Entry Pavilion Commission at Ngununggula Gallery

We are thrilled to launch Ngununggula’s second Entry Pavilion Commission, conceptualised by Djon Mundine OAM FAHA and conceived by artist Warwick Keen and the Southern Highlands First Nations Community.

The Entry Pavilion Commission is an annual initiative in celebrating Gundungurra language, culture and history.

This work honours Eddie Gilbert, an Aboriginal fast bowler who famously bowled Sir Donald Bradman in a 1931 Sheffield Shield match. Bradman had returned to Australia following a record-breaking performance at the 1930 Ashes. Nevertheless, at the Brisbane Cricket Ground he was welcomed home by a ruthless spell of bowling from Eddie, memorialised in the above image. Eddie had grown up in the Barambah Aboriginal Settlement, a community established during the segregationist policies of the Queensland Government. Bradman was dismissed for a duck, later claiming Gilbert was the fastest bowler he had ever faced.

This artwork celebrates the rich cricketing culture of our region.