Griffith Pioneer Park Museum has landed a whopper of a new exhibition featuring Murray Cod, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world and an apex predator in the waterways where they live.
“Gugabul” is an impressive representation of this species and was created by the Hands On Weavers with artists Peter Ingram and Shelby-Rae Lyons-Kschenka.
The name Gugabul comes from the Wiradjuri word for this fish, which is a totem for some of their nation and a sentinel for healthy rivers.
The Dreamtime-sized sculpture is accompanied by a colourful animation produced by Aunty Lorraine Tye that shares a legend from along the rivers.
“It’s wonderful to be able to show a variety of perspectives on Murray Cod,” said Museum Curator Jason Richardson.
“The details about how an ancestor created the bends in the rivers have been shared even more widely than these fish are known to travel — which research has shown can be 120km!”
The exhibition also includes observations from Europeans like John Oxley, Charles Sturt and Mary Gilmore, as well as details like why these fish make great fathers.
In recent years Murray Cod have become a premium aquaculture product that’s grown in our region and one that has developed from the research of John Lake, who the Narrandera Fisheries Centre is named after.
“There’s a lot to learn about this distinctive creature and something for everyone,” said Mr Richardson.
Come and meet Gugabul in the Irrigation Museum building at Griffith Pioneer Park Museum, which is open seven days a week.
