Rising out of what were once paddocks, a giant globe-like steel sculpture is quickly taking shape near the northern end of Sydney’s new international airport, no doubt leaving some people wondering what it is.
Under construction near crossroads for the new M12 motorway and a road link to Western Sydney Airport, the eye-catching structure will be 30 metres high, making it visible to passengers when the first flights start late next year.
The giant sculpture under construction near the northern end of the new Western Sydney Airport.Credit: Nick Moir
Designed by Indigenous design studio Balarinji, the steel is being crafted into an emu nest, inspired by the Great Emu in the Sky constellation. It will celebrate the local Dharug people’s dreaming story about Mariong – the emu and mother – and how she became the Milky Way.
During the day, the sculpture will represent the emu nest, created by signature sticks that nod to the landscape and materials of the Dharug people.
At night, it will light up and show two emu forms visible only from certain viewpoints, like the Great Emu constellation, which changes throughout the Aboriginal six seasons.
Once completed within the coming months, the sculpture will be the centrepiece of the drive from the airport along the new M12 motorway, acting as a welcome to Dharug country.
Construction of “the Great Emu in the Sky” sculpture has been underway since last July when 600 cubic metres of concrete was poured, followed several months later by workers starting to install its steel columns.
In a sign of its scale, the sculpture will be about six metres taller than the tail of an A380 superjumbo, the world’s largest passenger jet, which may one day touch down at the nearby airport.
Transport for NSW said the sculpture would complement other artworks being installed on new bridges and a shared cycling and walking path along the M12.
The agency said Balarinji had been engaged to bring together input from local artists to develop a story that was significant to the local Indigenous population.
An artist’s impression of the 30-metre-high sculpture that will be the visual centrepiece of the freeway. Credit: NSW government
In 2022, a provisional estimate put the cost of the sculpture at $7 million, which Transport for NSW said sat within the new motorway’s $2.1 billion budget.
The M12 will connect the M7 motorway at Cecil Hills, near Bonnyrigg, to The Northern Road at Luddenham, providing motorists direct access to the new airport, which is about 50 kilometres from Sydney’s CBD.
According to Transport for NSW’s most recent update, the central and western parts of the 16-kilometre M12 are due to be completed by the middle of this year, while the eastern part will be finished by early next year ahead of the airport opening in late 2026.
Transport officials told a budget estimates hearing two weeks ago that the M12 would be opened in a “staged manner”, possibly earlier than next year. They said announcements about the “exact timings” would be made shortly.
The new M12 motorway and road links to Western Sydney Airport (visible in the background), which will open next year.Credit: Nick Moir
The toll-free motorway will have two lanes in each direction and comprise 17 bridges, the longest of which is a 700-metre span over South Creek.
The federal government is covering 80 per cent of the cost of the motorway, while the state is paying the rest. The project’s cost has progressively risen – mostly under the previous Coalition government – since late last decade when it was budgeted at $1.25 billion.
In 2019, the cost of acquiring properties was cited as a major reason for the budget rising to $1.8 billion, while two years later design changes pushed it to more than $2 billion.
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