Goanna ground, by Ballarat-based Aunty Diana Nikkelson (Gunditjmara), was inspired by the artist’s totem and is a tribute to the first artists of the region, the Wadawurrung people. It acknowledges Aboriginal survival and the dynamic regeneration of the Aboriginal art and culture in the region. The goanna was etched into the basalt paving at the back of the Gallery in 2006 as part of the cultural festival of the Commonwealth Games.

As you walk down Police Lane, etched footsteps morph from a human footprint to goanna prints. The goanna itself was originally an outdoor artwork, but half of it was brought into the Art Gallery of Ballarat when the former Federation Plaza was enclosed to form the Gallery’s McCain Annexe.