Time travellers

The upgrade of Central Station to accommodate the new Sydney Metro platforms forms part of the wider Sydney Metro City & Southwest project and included the construction of new underground platforms, new pedestrian concourses and new entrances.

The site is steeped in Aboriginal and colonial history, buried beneath the function and form of the new modern station complex. Artefact worked with Laing O’Rourke, OCP Architects, Woods Bagot and Art of Multimedia to provide input into the Heritage Interpretation Plan and develop interpretive elements for the project.

OUR
SOLUTION

A main feature of the Plan was the range of interpretive media types, providing engaging and accessible experiences for the diverse range of audiences who use the station. Using the overarching interpretive themes of ‘Journeys and Gatherings’, the interpretive elements work together allowing a wide range of site stories to be told in an integrated way. Artefact developed the following elements:

  • A 4-minute video featuring historical images and quotes playing on a large screen kiosk in the new North-South concourse, tracing the history of the Devonshire Street Cemetery from 1820 until the present day.
  • An interactive computer allowing users to explore a map of Central Station with 30 ‘hot spots’ that reveal the archaeological finds and heritage buildings on the site.
  • A large wall display of an 1879 plan of the area in metal pic-perf with enlarged holes acting as small windows where artefacts found during the cemetery excavation are displayed.
  • Large-scale public artworks on the station platforms by renowned Bundjalung artist Dr Bronwyn Bancroft, called ‘Time Travellers’, exploring the layers of ancestors that lie under contemporary Sydney and the many journeys that cross the site.
“Artefact worked closely with Laing O’Rourke to deliver the heritage interpretation for the Central Station Metro works to create a long-lasting legacy of the local history in the area.”

Laing O’Rourke



SUCCESS

The interpretive elements integrated throughout the Sydney Metro precinct provide engaging stories of the history of the site and the heritage of the Aboriginal people of the area. These elements add to the community’s positive experiences of the station. 

“It was an honour to create interpretation elements at one of Sydney’s iconic heritage sites. The computer analytics show the high level of public interest, with nearly 2,000 users spending an average of 15 minutes at the kiosks in the first 5 months alone.”

Carolyn MacLulich,
Artefact Principal

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CONTACT

HOLIDAY CLOSE
Our offices will be closed from Monday 23 Dec 2024 and will re-open on Monday 6 Jan 2025.
For unexpected finds and urgent project enquiries, please contact our Heritage Manager Stephanie Moore at stephanie.moore@artefact.net.au or call 0420 403 581.
For all other enquires please contact our General Manager Martin Edmunds at martin.edmunds@artefact.net.au or call 0404 877 490.
We wish you a peaceful holiday break and look forward to working with you in 2025.

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