Big Eye Theatre and Wulgurukaba Walkabouts, Gundil Released. PUNQ 2026 Commission. Photograph: Nicole Zicchino.
Gurambilbarra / Townsville
The Strand Park: North Ward Queensland 4810.
View the interactive PUNQ Art Trail Map for directions.
Venue AccessibilityStrand Park is wheelchair accessible.
Toilets (male, female and disabled access) nearby.
Free parking available on The Strand promenade surrounding the playing field (including six (6) disabled parking bays)
PricingThis is a free event.
Gundil Released
Big Eye Theatre & Wulgurukaba Walkabouts
Following its acclaimed premiere at PUNQ Festival 2024, the two monumental gundil (brolga) sculptures return to Wombeluna in 2026 as a striking landmark within the North Australian Festival of Arts (NAFA) Festival Hub.
Originally commissioned by PUNQ Festival, Gundil Released was created by Big Eye Theatre in collaboration with Wulgurukaba Walkabouts to illuminate the cultural significance of Wombeluna, a site on The Strand where a series of freshwater lagoons once existed. Before colonisation, these lagoons were an important ceremonial and gathering place for the Wulgurukaba people. Following European settlement they became polluted and were eventually filled in, and over time the traditional name Wombeluna was mistakenly recorded as Hambeluna.
The project celebrates the gundil (brolga), a bird deeply connected to the wetlands of the region and to Wulgurukaba cultural knowledge. The two large-scale sculptures depict these elegant birds, renowned for their lifelong pair bonds and distinctive courtship dance.
About The ArtistBig Eye Theatre is a community-based performing arts organization located in Gurambilbarra / Townsville, Queensland, on Wulgurukaba country. Run by Aunty Rosalind Sailor and volunteers, it promotes and supports First Nations arts, artists, theatre, and cultural events.
Wulgurukaba Walkabouts is a Wulgurukaba-led cultural organisation dedicated to sharing the knowledge, history and living traditions of Wulgurukaba Country. Led by Traditional Owner Ashley Saltner Jnr, the organisation works across cultural education, performance, ceremony and creative collaboration, strengthening understanding of Country through authentic First Nations storytelling and artistic exchange.
Gurambilbarra / Townsville
The Strand Park: North Ward Queensland 4810.
View the interactive PUNQ Art Trail Map for directions.
Venue AccessibilityStrand Park is wheelchair accessible.
Toilets (male, female and disabled access) nearby.
Free parking available on The Strand promenade surrounding the playing field (including six (6) disabled parking bays)
PricingThis is a free event.
Back to HomePUNQ respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region; Bindal, Gugu Badhun, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.