A majestic black swan now graces the OL Milling Lions Park, a gift to the town from the Dunedoo Garden Group.

Created by Coolah metal sculptor David Sherlock, the black swan is the centrepiece of Dunedoo’s ‘Sculptures in the Park’ project, which was opened on Friday.

The project, which also features supplementary sculptures of local birdlife created by design and technology students of Dunedoo Central School, was commissioned by the garden group with the assistance of a grant from the Regional Arts Fund (NSW).

The fund is an Australian Government initiative supporting the arts in regional and remote Australia.

The sculpture is particularly significant to the town because the name ‘Dunedoo’ is widely believed to relate to the Wiradjuri word for black swan.

The public art project features sculptures of birds native to the Dunedoo region, fabricated from recycled metal and farm machinery parts.

Dunedoo Garden Group president Jean Gaden was delighted the project came to this point.

“The black swan is an imposing bird and David Sherlock’s sculpture is every bit as impressive,” she said.

“Native grasses have been planted around the base of the sculpture to give the impression of this wonderful bird rising out of its natural habitat.”

Dunedoo hit the headlines a few years ago over a proposal to build ‘the big dunny’ in the main street as a tourist attraction.

Eventually the ‘dunny’ project was wiped.

“That idea certainly ruffled a few feathers,” Ms Gaden said.

“Our swan is ruffling its feathers in a much nicer way.”

Regional Arts NSW chief executive officer Elizabeth Rogers was also at the “lovely day” and said many towns were engaged in community art.

“I think this was successful because it involved not just a professional artist in the rejuvenation of the area, but also the Warrumbungle Shire Council and Dunedoo Central School,” she said.

“It was a really nice local community partnership,” she said.

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