Gunnedah's Rainbow Serpent water feature and local librarian have taken out top honours in the Local Government Week Awards.
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The Indigenous water feature project won division A of the Leo Kelly Arts and Culture Awards and Gunnedah Shire Council's librarian Christiane Birkett was chosen in the regional category for Outstanding Individual Contribution.
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The Rainbow Serpent outside The Civic Centre has been almost 20 years in the making and works were completed in recent weeks.
The 9.2m artwork features 32 handcrafted mosaic tiles illustrating koalas, turtles, cockatoos, lizards, fish, Aboriginal tools, children's hands, and the Red Chief, among other images.
Shirley Long, Janet Wanless, Delma Jones, Ellen Draper, Gloria Foley, June Cox, Alison Cox, Rita Long and Cindy Foley became the core group of artists who met regularly for more than two years to create the glass mosaics that adorn the surface of the Rainbow Serpent.
The original design of the Rainbow Serpent was developed by Glen Innes artist Max Powell and fellow artist Bronwyn McKean from drawings completed by Aboriginal leader Ellen Draper.
The judges commented that it was "an extraordinary story of persistence and admirable Aboriginal-led art".
"The capacity to engage not only with the women creating the sculpture but the support of the community is innovative," they wrote.
Librarian Christiane Birkett was also praised by judges for her commitment to the shire's library.
"What a great person Christiane Birkett is," they wrote.
"Her passion to assist the community in particular to impart knowledge and her love, obviously, for books. The Brain Training initiative is a great idea. A great success story indeed."
The award comes on the back of the library's highly commended placing for its Brain Training program.