Surely one of the most unusual expressions of support for Reconciliation Australia is the above painted cast from a broken arm depicting white and black cockatoos sharing the same perch . Little Darwin came across this when calling upon the Queen of the Jungle. The story behind the work of art is this . In l998, having just returned from Germany, the Queen arrived at her leafy abode, put her suitcase down , went to get clothes off the line which had been placed there by the house carer-tripped, fell to the ground, causing a painful fracture .
A plain white plaster cast was applied to her arm at the Townsville Hospital . Artistically inclined and with a long interest in Aboriginal art, myths and legends , which had included a trip to Alice Springs where she bought a bark painting , she got Magnetic Island artist Yonni Van Bemmel , who runs a fine art studio , to paint the cast with the Reconciliation message . When it came to removal of the cast at the hospital , the Queen made a special plea for it to be given to her as the normal practice is to bin casts to prevent any spread of diseases of the tropical kind.
