November 11 was a day for many gatherings but perhaps none were more unusual than the launch of a bus bearing a colourful new design at the Lismore Buslines depot.
More than 50 people gathered to wave off the bus on its first regular run between Lismore, Coraki and Evans Head.
What was unusual was the livery of the vehicle, which is part of the Travelling Art Project, launched to encourage local Indigenous people to use public transport.
The central image of the design on the bus is the spiritual totem of the Bundjalung nation, a goanna wrestling with a snake. It is the work of Koori students studying Certificate IV in Visual Arts at Lismore TAFE.
The Travelling Art Project is a collaboration between Transport NSW, Arts Northern Rivers, Northern Rivers Buslines and North Coast TAFE.
It was launched by Bundjalung Elder Aunty Hazel Rhodes. Also present were Bundjalung elders, representatives of the key partner organisations and deputy mayor of Lismore Isaac Smith.
After the launch many took up bus driver Willie Smith’s invitation to climb aboard and take a quick tour through Lismore’s streets.
