Oxley - Festival 1997

Submenu text below

Festival 1997

main menu, text menu below

Making lanterns at a festival workshop

Ropes course

Oxley Creek Water Festival 1997
"Canoes and Crossings"
This festival brought together a diversity of local groups and individuals to celebrate and become more informed about their neighbourhood's natural asset - Oxley Creek. Held on 1st June 1997, it took place in Simpson's Playground, Graceville at the point where the creek joins the Brisbane River.
Performances, displays, stalls and activities were among the events that happened during the festival. It was funded through the Brisbane City Council Festival Grants Program.
Local craftspeople, community and environmental groups brought information, display stalls and goods to sell. Festival attractions included a 30 foot kite, kite flying demonstrations by the Qld Kite Fliers Society, canoeing on the creek, scouts' ropes course, speakers tent, storytelling, food stalls, continuous on-stage performances, clay modelling, mask making, puppet and kite making and arrival of the Bremer to Brisbane Canoe competitors.
Visitors at the Festival were thrilled to learn of skills and talents unknown of in the catchment. The festival became a meeting place. Old friendships were renewed and new ones made. It brought together people who normally have no social contact with each other in an atmosphere of friendliness, joy and concern for the environmnet and the creek.
A Grande Finale - a lantern parade of 200 candlelit lanterns made by school children prior to the festival, opened the twilight performances of music, song and dance. A giant 30 ft (4 m) "firebird" manipulated by six people together with two flamelit birds thrilled a packed audience on the banks of the creek.
The half-day festival and its spectacular closing entertainments were a first for the area and was repeated in 1998 by popular demand. (Jocelyn Clarkson)

The Core Performance Event for the Oxley Creek Water Festival 1997 was a celebration of the creek and it's history. It involved music, dance, a lantern parade and large lanterns all created by the local community in workshops leading up to the festival. The performance began by recognising the traditional owners of the land with a canoe crossing by local indigenous people and a dance and fire ceremony.

We celebrated the wildlife of the creek with large lanterns in the shape of a lizard, bird and fish. The climax of the performance was the appearance of a large 4 metre high puppet of a bird (symbolising the spirit of the creek) which was preceded by two fire silhouette birds. The performance finished with the large lanterns being floated down the creek. (Sara Lawless)

"Pamphlett, Parsons and Finnegan, found two canoes at the mouth of Oxley Creek, evidently placed there for the use of travellers passing along the south bank of the Brisbane River between Brisbane and Ipswich. As a result of that incident, Oxley Creek was originally called Canoe Creek and the name Canoe Reach of the Brisbane River remains as a momento of the occasion." (Steele)
At the successful "Canoes and Crossings" Festival in 1997 at Simpson's Playground, the festival committee commissioned Boogadin Bunkoo canoe builders to build a bark canoe throughout the day of the festival, the canoe was later used in the closing performance.
Community Development Team West and Cultural Services of the Brisbane City Council had a replica of the canoe cast in bronze which was launched during the 1998 Festival. The bronze canoe is incorporated into the children's play area at Simpson's Playground.

Bark canoes with Millewah Jillewah (standing)
and Poppy Pete (sitting)

References:
J.G. Steele, 1972, The Explorers of the Moreton Bay District 1770-1830, Brisbane: University of Queensland Press.

artists | festival 1997 | festival 1998 | school arts

HOMEPAGE | TALES | FACTS | ARTS | CRISIS

photo album | story collection | easy find | credits

BRISBANE STORIES HOME | BRISBANE STORIES CONTENTS | BRISBANE STORIES TOURS

A Brisbane City Council / Community web site
Inquiries: info@brisbane-stories.webcentral.com.au


	Making lanterns at a festival workshop Ropes course		Oxley Creek Water Festival 1997 "Canoes and Crossings" This festival brought together a diversity of local groups and individuals to celebrate and become more informed about their neighbourhood's natural asset - Oxley Creek. Held on 1st June 1997, it took place in Simpson's Playground, Graceville at the point where the creek joins the Brisbane River. Performances, displays, stalls and activities were among the events that happened during the festival. It was funded through the Brisbane City Council Festival Grants Program. Local craftspeople, community and environmental groups brought information, display stalls and goods to sell. Festival attractions included a 30 foot kite, kite flying demonstrations by the Qld Kite Fliers Society, canoeing on the creek, scouts' ropes course, speakers tent, storytelling, food stalls, continuous on-stage performances, clay modelling, mask making, puppet and kite making and arrival of the Bremer to Brisbane Canoe competitors. Visitors at the Festival were thrilled to learn of skills and talents unknown of in the catchment. The festival became a meeting place. Old friendships were renewed and new ones made. It brought together people who normally have no social contact with each other in an atmosphere of friendliness, joy and concern for the environmnet and the creek. A Grande Finale - a lantern parade of 200 candlelit lanterns made by school children prior to the festival, opened the twilight performances of music, song and dance. A giant 30 ft (4 m) "firebird" manipulated by six people together with two flamelit birds thrilled a packed audience on the banks of the creek. The half-day festival and its spectacular closing entertainments were a first for the area and was repeated in 1998 by popular demand. (Jocelyn Clarkson)


	The Core Performance Event for the Oxley Creek Water Festival 1997 was a celebration of the creek and it's history. It involved music, dance, a lantern parade and large lanterns all created by the local community in workshops leading up to the festival. The performance began by recognising the traditional owners of the land with a canoe crossing by local indigenous people and a dance and fire ceremony.		We celebrated the wildlife of the creek with large lanterns in the shape of a lizard, bird and fish. The climax of the performance was the appearance of a large 4 metre high puppet of a bird (symbolising the spirit of the creek) which was preceded by two fire silhouette birds. The performance finished with the large lanterns being floated down the creek. (Sara Lawless)