Like Celtic and Norse legend, the Moreton Bay mermaid swims in water but walks on land.
His name is Warrajamba, and according to legend, he has walked on the sands of North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) and Moreton Island (Mulgumpin).
His blood was spilled on Cowan Cowan Beach in Mulgumpin, where the sand to this day has a red tinge.
From now until November you can find a life-size statue Warrajamba at the Brisbane Museumwith quampie (pearl oyster) fins and scales, yungaire (fresh water reed) for hands, and hair made of tawalpin, or coastal hibiscus.
It’s Quandamooka artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, who has been following the Warrajamba stream for a decade.
The story was passed down through his grandmother, Bethel Delaney, and mother, Evelyn Parkin.
“My grandma talked to my mom about her, that she’s a mermaid in the bay, so that was enough for me to keep exploring,” Cockatoo-Collins said.
His research led to the writings of Archibald Meston, who joined the Queensland Aborigines Protection Society in 1890 and produced the first articles on Aboriginal culture in 1895.
“He came and visited the island, and recorded the stories and the language. He recorded the story about the mermaid, but he wrote ‘it’s too long for this article’. So there’s more, somewhere.”
Cockatoo-Collins has taken over Brisbane’s Creative Space Museum as an artist-in-residence.
Here, visitors are immersed in the mystery of Warrajamba, and are given the materials to make their own mermaid or dugong figures using cardboard, clothes pegs and printing stamps bearing the artist’s designs.
Brand maker and fashion designer, Cockatoo-Collins also has a display of her clothing at the Brisbane Quarter showroom, George Street.
Skirts, shifts and vests, with dyed bank fabrics, shells and Stradbroke Island threads, are displayed alongside three large dilly-style bags, inspired by her grandfather’s rope bags which are kept in several museums.
Living in the museum, he will design a fashion collection for a runway show in September.
Cockatoo-Collins comes from an impressive matriarchal line. Her grandmother was one of several First Nations people who worked at the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum on North Stradbroke Island in the 1940s who were paid on quotas.
“When they saw that other people were being paid, they protested, and they were the first indigenous people to march to demand equal wages and succeed,” he said.
Cockatoo-Collins spent his childhood years on the island, eating quampies in his mother’s curries. She returned to raise her own children, create art and clothing, and conduct cultural tours.
He said Warrajamba’s message is to ask questions if you can, when you can.
“That’s what my mother says about my grandmother. She wished she would ask more questions (about Warrajamba) than what she was told first.
“This space encourages people to keep asking questions of their families, to know your history.”
Warrajamba: Delvene Cockatoo Collins is at the Brisbane Museum, City Hall, March 28- November 15. When Dilly Bags Get Light at Brisbane Quarter until May 10. Entry to both is free.
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Nick Dent is the Culture Reporter at the Brisbane Times, covering arts and things to do in the city.Connect through email address.
