide a sense of the earlier foreshore environment.

The ‘Barangaroo Boat’ inlay is a major place marker. Made of iron, the 8 metre by 3 metre 2D representation of the boat as it was found by archaeologists in 2018 is a feature of the Metro plaza. The interpretation of the boat lies where it last stood nearly 200 years ago.

Inlays also show earlier shorelines and seawalls also cross the plaza.

All these interpretive elements provide valuable insights into the multilayered narratives of this significant waterfront site.

“The interpretation of the historical Barangaroo
precinct is a thoughtful and respectful treatment of a historically significant area… The interpretation of the boat and other heritage elements from this precinct creates a
visual narrative of Sydney’s past and provides an educational opportunity for visitors.”

Tilt Industrial Design (producers of the boat inlay)



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