In partnership with Worimi LALC (Murrook Culture Centre) and Heritage NSW, Curious Legends created The Guparr Project. Elders, children, and local artists came together to build a school of mullet fish and a large dolphin puppet. These puppets created the seasonal story of The Mullet Run, performed alongside the stories of the Humpback whale migration along the East coast of Australia. The puppets, language and dance by the local Worimi children, and story narration by Worimi knowledge holder Johnathan Lilley came together to create a peak performance, which was showcased in Anna Bay, Port Stephens, during NAIDOC week, 2024. 

As part of this production, Curious Legends worked with children to create and perform with over 50 Mullet Fish puppets, as well as work with the Murrook language group to learn the story of The Mullet Run. Curious Legends also worked with elders to design and create a common dolphin puppet. At the elders request, this dolphin puppet was designed to allow the elders to perform with it in the opening ceremony of the Elders Olympics, along with the Worimi Wubaray (black dolphin) banner and the ocean and mullet fish elements. 

The Elders Olympics opening ceremony formed the initial performance, followed by the peak NAIDOC week performance in which the three seasonal stories of the mullet run, as well as the story of the whale migration, both North and South, were depicted in puppetry. Indicator species of the gymea lily and the hairy caterpillar were also made by local artists to complete the stories. Whale puppets and a giant sea eagle, crafted in the Curious Legends studio, made a feature appearance in the peak performance outcome.

The final performance, taking place back at Murrook Culture Centre, was a cultural exchange with a visiting dance group from Yarrabah, North Queensland, with children once more joining in The Mullet Run story. The dolphin, mullet fish and hairy caterpillar puppets were gifted to the Murrook Culture Centre and put on display in their museum, and are available for any future performances. 

Thank you to Heritage NSW for their support of this project, and to Worimi LALC and the Murrook Culture Centre for generously donating space and time to bring this project to life.

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Worimi Artist: Jonathan Lilley (knowledge holder)
Video and Photos: Wanagi Zable-Andrews
Special thanks to community participants from Murrook Culture Centre, and the Worimi LALC

This project was generously funded by the Australian Government through Heritage NSW