City of Maribyrnong

Statement of Commitment to Reconciliation with Indigenous Australians
May 1998

The Maribyrnong City Council acknowledges that Indigenous Australians are the first people of this land and that they have strived to retain their culture and identity, through two centuries, of non-Indigenous settlement.

We acknowledge and respect their values and customs, the traditional names, and the importance of Indigenous people's spiritual relationship to land and water.

For its part the Maribyrnong City Council acknowledges and grieves for the loss by the Indigenous people of their relationship to the land, their children, their health and their lives.

We recognise the rights of Indigenous Australians as outlined in the Draft United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples.

We recognise the contributions made by Indigenous people to the history of the western region of Melbourne and look forward to a future of mutual respect and harmony.

Maribyrnong is a city of many diverse cultures. People have come to this city to make their home or to seek refuge in a safe place. They share with Indigenous Australians the experience of dispossession or the loss of land, family and livelihood. As the Council of this city, we commit ourselves to working to create a place where all are welcome, respected, experience freedom and contribute to the life of the City.

 

Healing Garden

 

Background

The Healing Garden idea was first proposed by Aboriginal people who are on the Maribyrnong City Council Aboriginal Reconciliation Steering Group. It was in response to the 1997 release of the Bringing Them Home report - the national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.

Purpose

The Healing Garden is for all Aboriginal people, in recognition that many Aboriginal people who live in Melbourne have come from communities across Australia. The Healing Garden project provides an opportunity to create a place that reflects the collective wisdom of Aboriginal people to be presented to the broader community.

Design Concept

The design concept has a number of elements, much of it inspired from Aboriginal traditional architecture.

• Fish and eel trap area - Fish and eel traps have been used to represent the struggle that has taken place over the last two hundred years and the different journeys that aboriginal individuals and cultures have taken. The pathways within the stone fish and eel trap will lead to either a place of release or a place of entrapment. The pathways also represent the main river systems of Melbourne leading into Port Phillip Bay which is symbolized as patterned grasslands. Large sculptural forms will provide interactive play for children and create a sense of being a fish or an eel in a trap.
  
  
• Contemplative Space - There is a quiet contemplative space over looking the river and across to the city where people can sit. From here visitors can contemplate the beautiful view or alternatively how the land has been destroyed over the last 150 years.
  
  
• Ceremonial Site - There will be a contemporary ceremonial site that is a flexible space that can be used for a number of purposes eg. during NAIDOC week.
  
  
• Educational Purpose - The planting of indigenous plants used for medicinal and bush tucker purposes, the indigenous architecture and the stories of Aboriginal people over the last two hundred years, will be the basis of the educational platform for the Healing Garden.

Site Selection

The selected site is an elevated open green space overlooking the Maribyrnong River and the city. adjoins Footscray Secondary College and the former A and off Farnsworth Avenue in Footscray (Melways Reference Map42 C1).

There are a number of locations on the Maribyrnong River where archaeological evidence of Aboriginal settlement has been identified. This site does not have any archaeological evidence associated with it but it is a prominent position in the surrounding landscape. In more recent years, it was a rubbish dump and is now a green open space. The Healing Garden will ensure the ongoing rehabilitation and healing of this disturbed land.

The Design Team

Artist Glenn Romanis and landscape architect Perry Lethlean from Taylor Cullity & Lethlean were selected as the design team, with a trainee position for a member of the Koorie Gardening Team.

The design has been presented to and endorsed by the Wurundjeri Land and Compensation, Cultural Heritage Council. It has also been commented on by the Kulin Nation Cultural Heritage Organisation.

During May/June 2000 feedback was received from Aboriginal people and the design was then put on public display during Aboriginal reconciliation and NAIDOC week events.

Funding

A $25,000 Australia Council for the Arts (Community Environment and Design) grant was received and matched with $10,000 from Maribyrnong City Council. The conditions of the grant included the involvement of the community in the design, and the working together of an artist and a landscape designer. Further funding will be required to complete the design and to build the Healing Garden.

For further information

This project will be the main project for Aboriginal Reconciliation in the City of Maribyrnong over the next two years. If you are interested in being involved please contact: Maribyrnong City Council, PO Box 58, Footscray, 3011, Fax: 9688 0234

Ph: 9688 0200 Jen Stokes or Siobhan Sheridan.

 

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