DOK'KU Candle Event - Come and Light a Candle for Mary !!

Art for Earth Candle Installation outside Parliament House Canberra earlier this year.

Various groups from the Mary River area will converge at Tandora Homestead on the banks of the Mary River on Sunday 1st June to participate in creating DOK'KU, a spectacular illuminated artwork of a Mary River Cod using 4000 candles.

The Queensland Government, through Arts Queensland, has provided $14,446 to Art for Earth, a non-profit group, to create the display. The funding was provided under the regional partnerships category to support a collaboration between an internationally-renkowned artist (Jorge Pujol), indigenous community members, regional conservation groups, and volunteers from the general public. Over 4,000 candles will be used to create a 50 metre long Mary River Cod which will then be lit in a moving ceremony at sunset.

Jorge Pujol is well known for his candle installations around the world, including the "Sorry the First Step" event in Canberra for indigenous reconciliation, in collaboration with Getup. This latest project aims to celebrate the Mary River and Great Sandy Strait, and to raise awareness about the threat both now face.

'Dok'ku' is the local indigenous Butchulla word for Cod fish. The Mary River Cod is an endangered species and is an excellent visual symbol of not only river fauna in general, but the connection between the river and the sea and all the rare, vulnerable, threatened and endangered species that depend on the estuary, including dugong, indo-pacific humpback dolphins and loggerhead turtles.

Guest speakers at the event include representatives from Greenpeace, the Australian Conservation Foundation, and Steve Posselt, the cross country kayaker who recently completed a marathon journey along the full length of the Mary River to help expose the folly of the Traveston Crossing Dam (see blog entries below). Representatives from the Greater Mary Association and Save The Mary River Coordinating Group will also be there to participate in the candle lighting ceremony at sunset.

For those travelling from the valley, a free bus has been arranged from the Kandanga Save the Mary Info Centre and can pick up at Gympie. Ph 5488 4800 to book a seat. If you are arriving independently, you can find Tandora Homestead by turning off the Hervey Bay-Maryborough highway at Dundathu into Prawle Road and following the signs to the banks of the Mary River.

COME AND HELP CREATE DOK'KU! - TELL THE WORLD YOU CARE ABOUT THIS FRAGILE, THREATENED ECOSYSTEM!

Light one of 4,000 candles - no skills required.

Arrive 9am to help create the installation, or arrive 4pm to watch the candle lighting ceremony at sunset.

This event is guaranteed to raise national attention for the plight of the Mary River and the Great Sandy Strait. Footage of the installation will travel to Spain for the Zaragosa Expo on Water and Sustainability in July.

Learn more about Art for Earth at http://www.artforearth.net/

Media contact and further background information: Erica Neate Admin Coordinator Art For Earth ph 4128 7225.