Some huge new underwater sculptures have just arrived to be installed under Busselton Jetty
While the Busselton Jetty already was a great tourism attraction in its own right, this week saw the arrival of some very cool new additions to its already-awesome undersea realm.
As part of its Artificial Reef & Underwater Sculpture Trail a few massive sculptures arrived to be installed on the seafloor over the next couple of months.
First up is the Queen of the Bay, a 3m tall, 1.5-tonne fish sculpture created by Scott Mitchell from Rustic Hills Sculptures.
Fabricated from mild steel, in the centre of the fish divers will be able to see a special “HH” Metal plaque, dedicated to Hunter Madden and the Hero Hunter Foundation, supporting families battling childhood cancer.
Next up is an equally impressive Southern Right Whale, fabricated by artist Alan Meyburgh, whose well-known megafauna sculptures you may have spotted around the Margaret River region and Sculptures by the Sea.
The Southern Right Whale comes in at a massive 10m in length and 3m high, created specifically to maximise marine and reef growth while also being an attraction above and below the water in its own right.
Finally (for now) there’s “Ophelia – The Queen of the Octopus Garden”, created by Brendan Booth from Margaret River Sculpture Park and Wood Be Good Woodcraft Gallery.
It’s a 13-tonne (!) octopus made from high sulphate resistant concrete/composite mix with the addition of fibreglass, been built to encourage the growth of marine life while also becoming a space for marine creatures to live in.
Not only that, Ophelia has more than 80 glow-in-the-dark stones that will absorb sunlight during the day before glowing under the sea at night, which is just about the coolest-sounding thing we’ve ever heard.
Overall the project will consist of up to 13 objects in total being deployed along the seabed across an approximate area of 200m x 20m.
Learn more about the reel sculpture project via the Busselton Jetty Website.
Image Credits: Busselton Jetty via Facebook.