Monument

The Poatina Monument was commissioned to celebrate the people of this area; past, present and future … Its creation was carried out by a local artist and, with the help of about 100 Poatina volunteers was commemorated in 2005.
Originally, it consisted of five hollow glass towers, each brick made from recycled glass collected by the village, lit up at night, each tower being a fountain bubbling up from within.
The STORM
​A severe windstorm significantly damaged four of our five towers, and rendered the fountain and lighting inoperable. Much of the outpouring of creative expression was lost, but we realise that the story to its resurrection was still in the making! ​
​​GOING FORWARD
Poatina today, continues to evolve with exciting new stories being told. We are hoping, as a new creation is built, that this monument will reflect different parts of ‘who this village’ is becoming as much as its past; with new partnerships, new futures and new communities having an input into its re-creation! ​
​

​Scroll down to read how 'Monument' was conceived and constructed.
Why?
The Poatina Monument celebrates the people of the unique village of Poatina, past present and future; a community which has and continues to demonstrate the age-old truth that "it takes a village to raise a child"...

Why build a monument?
Commissioned in July 2004, as part of the 'Back to Poatina' reunion and Bicentenary of Tasmania, the monument seeks to capture the pioneering community spirit of the first Poatina residents who came from all over the world to establish the Hydro Electric Scheme in the 1950's and 60's. It recognises what is common between the residents of the past and those living here today, striving to live with a unity of purpose and hope for a better future.
Facts
&
Symbols
The Monument occupies an area of approximately 400 square metres and is a picture of individuals living in community, represented by the pool of water with its five tower-like figures. The figures are glass vessels, overflowing with water, a symbol of their spirit.
Each tower is constructed from hand-made glass bricks. The bricks were created in the village by Trinity College students and other volunteers using recycled glass collected in the village and surrounding region. Over two tonnes of glass was collected, washed, crushed and loaded into ceramic moulds before being melted in the kiln at temperatures over 900 degrees centigrade. The firing process for each kiln-load of bricks took over four days to complete. The glass bricks, derived from clear and green bottles and jars discarded as part of ordinary domestic life, appear opaque and solid by day, but yet are transformed at night by internal lights into beautiful pillars of light.
The pool is surrounded by a radiating triangular platform, with different materials forming a compass-like patter of pathways representing the many parts of the globe from which people travelled to be part of Poatina. The veins are also a symbol of the pathways back to many of those places as the village continues to grow as a place of international significance. Many objects and materials unearthed around the village and power station have been used in the veins, including slabs of old concrete from ruined parts of the village. Indigenous plants and rocks have also been used, paying homage to the important indigenous and natural heritage of the area.
The full effect of the design is best taken in from the hill overlooking the monument, and a short climb up the hill via the path is guaranteed not to disappoint. It is form this transcending view-point that the design reveals its full beauty and power and arguable it’s greatest symbol: Our everyday actions and human relationship may seem no more significant at one level that the Vegemite jars and soft-drink bottles of our common lives. Yet when we stand back to see the big picture, the strength and beauty of what has been gradually refined between us emerges.
We are reminded of the value of even the seemingly mundane aspects of our shared existence together that all too often have gone missing in our fast-paced modern world. By night, another symbolic transformation takes place: the humble marble like figures of the day are transformed into beautiful candle like pillars of light. Indeed, it is often through the moments of darkness and trial that a community’s true colours can be fully seen and appreciate.

