Shellharbour City Council’s Aboriginal Interpretive playspace, Yirran muru (Dharawal for ‘Many pathways’), has received two prestigious awards: the Play Spaces Award of Excellence and the Regional Achievement Award at the Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture Awards. Since its opening in 2023, Yirran muru has won eight major industry awards. Mayor Chris Homer announced that the project will now compete in the National Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture Awards.

Mayor Homer expressed his pride in the project’s success, emphasising the value of collaboration with the Aboriginal community over the past 30 years. He highlighted the Council’s efforts to protect, respect, and share local culture and heritage through their relationship with the Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Fiona Robbé, the project's Landscape Architect and Horticulturalist, shared her pride in designing a play space that integrates the values, language, and stories of the Dharawal community. Robbé explained that Yirran muru serves as an accessible educational precinct, meeting place, and play space, featuring traditional travel journeys depicted as stepping stone paths.

Dr Jodi Edwards, a local Aboriginal community member and collaborator, emphasised the project’s impact on showcasing successful partnerships between Aboriginal people and the wider community. She described Yirran muru as a living example of reconciliation in action.

Awards and Recognitions

• Winner: Playspace Award of Excellence, NSW Landscape Architecture Awards 2024
• Winner: Regional Achievement Award, NSW Landscape Architecture Awards 2024
• Winner: First Nations Community Partnerships, NSW Local Government Excellence Awards 2024
• Winner: Playspace Award (under $500k category), Parks and Leisure Australia Regional Awards of Excellence 2024
• Winner: Education and Interpretation, National Trust Heritage Awards 2024
• Highly Commended: Aboriginal Heritage, National Trust and Heritage Awards 2024
• Winner: Diversity and Inclusion, Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) 2024
• Silver: Landscape Excellence Awards 2023