Karatgurrk (Seven Sisters)

Stories of the Seven Sisters are found across the continent and are based on ‘sky people’ who descend to Earth, travel across Country, and eventually return to the night sky. Central to these stories are digging sticks, powerful symbols of technology traditionally used for protection, hunting, and gathering food.

In Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung culture, women are the fire-holders. In the story of the Karatgurk (Seven Sisters), who lived by the Birrarung, each sister carried a live coal on the end of her digging stick and held the secret of fire. Waa the Crow, having tasted roasted murnong and preferring it to raw, attempted to trick the Karatgurk in order to steal fire. The sisters, however, proved too strong, resilient, and clever to be deceived. Through them, fire was brought to Earth. Afterwards, the Karatgurk ascended to Sky Country with their glowing digging sticks, where they can be seen today as the Pleiades constellation in Western astronomy. Women, fire, and digging sticks come together in this story as a powerful technological force, making it one of the most ancient stories of technology in the world.

The artists see an imbalance in the contemporary world, where technology has largely been dominated by men. This story reminds us that women’s roles in technology are essential to balance, and that powerful narratives such as the Karatgurk can inspire young women to pursue pathways in STEM.

Cast from a circle woven with reeds by Aunty Kim, the glowing bronze discs represent the Seven Sisters. The glass panels evoke the Birrarung – River of Mists – and symbolise the tangible and intangible: Earth and Sky, and the ability to move between them across vast distances. Bronze digging sticks stand nearby as if recently left to rest by the Seven Sisters.

Title: Karatgurrk (Seven Sisters), 2026

Site: Hume STEM Secondary School

Client: Bendigo Kangan Institute

Concept: Aunty Kim Wandin and Chris Joy

Fabrication: Meridian Sculpture, Wathaurong Glass