Toorale National Park
Heritage Interpretation Strategy
Heritage Interpretation Plan
Interpretative Devices
National Parks and Wildlife Service
Office of Environment and Heritage
Near Bourke, NSW
Baakindji Country
Toorale National Park comprises 91,000 hectares of land with frontages to the Darling and Warrego rivers in northwestern NSW.
GML, together with Trigger Design, developed innovative strategies to immerse visitors in the park’s rich history.
Collaborating with the Aboriginal Joint Management Committee, NPWS and the OEH, GML developed design concepts and content to enhance visitor experiences of the park.
In partnership with the Traditional Owners, we worked together to tell stories of Country—selecting a detail of an artwork depicting a giant water serpent by Kurnu-Baakandji Elder, Badger Bates. The materiality of the interpretive signage echoes the character of the land and its remoteness. Stories about Aboriginal life and pastoralism on Toorale Homestead and station, and on the Darling River, are brought to life.
Toorale National Park is an outback park, located 73km from Bourke and some 845km from Sydney. Not everyone is going to visit. With this in mind, GML and Trigger designed virtual experiences using digital interpretation to reach new audiences and to provide access to this remarkable landscape.
The project received the 2015 National Trust Heritage Award—Education and Interpretation.
Artwork depicting a giant water serpent by Kurnu-Baakandji Elder, Badger Bates. GML assisted with artwork curation.
GML developed interpretive themes, curated imagery and authored content for signs and interpretive devices.
GML developed an Interpretation Strategy with themes, key messages and suitable locations for devices.
Devices were selected with consideration for materiality and ongoing maintenance.
GML undertook a site visit and consultation with Traditional Owners to further understand the character and significance of the place.