Unlocking the Meaning of the Towers
Each individual here is revealed in three inter-related parts - the spirit, soul, and physical body which make up every human being.
The spirit is that part of us which bubbles up from somewhere deep within; it is our core which calls us always to truth, love and hope, connecting us to others and always spurring us on to make a difference in our world. It is this spirit which conceived the brave new world of Hydro Electric power and the same self sacrificing spirit which rallied the first Poatina residents together in moments of crisis and loss.
The soul is pictured here as the fragile and somewhat vulnerable glass vessel, multi-faceted, built up and affected by every life experience. Yet despite their vulnerability, they put on a brave stone like face, growing up stout and strong amidst the wild Tasmanian elements, continually filled and emptied, washed and smoothed by the life-giving water they have grown to contain.​​​


Meaning
And then there is the body, little more than a concrete veneer, worn down and eroded, revealing more and more of the soul beneath its surface and yet staunchly anchoring each figure in time and space. Rich fragments of history lie embedded within its substance - broken house brick… all remnants or a fading past.
Making
Dreaming & making the Monument
The Poatina Monyment project was conceived in 2003 when planning began for a gathering to celebrate the thousands of people who had been former residents of Poatina; 'Back to Poatina' was scheduled for July 17th 2004, at a time when the whole of Tasmania was celebrating it's Bicentenary. Because of the key part Poatina played in the Hydro Electric Scheme and the development of Tasmania itself, the event quickly made it's way into the State's consciousness. A committee of former and current residents gathered historical photos and memorabilia for display and conducted interviews from which a collection of stories was written from people with significant memories of their experiences here. The monument was planned as the focal point for the day's festivities, a lasting reminder of all that was to be remembered and celebrated from Poatina's rich history. ​​​
Keith Dougall, a glass artist who had come to live in the village to establish as Arts Colony as part of Fusion's work here, was approached to design the monument and coordinate a team of volunteers to construct it. This was a massive undertaking involving up to a hundred volunteers from within the village and surrounding region. The number of human hours spent creating the monument is easily estimated in the thousands. Whilst Keith designed the monument and the process for making the bricks and towers, the monument is really the product of a dedicated core team who contributed generously to the design and construciton.
The wider base of volunteers included school students from school students from Poatina's Trinity College, and current residents of the village whose main contributions were helping collect and process recycled glass for firing into glass bricks, and helping to landscape the massive triangular platform around the pool.

Glass
Brick by brick...
Well over 8000 bottles were collected, washed and fired and each of the glass slabs took more than 4 days in the kiln to heat, melt and cool before being cut on a diamond saw into the five brick sizes for each tower.

Only two kilns were used, one in the village's pottery studio, and the other a larger very old kiln donated by the University of Tasmania's Ceramics Department - less than one cubic metre combined. The bricks were then bonded together with a specially researched epoxy mortar which required a temperature of about 25 degrees to set. This required a large circus style tent to be erected over the site and heated during the construction phase, lasting a number of weeks in Tasmania's coldest winter months.

The completed monument was opened at Poatina's annual Open Day on July l6th 2005.
On more than one occasion villagers were roused from their beds in the early hours to help save the tent during gale force winds.
Recycled and naturally occurring materials from the local area were used in the monument wherever possible, and a number of Tasmanian businesses contributed generously. The monument was more than half constructed when it was officially launched at Back to Poatina Day, 2004, creating a great deal of excitement for all present.
Why not come and experience something of the warmth of this unique village and what its people have to offer today?
Come on down and chat to one of the locals about the rebirth that Poatina has undergone in the last ten years with he developments of Trinity College, HeartFM and the work of Fusion Australia.
If you'd like to know more, why not visit our Northern Midlands Interpretive Centre - just a short walk away, or better still why not relax with a cappucino and a hearty meal by the fire in the Mountain View Restaurant, or maybe drop in for a quick snack at the General Store. And just a few hundred metres down the road why not enjoy a night in our delightful Best Western motel with its fabulous views and warm hospitality or the backpackers hostel for those who are budget conscious.
More
Check out the Poatina Gift Shop and Piggi-Billa Art Gallery - or try on some pre-loved clothing at the Wombat Boutique. And whatever you do, don't forget to come back at night to see the towers aglow...

Scroll down to see a photo of the towers come alive at night.
%20Monument%20Night%20Elevation%20Shot.jpg)