Community
21 November, 2025
Red benches sending a strong message in Mount Isa
The Red Bench Project aims to prompt conversations about ending domestic violence-related deaths.
Mount Isa handymen, artists and social workers have joined forces to roll out what is believed to be the biggest national contribution to the Red Rose Foundation’s Red Bench Project.
In an initiative spearheaded locally by the Aboriginal & Islander Development Recreational Women’s Association (AIDRWA), eight park benches, each painted a bright red and decorated with Indigenous artwork, are destined for open spaces across the city in the coming weeks.
The Red Bench Project aims to prompt conversations about ending domestic violence-related deaths in Australia and provide an opportunity for this important issue to remain visible in local communities.
The Mount Isa effort has involved seven blokes meeting at the Ngukuthati Men’s Shed three days a week for the past three months to construct the benches.
Each completed bench was then passed to local Indigenous artists who decorated it with meaningful cultural imagery.
The benches will be unveiled and displayed at Outback at Isa between November 25 and December 10 as part of 16 days of local action to end violence in the home.
The benches will then be scattered across the city, to locations including Centacare, Good Shepherd Parish, Mount Isa Rugby League and Spinifex Senior College, as a constant reminder of the need for safe spaces to hold difficult conversations.
With the eight benches being added to several more that were placed around the city for the same initiative last year, AIDRWA Coolamon Connections Healing program manager Vanessa Wuthrich said Mount Isa likely had the largest collection of red benches in Australia.
“I think we can lay claim to being the biggest contributor,” she said.
“We see the benches as providing a safe place to sit down and reflect on what safety means to people – it’s a place to meet, have a yarn and connect with others.
“Having these benches across the town just shows that we take family and domestic violence seriously in Mount Isa.
“It is all part of Mount Isa people working together to build a peaceful community where we are respectful of one another and look out for one another.”
Ms Wuthrich said the collaboration between the Men’s Shed and local artists had been inspiring.
“We have upskilled and upgraded our efforts from last year,” she explained.
“This year, there were more specific rules around how the chairs had to be made, including meeting national standards, and so there was a lot of research that went into the planning process to design these chairs.
“Wright’s Welding Operations donated a lot of time to manufacture the steel structures that the men’s shed guys were then able to use.
“Seeing the Ngukuthati Men’s Shed working together on this project has just been so wonderful, and seeing them standing up and making a stand against domestic violence is very inspiring.”
Ngukuthati Men’s Shed mentorship coordinator Gary Hartman said the blokes involved in the project had enjoyed challenging their workshop skills.
“We wanted to give something back to the community and show that men can do something about this issue as well,” he said.
“It’s been a really great thing to be involved in.”
Kalkadoon artist Renae Carson said she used painting as a way to address the grief she felt after the death of her father several years ago.
Ms Carson said it was the second year she had adorned her artwork across one of the Red Rose Foundation benches.
“The round symbols on my artwork represent community and yarning – so it is about people coming together to talk about the hard topics like domestic violence,” she said.
“I was fortunate enough to grow up in a safe environment, but I have seen domestic violence all around – North West Queensland has one of the highest rates of family violence in the entire country, so anything I could do to highlight the issue really means a lot to me.”
