Public art

The La Famiglia monument is the result of collaboration between the Basilicata Region, the City of Canada Bay and Associazione Lucania of Sydney. This work symbolises the presence of Italians in Australia and the contribution given by them to the material and moral growth of this Country.

The initiative was taken by the Associazione Lucania of Sydney, in particular by its Federal President, Joe Di Giacomo, who wanted to fulfil the wish of his brother Donato, who passed away.

The monument was unveiled on 15 August 2008 and is positioned at Stevenson's Reserve, Fairlight Street, Five Dock.

The 'La Famiglia' book is available to download.

Related items

• La Famiglia Book

The site of the WWII Commonwealth Shipyard No. 4, where smalls ships were constructed for service in WW2, is near the Rhodes end of the Kokoda Track memorial walk. The Brays Bay Reserve site acknowledges the contribution of those who built the ships and of those who served on them. The sculpture is symbolic of a ship's bow.

Over 5,000 male convicts worked to build the 250 kilometre Great North Road from 1826 to 1836. The road commenced here in Five Dock and travelled north to the Parramatta River, which was crossed by boat at Abbotsford Point to Bedlam Point, and from there stretched north to Newcastle and the upper Hunter Valley.

The convicts named here were part of Road Party 14, based close to Five Dock. We will never have a complete list of all of the men who worked on the road as only some of their names are recorded.

Reformers honours the often ‘nameless’ convicts at the heart of the work, seeking to convey the human dimension of an important achievement in early Australian infrastructure.

The fissure dividing the sandstone suggests a road forcibly driven through a harsh and resistant landscape. The physical reality of the split and the force it implies evokes the physical challenges faced by those who built the road.