Prince of Wales Hospital Acute Services Building, Randwick

The construction of a new Acute Services Building at Prince of  Wales Hospital offered an opportunity to collaboratively develop interpretation showcasing the long and diverse history and heritage of the area. Coast were engaged by X Squared Design to develop and curate content for onsite Aboriginal heritage installations at the hospital entrance, and a history wall display within the new building.

In collaboration with the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council and the Gujaga Foundation, a display was developed to showcase an 8,000 fireplace (hearth) found very close by in the 1990s. This involved several logistical and curatorial challenges to ensure that the ancient stones could be safely shown. The resulting installation is an engaging display of the original hearth, surrounded by Aboriginal community led artwork and interpretation. Close by is a contemporary Aboriginal engraving of the buriburi (humpack whale), an important coastal Sydney ancestral being.

Within the building, Coast developed a timeline-based history wall to showcase the overlapping strands of history at the site, from its long and enduring Aboriginal connections, to the colonial market gardens and later Eurimbla neighbourhood that existed at the site, and its later medical history. This involved working with the local Eurimbla Precinct History Association and focussed archival research to develop succinct and engaging histories for the public.