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A 3,000km Steel Delivery to the Middle of Australia

We recently teamed up with acclaimed Australian landscape photographer Ken Duncan and the Walk a While Foundation to support a wonderful project in Australia’s Red Centre. We made the 3,000km trip to deliver steel, tools, and gear to the Ikuntji community of Haasts Bluff, about 250km west of Alice Springs.

We are so proud to have been a part of this project and to have had the support of so many of our generous suppliers.

Ken Duncan’s Walk a While Foundation

Ken Duncan has been working with the Indigenous people of central Australia for over twenty years. During that time, the advice given to him by a respected Indigenous Elder many years ago has stuck with him: “If you really want to know someone, you need to “walk a while” with them.”

Ken and his wife, Pamela, brought this advice to life when they established the Walk a While Foundation in 2010. The foundation’s primary goal is to walk alongside the Indigenous people of Australia by using creative and visual arts as common ground and to build sustainable and culturally safe income streams for their people. Once launched, the Foundation quickly gained momentum and has been supported by some of Australia’s finest artists and prominent people, including Board Member Ray Martin.

When speaking with Ken about the project, his passion was contagious: “Walk a While is not just about helping our Indigenous brothers and sisters; they help us too.”

“They help us reconnect to the land and show us how to give back to the earth.”

The Cross on Memory Mountain

For more than 15 years, Ken and Pamela Duncan have been working with the Ikuntji community of Haasts Bluff, located about 250 km west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

The community had the vision to construct a 20-metre Cross atop Memory Mountain, a peak in the far west MacDonnell Ranges, to reflect the local Aboriginal people’s faith, culture and creativity and to share this with the world.

In 2009, the local Elders, who refer to Memory Mountain as ‘the place between Heaven and Earth’, shared their vision with Ken and Pamela and asked for assistance to bring it to fruition. Catching their passion, Ken could see how their dream could translate into an iconic, world-class tourism destination that would boost the local communities’ employment opportunities, sustainable enterprises, and financial independence

Edcon Steel - Construction of the Cross structure

“Everyone is welcome, and the people want to share this spectacular place with the world,” Ken explains.

“The Cross is just one project we have doing out there. We have been doing projects involving music, photography, cinematography and tourism, which is the big one.

The Cross was really important to the community out there because it has a lot of cultural significance to them.”

Construction of the Cross structure was completed in October 2022 and officially launched over the Easter weekend in 2023. The project’s focus has now shifted to accommodating the increase in tourism in the area.

“We need to raise more finances to build the necessary infrastructure,” Ken explains.

“And the good thing about the Walk a While Foundation is that all the money donated goes directly to the project, not to paying any of the directors. So when people do donate, they know it is going directly to wages for the Aboriginal people, or to building the infrastructure, like a caravan park.”

For example, the 960m trek to the summit, which allows visitors to enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, needed updating to ensure it met safety requirements. This is where Edcon Steel and several of its partners have stepped up to support this wonderful initiative.

Orrcon steel, locker a valmont comapany, duralloy webforge , bordo insdustrial tools, serpent and dove applied magnetics pty ltd finding ways with magnets since 1984

Edcon Steel’s Generous Partners

When Dan Cass of Sanctum Building became involved in the Cross initiative, he needed advice on steel, tools and other products necessary for the project. So he contacted his friend, Alan Owens, the Operations Manager at Edcon Steel.

When the team at Edcon heard about the fantastic initiative, they jumped into action. With an extensive and established community of manufacturers and suppliers, the team contacted several partners for products. Everyone’s generosity and enthusiasm blew us away.

Without hesitation, the team at Orrcon Steel donated thousands of dollars worth of steel pipe and SHS, while Locker/Webforge donated grating and stanchions. The teams at Duralloy, Serpent and Dove, Precision Speciality Tooling and Bordo also stepped up and graciously donated the necessary equipment required for the project, including welders and welding gear, magnetic squares and grinding and cutting consumables.

Not only did these suppliers generously donate the necessary materials and equipment, but they also arranged for delivery to Edcon Seel. It was then up to our team to load 6 tonnes of steel and an assortment of tools and gear into an Edcon Steel truck and two utes, drive the 3,000 km across our beautiful country, and deliver the goods to the Ikuntji community.

We are so proud to have built such strong partnerships with these generous suppliers who allowed us to play a role in bringing this wonderful initiative to life.

When talking about bringing the project to life, Ken says: “What has been great about this project is that it has been able to move forward with people who want to help, and Edcon helping us with the steel and driving it out there was amazing.”

“We would like to thank the team at Edcon so much. We really appreciate them because the quicker we get people involved, the quicker we can get others out there to appreciate it for themselves.”

To learn more about the Walk a While Foundation, the Cross on Memory Mountain, or to donate, click here.

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