The idea of a place dedicated to the concept of healing and well-being evolved from a small project Healthy Cities initiated with Wollongong City Council called ‘Bright Lives’. The idea for ‘Bright Lives’ was an art/health project which involved community members who had been affected by cancer and, in particular, the luekemia cluster which had struck a group of young people from the neighbouring suburbs.

We teamed up with the Illawarra Health Cancer Centre and Camp Quality and recruited six families - each of which had a child with cancer. A community artist worked with these families to create a number of artworks which recorded the child’s and the families’ experiences with cancer. Because most of the families came from around Berkeley much of the work occurred at the Berkeley Neighbourhood Centre and we recruited the great staff and volunteers from the centre into the project.

During the project the families talked about how great it would be to have a place that was dedicated to healing. They were quite clear it should not be about sickness. It needed to be a spiritual place which celebrated life and provided a place to contemplate some meaning for our place in the world. The seed was sown and an opportunity arose through the NSW Department of Urban Affairs and Planning ‘Living Centres’ program to create this special place and the ‘Hooka Park – Place of Healing’ project was borne.

Today, Hooka Park - Place of Healing represents an outstanding example of community, business and government partnership. Over $120 000 of partner funds plus in kind support and the voluntary contributions of over 200 community members have created a special place of lasting significance. The project provided people from this community with the opportunity to put their thoughts and feelings about healing and well-being into the artworks. And through this process their place in the world has become a part of this geographical place here on the shores of Hooka Creek.

The area now features:

• Sandstone carved seating inlaid with ceramic
• Iron bark handrail carved & inlaid with ceramic and featuring the circle of life story
• Wooden carvings on the jetty featuring aboriginal healing remedies
• Sculptural narratives and inlaid signage
• Native bush plantings
• A boardwalk connecting the area

 

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