Sunshine Coast stages unique Tallo Billa light and sound show to welcome the 2025 whale season
First-ever Mooloolaba Beach Tallo Billa performance – Saturday 7 June (free)
Mooloolaba is set to cement its reputation as a premier destination for whale experiences with the staging of a unique light and sound exhibition at Mooloolaba Beach fusing the mesmerising soundscapes of humpback whale songs with digital imagery and Indigenous cultural interpretation.
The free public Tallo-Billa (meaning ‘Humpback Whale’ in the local Kabi Kabi language) event will be staged for the first time on Mooloolaba Beach on Saturday 7 June between 6pm and 7pm. Projection will be onto the beach just north of the Surf Club, and everyone is welcome to view the event FREE.
Conceived by Kabi Kabi artist Lyndon Davis, the project has been developed in collaboration with sound artist Dr Leah Barclay and photographer Dr Tricia King at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The project brings together Indigenous knowledge, emerging science, creative practice, and innovative technology to translate the calls of whales into imagery that will be projected onto the golden sands of Mooloolaba Beach.
The launch event will begin with a First Nations performance from Kabi Kabi artist Lyndon Davis, whose stories, knowledge and didgeridoo playing will create a memorable multi-sensory cultural experience.
The whale songs used in the performance were recorded by Dr Barclay aboard Sunreef’s Whale One from migrating humpback whales which are already traversing the east coast of Australia on their way to the breeding grounds off northern Queensland.
Up to 40,000 whales are expected to pass by the Sunshine Coast between May and November. The Sunshine Coast is a significant point on this migration, with many whales stopping to rest and interact in the area.
Dr Leah Barclay is world renowned for composing complex sonic environments and audio-visual works that draw attention to changing climates and fragile ecosystems. Leah’s augmented reality sound installations have been presented across the world, from Times Square in New York City to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The general public will be able to experience Tallo Billa in a variety of ways during the whale season.
Leading dive and marine tours operator Sunreef will operate Tallo Billa: Deep Listening at Dusk cruises on 24 August, and 21 and 28 September. These small-group cruises from The Wharf Mooloolaba will include deep listening of whale song through hydrophones, mixed live by Dr Leah Barclay with storytelling and didgeridoo by Lyndon Davis.
The highlight of the season will be a Tallo Billa event on 13 September hosted onboard Sunreef’s Whale One, comprising whale watching at dusk before settling at Mudjimba Island to experience live whale song, First Nations storytelling and cymatic projections onto the rock face of Mudjimba Island.
Whale watching tours are available on the Sunshine Coast through till October with operators including Sunreef, Epic Ocean Adventures, Cavalier Cruises, Adventure Rafting Mooloolaba and Noosa Thriller Ocean Adventures. Sunreef and The Pressure Project also offer ‘Swimming with Whales’ experiences throughout the season.
Tallo Billa is being supported by Sunshine Coast Council, Visit Sunshine Coast, the University of Sunshine Coast, Discover Mooloolaba, Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation, and the Queensland and Australian governments.
