In 2020 we worked with the Shire of Kondinin to deliver the Karlgarin Centenary Interpretive Project. Karlgarin is a small farming village located roughly halfway between Kondinin and Hyden on the way to Wave Rock. Karlgarin punches well above its weight with a close knit can-do community. Karlgarin was originally settled as a soldier-settler community who cleared the land and began farming. Karlgarin wanted to celebrate their centenary in style with a big celebration to mark the occasion.

Wayfound worked with the Shire’s community development officer and the Karlgarin community to develop the whole interpretive project. For this project we were lucky in that the Karlgarin community had kept and preserved a large array of photos and stories about the community. For this leg of the project we engaged historian Dr Sue Graham-Taylor. Dr Sue worked with the community’s material  and researched further material at the State Library where she discovered further interesting facets of the community’s history.

Once the content was approved we began designing the interpretive panels. For this project we had to design three large interpretive panels for a gazebo interpretive node, interpretive panels for three large granite benches,  a seperate Mallee Fowl interpretive point out on the main road. For this project we continued development of the style we introduced at Wave Rock. One of the hardest parts to this projects was interpreting the Landgate maps and aligning these with the original soldier settler blocks and the names of the farming families who settled here.

On completion of the design process we coordinated all production, delivery to site and had a great time at the Centenary Weekend with the Karlgarin Community.

 

It was no easy task to make a list of landowner names from 1920 to 2020 and heavy historical text present creatively on a series of signs – but Kim, Andre and Sue did just that! They were very accommodating to our requests and those of local volunteers whilst also keeping us on track. Through their expertise we were able to create some fabulous interpretive signage that will provide a lasting legacy for the town of Karlgarin in celebration of its 100 years.

Tory Young, Manager Planning & Assets, Shire of Kondinin