Collecting red ochre from Country - Blue Mountains NSW. This soft iron-rich rock imparts a vivid red pigment when rubbed with water. It is used for body paint for initiated men in NSW. It is also used for cave paintings and hand stencils.

This artwork ‘Sky Over Wianamattagal Country’ was created by Dr Shane Smithers for signage on the recently opened new commuter carpark at St Marys. The name Wianamatta or the ‘place of mother’s water’ credits the earth for the creek ever-flowing with ‘mother’s water’. Wianamattagal is the contraction of three words: Wiana - meaning mother, Matta - meaning a place of water and Gal - meaning people. (People from the place of mother’s water) Even when the land is drought ravaged, when the grass has turned to straw, ground water keeps the creek flowing. Wianamattagal country was and is a place of abundance even in hard times. Connecting to Country through sharing stories of place.