Gadigal Station Interpretation

Gadigal Station is one of Sydney Metro’s new underground stations on the City & Southwest Line, positioned strategically at the intersection of Sydney’s southern CBD and the Midtown retail precinct. As part of the station’s heritage interpretation strategy, GML was commissioned to produce a film that would capture the cultural and historical values of the place.

GML was engaged by CPB Contractors, the engineers for the station, on behalf of Sydney Metro, to undertake First Nations heritage interpretation, working alongside fellow heritage consultancy GBA Heritage, who were commissioned to research historical imagery. The client sought to incorporate the historical images into the film, which proved challenging to curate given their emphasis on built history and the ‘progress of Pitt Street’. GML’s approach was to bring First Nations voices to the forefront and use contemporary imagery to show Gadigal culture as vibrant and evolving.

To create the film, titled ‘A City in Motion’, GML worked with digital design studio Esem Projects and a range of First Nations creatives. This included Gadigal and Dunghutti poet Joel Davison, who contributed the poem ‘My City’, and Gamilaroi and Darug artist Travis De Vries of Awesome Black, who captured the stunning drone photography of Sydney’s landscape. Throughout the film is the majestic movement of the Jannawi Dance Clan, filmed by Tobias Rowles.

‘A City in Motion’ links past, present and future forms of movement and connection in the city from colonisation until today. Enduring connections to Gadigal Country are expressed throughout, with words and images interwoven with historical and contemporary film footage. The key themes explored in the film include movement and vitality, connections between people and Country over time, and the intricate choreography of city life.