The attached photo was taken 0n 4th May, 2019. The Sculpture name is “Cargo” by Mike Nicholls and Jonathan Leahey.
The Williamstown Cricket Ground, currently known by its sponsored name Downer Oval, and also informally as Point Gellibrand Oval, is a football and cricket stadium located in Williamstown, Victoria. The ground is located on Point Gellibrand, the southern-most point of Williamstown which juts into Port Phillip Bay. The ground is currently the home of the Williamstown Football Club in the Victorian Football League, and the Williamstown Cricket Club in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association.
Both The Williamstown Cricket Ground and sculpture Cargo are in Cyril Curtain Reserve, Williamstown VIC, Australia.
Cargo is a contemporary sculpture that references the ongoing and historical maritime links Williamstown has to transportation, industry and navigational aids. Cargo’s rusty hull suggests a raw state of construction, relating to the ships under construction in the nearby BAE shipyards.
“Its geometric proportions allude to early shore based warning signals such as the Time Ball Tower on Point Gellibrand. Mirroring and complementing the owner’s vertical profile, the sculpture acts as a sister land based object which could become another navigational marker used by fishermen to take sightings from sea.” Jonathan Leahey and Mike Nicholls
At four meters in height Cargo makes a strong statement as it is vertically anchored to its site on Cyril Curtain Reserve. Rising above its natural setting, its up-right position juxtaposes the freighters sitting on the horizon line at sea waiting to unload their containers. The sculpture creates a visual ambiguity that enables the viewer to reflect on the Port of Williamstown’s association with the transportation of goods, the shipyards and the history of Hobsons Bay as a safe harbor.