At the entrance to Kangan Institute’s future Hume Tech School, a new First Nations artwork brings together bronze, glass and sculptural digging sticks to tell an ancient story of knowledge, technology and women’s leadership.
Titled Seven Sisters – Karatgurk, the artwork has been installed at the entrance of the school, welcoming the local community and the students who will soon begin learning there.
Created by artists Aunty Kim Wandin (Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Elder) and Chris Joy, the artwork draws on a Wurundjeri WoiWurrung story of the Seven Sisters, connecting deep cultural knowledge to learning, innovation and future pathways in STEM. The full artist statement (see below) details the inspiration behind the art.
When students arrive at Hume Tech School, the artwork will be one of the first things they encounter, helping to establish a strong sense of belonging and connection to place as they begin their studies.
The installation builds on the foundations of Kangan Institute’s Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which guides how respect is embedded, relationships are strengthened and culturally safe learning environments are created for First Nations students, staff and communities.
Guided by this approach, Hume Tech School is also developing a digital media and emerging technologies program for students that connect to the themes and stories reflected in the artwork.
Located at Kangan Institute’s Broadmeadows Campus, Hume Tech School is in its final stages of construction and scheduled for completion by Term 3, 2026.
Delivered through $15.47 million Victorian Government investment, the new facility will support the rapidly growing Hume community and provide access to specialist STEM learning for students from all 28 secondary schools in the municipality – benefiting more than 28,000 local students each year.
Programs will focus on future focused pathways including advanced manufacturing, automation, health care, renewable energy, construction, transport and logistics and data analytics.
The project is being constructed by arete Australia, a specialist division of Kane Constructions, and designed by Brand Architects. The artwork has been developed by Aunty Kim Wandin and Chris Joy in collaboration with Meridian Sculpture and Wathaurong Glass.
Learn more about the new Hume Tech School here.
Quote attributable to Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll:
“Tech Schools help students stay ahead of the game, giving them access to industry-standard technologies for STEM learning.”
“We're opening up STEM pathways and careers for thousands of students in Melbourne’s northern suburbs - and they're learning in spaces which are connected to our First Nations people."
Quote attributable to Kangan Institute CEO Laura Macpherson:
“We’re excited to introduce this artwork at the future Hume Tech School as a way of welcoming the local community and sharing a powerful story of place, knowledge and leadership.
“It reflects our commitment to Reconciliation and to creating learning spaces that respect and honour connection to Country, culture and community.
“As Hume Tech School prepares to open, we hope this artwork inspires young people – especially young women – to see themselves as the next generation of STEM leaders.”
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Stories of the Seven Sisters are found across the continent and are based on ‘sky people’ who descend to Earth, travel across Country, and eventually return to the night sky. Central to these stories are digging sticks, powerful symbols of technology traditionally used for protection, hunting, and gathering food.
In Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung culture, women are the fire-holders. In the story of the Karatgurk (Seven Sisters), who lived by the Birrarung, each sister carried a live coal on the end of her digging stick and held the secret of fire. Waa the Crow, having tasted roasted murnong and preferring it to raw, attempted to trick the Karatgurk in order to steal fire. The sisters, however, proved too strong, resilient, and clever to be deceived. Through them, fire was brought to Earth.
Afterwards, the Karatgurk ascended to Sky Country with their glowing digging sticks, where they can be seen today as the Pleiades constellation in Western astronomy. Women, fire, and digging sticks come together in this story as a powerful technological force, making it one of the most ancient stories of technology in the world.
The artists see an imbalance in the contemporary world, where technology has largely been dominated by men. This story reminds us that women’s roles in technology are essential to balance, and that powerful narratives such as the Karatgurk can inspire young women to pursue pathways in STEM.
Cast from a circle woven with reeds by Aunty Kim, the glowing bronze discs represent the Seven Sisters. The glass panels evoke the Birrarung – River of Mists – and symbolise the tangible and intangible: Earth and Sky, and the ability to move between them across vast distances. Bronze digging sticks stand nearby as if recently left to rest by the Seven Sisters.
