THERE is a serpent ‘carved’ into the side of a hill near the ghost town of Betoota in Outback Queensland.
The artwork was commissioned by the Diamantina Shire Council and is one of three unique public art installations created to tell the women’s Dreamtime stories from the region.
The other projects are in Bedourie and Birdsville. The aim of the art is to help preserve, share and promote the Dreamtime Serpent stories and cultural heritage of local traditional
owners, the Mithika, Wangkamadla and Wangkangurru people.
No one lives in Betoota but that doesn’t mean it’s deserted. There is a hotel and it’s seldom quiet. In the 1880’s, the town had three hotels, a police station, a store and a post office.
The Dreamtime Serpent represents a series of pathways it travelled through to connect the river systems in the Channel Country.
The hillside artwork was crafted from locally sourced gravel and gibbers.