Arabic version: باورهاوس باراماتا يكرّم العمل النباتي لدانيال موواتين

According to ABC News, Powerhouse Parramatta has installed an artwork recognising Daniel Moowattin, a Burramattagal man whose role in documenting local flora was largely absent from official records. The museum is due to officially open on Saturday, and the work forms part of a rooftop garden featuring native plants.

Artist Keg de Souza worked with Dharug elder Uncle Chris Tobin to retrace Moowattin’s contribution to British botanist George Caley’s work in the early 1800s. Caley’s personal herbarium notes included clippings attributed with the handwritten words “got by Dan”, but those attributions were removed from official herbarium records.

Curator Emerson Radisich searched archives for records retaining the annotations. After locating a record in NSW and another at the National Herbarium in Canberra, he traced Caley herbarium sheets through collections including Kew Gardens in London. He eventually found about 100 sheets recorded by Caley at the Natural History Museum in the UK, where further handwritten notes appeared to include Dharug language words.

The research recovered four words connected to eucalyptus species in the Dharug language. Bayala Aboriginal Corporation confirmed Dhuramba as the Dharug name for Eucalypt Paniculata, while three further words are to be confirmed before formal publication. De Souza used eucalyptus clippings collected with Uncle Chris on Dharug country to create five bronze plaques, embedded in the museum rooftop pavement. Uncle Chris said the plaques were done respectfully and could encourage greater respect for Aboriginal learnings and history.