"Pamphlett, Parsons and Finnegan found two canoes at the mouth of Oxley Creek, evidently placed there for the use of travellers passing along the south bank of the Brisbane River between Brisbane and Ipswich. As a result of that incident, Oxley Creek was originally called Canoe Creek and the name Canoe Reach of the Brisbane River remains as a momento of the occasion." (Steele, 1972)
At the successful 1997 "Canoes and Crossings" festival at Simpsons Playground, the festival committee commissioned Boogadin Bunkoo canoe builders to build a bark canoe during the day of the festival, to be used in the closing performance.
 
The Brisbane City Council's Community Development Team West of the Brisbane City Council had a replica of the canoe cast in bronze, which was unveiled during the 1998 festival. The bronze canoe is incorporated into the children's play area at Simpson's playground.
Artist:
Sean Tapner
Funding: Brisbane City Council
Reference:
J.G. Steele 1972, The Explorers of the Moreton Bay District 1770 - 1830, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane.
 
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