World Art Utopia

Yuundu Yuundu — Pilliga

Two large axe-head sculptures, one white and one dark gray, stand on red earth at Dandry Gorge in the Pilliga
Artwork FilePilliga, Australia

Yuundu Yuundu

SeenApr 2023

Ken Hutchinson · Sculptures in the Scrub · Dandry Gorge, Pilliga, New South Wales

Photo: JulieMay54 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as published in Street Art Utopia; full photo.

Yuundu Yuundu ("Axe Axe") is a pair of large axe-head sculptures by Ken Hutchinson on the Sculptures in the Scrub walk at Dandry Gorge in Timmallallie National Park, in the Pilliga forest of New South Wales. The dark one stands for a Gamilaroi stone axe and the white one for a European steel axe, tying together the gorge's axe-grinding grooves and the timber-cutting history both cultures share. On the on-site board the sculptor said the many axe-grinding marks at the gorge gave him the idea. NSW National Parks says each sculpture on the walk came from an artist working with local Aboriginal Elders and young people. Source Source Source Checked

Seen Apr 2023: a Top Wire Traveller visit report published on 4 April 2023 describes both axe heads at Dandry Gorge. No newer dated report was found. Source Reported

💡 5 things to know

  1. The name means axeThe on-site board, as transcribed in 2013, says Yuundu is a Gamilaroi word for 'axe', and the work stands for Aboriginal stone-axe and European axe technology. Source Reported
  2. Dark axe, white axeHutchinson used a black axe head for the stone axe and a white one for the steel axe. Dandry Gorge is known for grinding grooves where Gamilaroi people made stone axes, and both cultures worked side by side cutting timber in the Pilliga. Source Reported
  3. Inspired by grinding marksThe sculptor said he found a lot of axe-grinding marks at the gorge, and as a stone worker the idea of a stone axe was 'right up my alley'. Source Reported
  4. Made with EldersNSW National Parks says each sculpture on the award-winning walk is the result of an artist collaborating with local Aboriginal Elders and young people, in a project four years in the making. Source Checked
  5. One of five worksIt is one of five sculptures on the Sculptures in the Scrub walk. According to a Commons photo description, the first four, including this one, were created in 2009. Source Reported

📍 Where it is

Sculptures in the Scrub walking track, 33 km east of Baradine Source Checked

Open in Maps

Opens a map search for Sculptures in the Scrub at Dandry Gorge.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 20136 Oct

    Photographed with its information board · Snap Happy Birding blog

  2. 2017

    Visited on a 2017 trip · Australia So Much to See

  3. 201816 Apr

    Photo of both axe heads · Wikimedia Commons

  4. 20234 Apr

    Described in a walk guide · Topwire Traveller

Green stamps mark dated photographs (the date given on the photo’s page); amber stamps mark records, events and reports. Publication dates are not photo dates.

✅ The facts

Artist
Ken Hutchinson Source Checked
Title meaning
Yuundu is a Gamilaroi word for 'axe' Source Source Reported
Spelling
Also written Yundu Yundu (Wikimedia Commons) and Yuundu Yunndu (2017 travelogue) Source Conflicting
Year
2009 Source Reported
Form
Two axe heads: a black one for a stone axe and a white one for a steel axe Source Checked
Detail
Hand prints near the base Source Reported
Location
Sculptures in the Scrub walk, Dandry Gorge, Timmallallie National Park, 33 km east of Baradine Source Checked
Made with
Local Aboriginal Elders and young people (NSW National Parks) Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 11 November 2026 · How we verify art