Little would be visible at Noreuil Park if a one-in-100 year flood was to swallow the area tomorrow.
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Something that might be seen protruding from the water is Totem Pole (River Gauge), a new four-metre art installation on the foreshore.
On its side facing the Murray River there are historic flood levels, those of the 1870s halfway up the pole being the only flood that has exceeded a 100-year event.
On the other side are Wiradjuri-style markings, carved by Albury artist Darren Wighton.
"Totem poles are traditionally used for memorials - no one has died here, but it's a memorial of this place, of the people of the river and importance and significance of the river," he said.
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"There's not a lot of totem poles in our area, which is Wiradjuri, but we did have tree carvings.
"Where a prominent person has been buried or they want to make a statement, they would take off a large piece of bark and carve the core of the wood with a specific design.
"We put the design on the pole as if it was a tree.
"The timber comes in a long rectangular shape, so I shaved off some of the edges to give it a round look, being conscious of not wanting to waste too much wood."
The piece of timber Wighton used was a beam from the former Fallon Cellars, where Quest is on Kiewa Street today.
The 28 beams and 21 columns were removed in 2005 and have been used for numerous projects including at MAMA and for benches in the CBD.
It took Wighton eight weeks to create the totem pole and hoped now that it had been installed as part of a $372,000 Albury Council project, it would connect with the Wagirra Trail.
"It ties in with the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk which goes further up the river and out to Kremur Street boat ramp, it could start or end here," he said.
"This and other sculptures I have done are about legacy, as in this day and age too many things are here one day and gone the next.
"It's a little bit of the past, with the river levels, and is a memorial of the Aboriginal people that would gather and cross here.
"The local Wiradjuri totem is a goanna - there's no goannas on there as I wasn't keen to suggest it was just Wiradjuri - but it's a totem pole that reflects a memorial of Aboriginal occupation of this area."
Albury council urban and public art officer Danielle McMaster said council staff had assisted Wighton to secure the pole with steel bands and to install it.
"The footing designs are immense, and setting it in the concrete was a task," she said.
"This was the perfect location, and it all came together in time with the new renovations here.
"It's part and parcel of what hopefully will be a much wider trial - in the next 18 months there will be five more sculptures going into the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk and the long-term plan is to extend that walk and connect it to here."
