A new sculpture harnessing the power of the wind and encouraging passersby to discover some of Sydney’s natural sites has been launched at Circular Quay to mark the centenary of the scouting movement.

Commissioned by the City of Sydney and Scouts Australia, and funded by entrepreneur Dick Smith AO and his wife Pip, Windlines: The Scout Compass of Discovery commemorates the 2008 centenary of Scouts in Australia.

Artists Jennifer Turpin and Michaelie Crawford have created a five metre tall weather vane that turns with the breeze, above a giant compass and map embedded in the ground at Scout Place, Circular Quay.

The artists' impresson, via City of Sydney

Their new artwork is the result of hours of meticulous testing in a wind tunnel to ensure it is functional as well as inspiring.

The sculpture features a “wind line” of text along each compass point alluding to a significant natural site in the greater Sydney region that lies in that direction.

For example, “Be resolute like flint and steel” refers to Resolute Beach and Flint and Steel Bay in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, to the north-north east of Scout Place.

Engineers have worked with the artists to create a high quality work of stainless steel, granite and bronze that will function as a 10 metre long weather vane, representing the needle of a giant compass.

Dick Smith AO said he thinks the sculpture is a fitting monument to the Scouts' spirit of responsible risk-taking and discovery.

"Windlines: The Scout Compass of Discovery is a fantastic work of art and I hope it will become famous as a meeting place for the people of Sydney," Smith said.

"Pip and I are very pleased to be involved in this project and we hope it will stand proudly in Scout Place at Circular Quay for the next 50 or 100 years."

Architecture & Design Team

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